Bound by Hatred(44)

I braced myself as he touched the needle to my lip. Despite my taunting, Matteo was careful when he stitched me up. It still hurt like hell every time the needle pierced my skin and my eyes filled with stupid tears. I fought them for as long as possible but eventually a few trailed down my cheeks. Matteo didn’t comment for which I was glad. For him this was probably nothing. When he set the needle down after what felt like forever but had probably been less than five minutes, I quickly wiped the tears off my cheeks, embarrassed that I’d shown weakness in front of him like that.

“It’ll swell even more. Tomorrow morning you’ll have a fat lip,” Matteo said.

I checked my reflection. My lip had already swollen considerably since I’d last seen it, or maybe that was my imagination. I pulled down my lower lip to check the stitches. You couldn’t see them from the outside. At least I wouldn’t have an ugly scar. “You can’t possibly want to marry me looking like this.” I pointed at my face. “We should postpone the wedding.”

Matteo shook his head with a small laugh. “No chance in hell. You won’t slip out of my hands again, Gianna. We will marry today. Nothing will stop me.”





CHAPTER ELEVEN





Gianna

After my lip was taken care of, Aria and I were allowed to go to my old room while the men discussed how to proceed with the wedding. Two bodyguards were ordered to keep watch on me. One waited in front of the door, the other below my window, in case I decided to climb out of it. The moment the door of my room closed I leaned against it and let out a shaky sigh.

Aria touched my cheek. “How’s your lip?”

“Okay. Matteo stitched it up for me.”

“I’m so glad he decided to marry you.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Not you too, Aria.”

Aria pulled me toward the bed and made me sit down. “Father would have given you to one of his soldiers as punishment, Gianna. And you can be sure he would have chosen the least appealing option. Someone really nasty. He’s really mad at you. Matteo isn’t a bad choice. He must care for you if he went to such great length to find you.”

“He’s a proud man. Pride made him pursue me, nothing else.”

“Maybe,” she said uncertainly. She picked up a brush from the nightstand. Everything was still as I’d left it six months ago. I was surprised Father hadn’t burnt all of my things. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. It was almost seven in the evening. It would have been past midnight in Germany. I couldn’t believe how much had happened since I’d woken in Munich this morning.

“Was it worth it?” Aria asked softly as she combed my hair. I couldn’t remember the last time she’d done it. Her fingers felt good on my scalp and I had to resist the urge to burry my face against her stomach and cry.

I met her compassionate gaze, and for some reason her understanding infuriated me. “Was the chance at freedom worth pissing off Father and being called a whore and slut? Yes, absolutely. But was my silly wish for something more worth the life of an innocent guy? Then fuck no. My entire existence isn’t worth that much. Sid paid the ultimate price for my selfishness. There is nothing I can do to redeem myself.” Tears sprang into my eyes.

“Luca told me,” Aria said. “I’m so sorry.”

I brushed the tears off my face. “Maybe I should let Father marry me off to one of his sadist soldiers. It would serve me right.”

“Don’t say that, Gianna. You deserve happiness as much as anyone. You couldn’t have known what would happen. It’s not your fault that they killed Sid.”

“How can you even say that? Of course it’s my fault. I knew who was hunting me. I knew what Matteo and Father’s men were capable off. I knew I was putting anyone whom I let close at risk. That’s why I never dated any guys in all the other places I stayed. I flirted and kissed, but then I moved on. Your words from long ago always echoed in my mind. That being with another guy when you’re engaged to a man like Luca would mean that guy’s death.”

“I wasn’t talking about you. That’s been a long time ago.”

“But Matteo is just like Luca and I knew that. I knew that he’d kill any guy he would find with me, but I still went out with Sid. I might as well have pulled the trigger myself!”

“No. You didn’t think he’d catch you. You wanted to feel at home and start a new life like you deserved after being on the run for so long. You felt safe and wanted to give love a chance. That’s okay.”

“No. No it isn’t. You don’t get it, Aria. It wasn’t even about love. I didn’t even really have a crush on Sid. I didn’t even like him all that much at the end because he could be a jerk, and that makes it even worse. I risked too much for sloppy kisses and awkward groping, and Sid died because of it.”