HELENA'S POV
"Matteo, I want you to speak using your words. Did you plan this whole thing?" I asked again, emphasizing on my words because at this point Matteo had moved away from me to the kitchen area and was now pouring himself a glass of water. I didn't care about the pain on my leg, I pushed myself up from the chair and followed him.
"You're not supposed to stressing my leg" he said turning to face me, running his eyes from my face to my leg.
"I have had it with you D'angelo boys, thinking you can just play mind games and using me as a collateral"
"No one is using you as a collateral Helena, this is a fight between me and Dante and I didn't want you getting involved so I removed you from the equation"
"Oh" a dirty scoff escaped my lips "So what now, I'm supposed to grovel on my knees and thank you?"
He smirked "Well you can't actually do that" he gestured to my legs and I wanted nothing much but to smack him in that moment.
"Look Helena, you're getting this all wrong. All I did was to show you the kind of person Dante actually was which you have refused to see even though it has been standing in front of you in plain sight, you turned a blind eye even when deep down you knew the kind of person he was. Dante loves you alright, but you are never going to be a priority to him over his company and wealth, they come first and you're staggering far third"
I scoffed again, trembling hands running through my hair messing them up even more than usual "And me on the other hand – " he moved closer to me now, tipping my chin up with his finger "I'm never going to do what Dante did, I'm never going to pick my high school lover over you, I can't even do that judging from the fact she's mother of two kids and you know what I'm jealous of her, I want my own kids – I want you"
I stayed quiet, not because I had nothing to say but more of I was tired, I was tired of fighting. I was tired of being between two brothers who were in love with me and decided to show it in their own toxic way. What happened to the ol' love story, why couldn't I have something simple, why did it always have to be a war with them. I was so tired, I was so sick of it. Even when I tried to run, they were right there at my heel, catching me, pulling me back and never letting me go.
"Give me a chance Helena, give me a chance to prove I can be different. I can love you the way you want, the way you need to be loved and we can be far away from here, anywhere you want to go, I can assure you that"
"I'm just so bloody tired" I muttered under my breath "I'm so tired of the games"
"No more of that" he said, and I could almost taste the sincerity in his words, I could almost taste in on my tongue and it tasted bitter sweet, it tasted like honey but with a vinegar aftertaste, like a rose but prickled with thorns. It felt safe, it felt assuring – but at the same time he was a D'angelo and there was nothing safe about the D'angelo men.
"Come here" Matteo pulled me into his arms and I let him because I was tired and I just wanted to sleep. It was barely noon but it felt like I had a fought a war – a losing battle and I was exhausted.
By the time I woke up a some hours later, I was drenched in my sweat and my throat was dry. The room was dark and cold, I could hear a rhythmic beep in the room. I searched for my phone around me and when my hands closed on the cold metal, I peeked at the time and it was nightfall already. How long had I been out for? I tried to pull my memories together in my confusion, last I remembered Matteo had put me to sleep in the bedroom and I must have been out for so long.
I threw my legs to the floor, not bothering to smooth the mess of hair on my head and I went outside the room to the deathly silence of Matteo's house.
"Matteo?" I called out loud, pattering on barefoot down the stairs till I reached the living room but there was no answer.
"Matteo?" I called again louder this time, but silence echoed back at me. Just then, I heard the elevator ping and the door opened to reveal Matteo with some shopping bags in his hands and he smiled when his eyes met mine, but I only returned a confused stare.
"You're finally up" he said "You scared me for a minute, I thought you passed out there"
"I guess I was exhausted from all the scheming and games and being a perpetual collateral between two brothers" I shrugged and Matteo returned a smirk "What's all this?" I pointed at the shopping bags.
"Well I bought you some new clothes and a pretty dress because we're going out tonight" he said
"We are?" I asked as he pulled out a red dress from the bags and placed it on me as if trying to see if it fit.
He nodded in response
"We can't go out in public, firstly we're not dating and secondly I'm still married to Dante and the whole town knows that. I'm not ready for a scandal"
"People on this part of town don't know that and calm your nerves, it's private, just the two of us" he said, pulling me by my waist towards him and he kissed me full in the mouth, for some reason my stomach tinged and my heart fluttered and I could feel a crimson red shade growing on my cheeks. Was I falling for Matteo? I was supposed to be in love with Dante. How could I still love Dante after what he did to me? And you think the ruthless half brother is a better option? The endless thoughts simmered in my head and I took a lot to push them down and concentrate on the fact that Matteo was now running trail of kisses down my neck and then he found my sensitive spot and he bit down on it – sofly – lightly and so sensual that a soft moan escaped my lips.
It felt different, and I wasn't sure why.
Could I – could I be falling for Matteo?