“Fine. If you leave without me, I won’t be staying here anymore. I’ll do whatever I can to get away for good. I’m not going to be drugged again and left on my own.” I’d had enough of the bait and switch. He has drugged me twice. The first time I was grateful. The second was hurtful. I can’t take that again. It’s not respect or love and that’s what I want from him.
“Damn it, Giada. Do you think that I really want to leave you here?” He thrusts his hands through his hair, and then down his face.
“I don’t know. I guess getting easy access to pussy might be the only reason you’d want to take me back home.”
“Enough. Eat your food. Come talk to me when you’re feeling less pissy and we can talk.” He storms out of the room, but he doesn’t close the door. Angry and hurt, I grumble under my breath before getting out of bed to get dressed. I snatch up a piece of bacon, biting into it like a starving dog, almost laughing at myself at the visual I’m presenting. It calms me down for a moment, and I go into the bathroom to freshen up after swiping another piece of bacon.
I turn on the shower, taking off his tee shirt and looking in the mirror. My body is marked up with his fingerprints and bites. God, I can’t believe how incredible it felt. Closing my eyes and shaking my head, I try to put that behind me. I can’t live like this, no matter how good he makes me feel when I’m in his arms.
“What am I going to do?” I sigh, knowing that I don’t have an answer. I’ve been as patient as I can be about waiting for his return, and he’s leaving me again. How can I wait? How can I run away? My chest burns and I’m not sure why. I’ve never felt like this before, and I’m not sure what it is. Finally turning off the water, I step out and wrap my hair in a towel and another around my chest.
I’m so exhausted that I just want to give in and do whatever Santino wants, but I also don’t want to be without him. Picking out a light, summery dress, I dry off and then slip on some undergarments. I love the soft feel of the dress as it slides down my skin. He did have a lot of nice things ordered for me. They’ve been coming every single day. More and more clothes, as if I’m going to be living here forever.
I finally put myself together, brushing my long, dark brown hair and bundling it up into a nice clean ponytail. Feeling refreshed, I grab my plate of almost uneaten food and walk out. I follow the footsteps and see Santino pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair.
Setting the plate down on the counter gets his attention. He lifts his head up, and I can see the fatigue and fear in his eyes, but not for long. As soon as he takes in my appearance, a smile crosses his face that threatens to undo my resolve.
“You look so beautiful, Giada. Please come and sit down.”
“I’m not sure I want to do that. I have a feeling I’m not going to like anything you have to say.”
“Probably, but still, there’s a lot to tell you.” There’s a haunted look in his eyes that makes me want to comfort him. I take a seat, and he sits next to me.
I brace myself for whatever he has to say because I’m sure I’m not going to like it. “Give it to me.”
“First, the reason I sent you here in the first place was because Rafael was accusing me of taking you,” he confesses.
I have so many questions, but the first one shoots from my mouth like word vomit. “So why did you drug me instead of telling me?”
“Would you have gone quietly? You already said you didn’t trust me.” I blush, remembering just that. “So I did what I had to do to keep you safe. A day after you were gone, they came with the cops to search the house.”
“Can they do that?”
“They had a warrant, claiming I was the last person outside of the household to see you. Anyways, my staff made sure that any traces of you were gone. Things only got worse: hidden cameras, poison, shootings. My lawyer has just woken up from a coma. We were shot at on our way to the office.”
“Oh my God.” I grab his arm and rub around his bicep. “Were you shot?”
He nods. “Just grazed, but that’s why I don’t want to take you back. It’s not like I don’t want you by my side. It’s just fucking dangerous. Seriously dangerous.” I want to tell him he’s being overly protective, but I know who we’re dealing with. Still, the thought of being away from him for another day crushes me.
“I don’t care. As an adult, I’m allowed to leave legally. It’s not like Rafael can drag me back to him. I don’t even understand why he wanted me in the first place.”
“Because you’re beautiful and he’s like his father, taking something precious and ruining it.”
“I’m sorry that your mother has been married to him for all these years. I guess you never know the true person until you can’t get away from them.”
“She knew the real him. She married him to keep me. Marchetti isn’t my real father. He killed my father and forced my mother to marry him.”
“Oh shit. I don’t even know how to process that.”
“Trust me, I’m still coming to terms with it all. My father had been a good man. I think that’s what pissed off Rafael Sr. when it came to me. He saw the same thing in me and hated that
