Matteo’s POV
I heard her laugh.
Soft.
Warm.
Real.
It stopped me cold in the hallway. I hadn’t heard that sound in weeks. It wasn’t a polite smile or a cold chuckle. It was her.
I leaned against the doorway, hidden, just watching. She had her phone pressed to her ear, a small smile still on her lips. She was curled up on the couch like she used to–legs tucked under her, hoodie loose around her.
My Aria.
Only… she wasn’t mine anymore.
When she finally looked up and saw me, her whole face changed. Smile gone. Walls back up. Eyes hard.
“You don’t knock now?” she asked, cold.
I didn’t answer. I stepped inside.
“Who were you talking to?”
She blinked, then scoffed. “Relax. It wasn’t one of your replacements.” She stood up, walked past me, her voice sharp. “I know you’ve moved
on.”
My jaw clenched. I turned, following her. “Is that what you think?”
She didn’t look at me. Just grabbed a book off the table, acting like my presence didn’t matter. Like I didn’t matter.
“You broke my trust, Matteo. All three of you did, and you really thought sending me abunch of flowers would fix that.” she said, flipping the book open but not reading a word. “You made your choice.”
I was in front of her in two steps. Took the book from her hand, tossed it aside.
Her eyes flared. “Don’t.”
I didn’t touch her. Not yet. I just stepped closer, slow, until her back hit the wall. My hand came up beside her head. I leaned in, close enough to smell the vanilla in her hair.
“I don’t want anyone’s laugh but yours.”
She looked up at me, lips trembling. But her yoice stayed strong. “Then you shouldn’t have left.”
She tried to turn away. I caught her wrist. Gently. But firm.
“I never left you, Aria.” My voice was low, rough. “You pushed us away. You pretended we meant nothing.”
“And what, now you just walk in like nothing happened?” she hissed, shaking her head. “You think you can just… touch me and I’ll forget?”
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I didn’t reply. Instead, I lifted her hand and placed it on my chest. Right over my heartbeat.
“Feel that?” I whispered. “It’s still yours.”
Her eyes nickered. Her fingers twitched against me. But she yanked her hand back, pushing past me.
Later that night, music played from the speaker in the living room. Something slow. Soft.
She walked by, heading to the kitchen. I didn’t think. I just reached out, caught her wrist again.
“Dance with me.”
“No,” she said instantly, not meeting my eyes.
“Just one song.”
“Matteo-
I stepped closer. Let my body brush lightly against hers. “I need to feel you again. Even if it’s the last time.”
She froze.
I pulled her gently into my arms. Her body was stiff at first. But I didn’t rush it. I let her settle. One hand on her lower back, the other taking
hers.
We moved. Slowly. Quietly.
The room felt too small. The space between us felt like fire.
Her eyes stayed down. I leaned in. My lips brushed her temple–not a kiss. Just a graze.
She sucked in a sharp breath. Her hand tightened on mine.
“You still smell like heaven,” I whispered. “You hate me, but your body remembers me.”
She shook her head, but she didn’t pull away.
I let my thumb trace a circle on her lower back. I felt her tremble.
“You used to melt for me right here,” I said softly, pressing just enough to remind her.
She shivered. Her chest rose and fell faster now.
“You want me to stop?” I asked.
Her lips parted. She almost said something. But she didn’t.
I dipped my head lower, my mouth close to her neck.
“You’re lying to yourself, Aria,” I murmured. “But your body… your body doesn’t lie to me.”
As I pulled her closer, her body stiffened for a moment, like she was trying to fight it, but I could feel her resisting less and less. Her back was pressed against my chest now, and I could feel the heat of her skin through the thin fabric of her shirt. Every breath she took was a shiver that ran through my own body. I could feel the pulse of her heartbeat under my hand, the way her breath quickened every time my thumb grazed the soft curve of her back. The music played on, but it wasn’t the rhythm that kept me moving, it was the sensation of her. The way her body reacted to mine–subtle at first, but now I felt it with every step. Her fingers trembled against my hand, and I almost smiled at how easy it was
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to make her lose control, just like before. I let my lips hover near her ear, close enough that she could feel my breath, but not enough to kiss her. “You feel that?” I whispered, the words just for her, low and rough. She didn’t answer, but I knew she felt it–her chest pressed against mine, the way her pulse skipped under my touch. Her body was betraying her, reacting to me the way it always had, like we were tangled in the same pull. I let one hand slide lower, just below her waist, guiding her closer, so close that I could feel the heat of her through the fabric, the softness of her curves. Her breath hitched, and I felt her heart race faster, matching mine. I was fighting it too, fighting the urge to pull her into me completely, to feel the full weight of her against me, to close the space that was still between us. But I knew she wasn’t ready to let it happen–not yet. I pressed my lips against her car, letting my breath caress the sensitive skin there. “You want to push me away, but your body… your body says something different, Aria,” I murmured. I could feel her hands tighten around mine, the way her fingers dug into my skin as though she was trying to hold herself together. I wasn’t giving her the chance. I let my thumb trace the side of her ribs, just enough to make her shiver. I could tell she was fighting herself, but I wasn’t going to let her pull away. Not now. Not when everything between us felt like it was on the edge of something we both wanted but were too scared to touch.
The song ended.
She jerked back, breathing hard.
“This doesn’t change anything,” she said, voice shaking.
She turned and walked off.
But I saw the way her fingers touched her lips. The way she lingered at the doorway.
It was changing everything.
And I wasn’t done.
Not even close.
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