All Chapters of Married To The Wrong Brother: Chapter 31 - Chapter 39

“But,” I paused my lips, drawing away, “sometimes life doesn’t ask what you want. It just… redirects you. And no amount of wanting makes the path straighten.”Confusion crept up his face. “Are you saying –”“I’m saying I didn’t come here to hurt you,” I interrupted. My chest tightened suddenly. It felt like an invisible thread pulling hard. I glanced past him, toward the far trees and the open dark. Everything felt wrong. “I thought I was ready for this.”He instinctively leaned closer. “We don’t have to rush anything. I’m not expecting –”“I know,” I rose up. The movement was abrupt and jarring even to me. “And that’s the problem.”He rose too, concern etched plainly across his face. “Rosalia, talk to me. You don’t look –”“I’m sorry,” I cut in, my breath uneven now as I picked up my jacket and purse from behind him. “This is pretty awkward. I don’t know. I’m not sure what I was thinking.” I forced myself to meet his eyes. “You’re a really nice guy, and I really want this. But I ha

There was only pressure and the sensation of being restrained by an unidentified force. My breath became shallow and my limbs refused to respond. I wasn't screaming. The cruelest thing of it has always been that I never resist. Like a blunt object through glass, the sound penetrated the space. In a single quick motion, it crashed into my ears and wrenched me from sleep. My skin was slippery with sweat, as though I had raced miles rather than lay motionless, and I jerked upright, the blankets tangled over my legs. My throat felt scraped and dry that swallowing hurt, and for a second I couldn’t tell if the noise was still part of the dream. After three years, it had become less frequent and duller, but they never really went away. I breathed through my mouth while I sat there. My nightshirt clung awkwardly to my back because the room was too warm. I grounded myself in my sister's bed and dragged my trembling hands down my cheeks. My eyebrows furrowed. Only Matteo could have brought m

The words sounded naive the second they left my mouth. Still, I let his warmth seep into me. His arms stayed stiff by his sides with not even a fraction of movement in response. And as I pulled away, I felt alone again. Everything that had been safe was gone. Hot sweat climbed the back of my neck, and my stomach knotted with anger that had nowhere to go. None of it mattered. This wasn’t about me anymore. It was the cost of my mother’s freedom. “Goodbye, signorina,” he said at last in a distant voice, nodded once, and pressed a few folded dollar bills into my palm like a stranger would.I stood there and watched the car disappear into the moving line of traffic until I couldn’t tell it apart from the others. I didn’t know how long I stayed rooted there, but when I turned back to the terminal, everything that was happening crashed over me like a wave.The wave of air conditioning slapped me across the face as I pushed through the sliding doors. The terminal was bustling with luggage

I blinked awake, groggy, as a heavy pulse slammed behind my eyes, squeezing my temples. Pain radiated outward in dull waves up my skull, down my neck, into my chest where every breath felt shallow and sore. For a moment, I couldn’t place where I was. The room hovered around me, and its cold shadows stretched across the walls in odd angles. I swallowed and winced. My throat was dry, my stomach growled, and beneath it all was the lingering sensation of whatever had been pushed into my veins.Everything was too quiet.I pushed myself upright and immediately regretted it. A low groan slipped out as my head swam and my chest tightened. The bed beneath me was enormous, the mattress firm, and the sheets a deep charcoal grey.My breath hitched when I looked down.I was still dressed.My hands ran over my body as I pressed my palms over my collarbones, my chest, down my sides. I checked my waistband, my thighs, the inside of my legs. I adjusted, bracing through the pain, feeling for sorenes