Chapter 44
Aria’s POV
The silence in the room was suffocating, thick with tension and unspoken words. The air still carried the sharp tang of antiseptic, mixing with the faint metallic scent of blood. Matteo sat on the couch, his usual cocky smirk dimmed by exhaustion and pain, but still present–because he always had to be the one cracking jokes, even when he was bleeding.
1 sat back on my heels, my fingers still tingling with the heat of his skin from where I had bandaged his wound. His body was rigid beneath my touch, but not from discomfort–no, it was something else. Something that felt… guarded.
“There,” I murmured, tying off the last bandage. “That should hold.”
Matteo peered down at my handiwork, then flicked his eyes back up to mine with amusement dancing in the blue depths. “Didn’t know you had a soft spot for me, princesa.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t. Ljust don’t like messes.”
His lips twitched, but before he could respond, Dante let out a scoff, pacing near the fireplace with his arms crossed. The fire cast long shadows across his tense frame, highlighting the sharpness of his jaw and the stiffness in his shoulders.
Enzo, meanwhile, remained by the door, silent and brooding. His arms were folded tightly against his chest, his entire body unreadable except for the way his gaze stayed locked on the floor.
Something was wrong-
More than just Matteo’s Injury.
More than their usual secrecy.
The weight of it pressed against my ribs, making it hard to breathe.
I wiped my hands on my jeans, standing up. “Alright,” said, forcing my voice to stay steady. “Someone want to tell me what the hell happened?”
Dante’s eyes snapped to mine, dark and unreadable. “No.”
A muscle in my jaw twitched, “That’s not an answer.”
Enzo exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “It’s all you’re getting.”
Frustration flared hot inside me. “Are you serious? You guys come home at- I glanced at the clock.“–two in the morning, looking like you just crawled out of a war zone, and I’m just supposed to go to bed like nothing happened?”
“Exactly,” Dante said flatly.
My fingers curled into fists. “Why?”
Matteo sighed, shifting against the couch with a wince. “Because, sweetheart, this isn’t your problem.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “Not my problem? I live here. If something’s going on, I have a right to know.”
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Chapter 44
For the first time since I’d met Enza, I saw something close to anger flicker in his cold blue eyes. He lifted his he sharply, staring me down like I was being difficult. “No, you don’t.”
The dismissal in his tone hit me harder than I expected.
I swallowed down the irritation, my heartbeat thudding in my i
next time, it’s worse? Am I supposed to just pretend I don’t see It?”
None of them answered.
If whatever this is follows you home? What if
And that silence–God, that silence–was worse than any lle they could’ve told me
I turned back to Matteo, my voice softening despite the heat in my chest. “Is it going to happen again?”
His smirk faltered, just slightly.
For the first time since they walked in, I saw past the bravado. Past the confidence and the cockiness.
I saw the truth.
He hesitated. Then, barely above a whisper, he muttered, “Probably.”
A cold shiver ran through me.
I straightened. “Fine.”
Dante’s brows furrowed. “Fine?”
I shrugged. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll find out mysel[”
The energy
in the room changed in an instant.
Enzo stiffened, his jaw clenching. “No, you won’t.”
I lifted a brow, “Really? And how exactly are you going to
to stop m
me?”
His eyes darkened. “Aria.”
name. A warning.
Just my
But I was past warnings.
I turned toward the stairs, my pulse thrumming in my ears. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, hut I knew one thing–I wasn’t going to sit around waiting for them to come home bleeding again.
I needed answers.
As I reached the bottom step, I heard one of them mutter, voice low and fense-
“We should have never brought her here.”
- froze.
2/4
Chapter 44
The words sliced through me, sharp and cold, stealing my breath.
For a second, I couldn’t move.
Then I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing my feet to keep going.
Because now, more than ever, I knew one thing for sure.
Whatever they were hiding–it was dangerous.
And I was going to find out the
truth.
The weight of their words lingered in the air like a slap to the face.
“We should have never brought her here.”
I swallowed hard, my grip tightening on the wooden railing of the staircase.
I wasn’t stupid.
I knew I didn’t belong here.
Not in n this house. Not in their world.
But hearing them say it out loud?
It cut deeper than I wanted to a
admit.
A part of me wanted to turn around, to throw their words back at them, to demand to know why they’d let me stay if they regretted it so much.
But I didn’t
Instead, I forced my feet to move, one step at a time, until I was in the dim hallway leading to my room. My breaths came shallow, my fingers trembling slightly as I pushed open the door and shut it behind me.
Only then did I let out the shaky breath I’d been holding.
I pressed my back against the door, tilting my head back as I stared at the ceiling. The distant murmurs of their voices downstairs were muffled now, but I didn’t need to hear them to know what they were saying.
They w
They were talking about me.
About what to do with me.
Like I was a problem to be solved.
I clenched my jaw and pushed away from the door. I wasn’t going to sit here and wallow in self–pity. I wasn’t going to let them decide things for me.
If they wanted to keep me in the dark, fine.
- 374.
Bound To My Mafia Stepuncles
