Chapter 144
Aria’s POV
The moment I heard his voice, my entire body tensed.
“Button… can we talk?”
I turned slowly, biting down on the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t explode right away. Matteo stood in the doorway like a guilty shadow. His eyes met mine, but I felt nothing from them–no warmth, no apology. Just… guilt and hesitation.
Don’t call me that.
Don’t you dare.
“You lost the right to call me that the moment you drugged me,” I said quietly, but my voice carried enough sharpness to cut steel.
He flinched. Good.
There was a long pause where he just looked at me like he didn’t know what to say. Like he expected me to smile and forgive him because he used my nickname.
I wasn’t going to make it that easy.
I stepped away from Chiara, who gave me a worried look but didn’t stop me.
I took a deep breath, forcing my voice to stay calm even though my hands were shaking.
“I want answers, Matteo. And this time, don’t dance around them. Why did you take me? Why drug me? Why lie?”
He looked like I’d slapped him. His mouth opened, then closed again. His eyes dropped to the floor before coming back to me.
“You weren’t supposed to get hurt,” he said finally, his voice low and almost gentle. “None of this was supposed to happen like this.”
“Then how was it supposed to happen?” I snapped. “Was I supposed to just wake up in your arms and say thank you for kidnapping me? Or maybe fall in love with you while I was half–unconscious?”
His jaw clenched. I could see the muscles working under his skin. He didn’t like that. Good.
I kept going.
“Do you know what it felt like? Waking up in a strange place? Being confused and dizzy and scared? Not knowing if I was going to be sold, killed, or worse? You didn’t think I’d feel anything about that?”
“It’s not like that,” he muttered.
“Then explain it,” I demanded. “Right now.”
He took a step toward me but stopped when he saw me back away.
“It’s not just about you, Aria,” he said, a little more firmly this time. “It’s complicated.”
“I don’t care if it’s complicated!” I shouted. My voice echoed off the marble walls. “I’m not some puzzle piece you get to move around. I’m a person, Matteo! I deserve the truth!”
He stared at me for a long time. His eyes were dark, unreadable. I waited.
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Chapter 144
And waited.
But nothing came.
No truth.
No explanation.
Just silence.
I shook my head slowly, my heart pounding. “I see,” I whispered. “You only want to protect your secrets. Not me.”
He looked like he wanted to say something. His mouth twitched. His fingers flexed at his sides like he was reaching for something he couldn’t
grasp.
But I was done.
I turned on my heel and walked away.
I didn’t run. I didn’t cry. But every step I took away from him felt heavier than the last. Like my legs were made of stone.
“Aria-” he called softly behind me.
I didn’t stop.
I didn’t even turn around.
I just kept walking.
The hallway seemed to stretch forever. I passed framed paintings, golden mirrors, and endless doors. My vision was slightly blurred–not from tears, but from the storm behind my eyes. My chest felt tight. My breath shallow.
I finally pushed open one of the doors and stepped inside what looked like a quiet guest room. Cream–colored walls. A velvet chair by the window. A canopy bed with white curtains that looked like they belonged in a princess movie.
I shut the door behind me gently. No slamming. No drama.
Just silence.
I leaned against the door, sliding down until I was sitting on the floor. My knees curled to my chest, and I rested my forehead on them.
I wasn’t crying.
But I wanted to.
I thought back to the way he looked at me when we first met. The warmth in his voice. The stolen glances. The soft touches.
Was any of it real?
Or was I just some part of his plan?
I closed my eyes and forced my breathing to slow down. I wouldn’t let them break me. Not again. I had survived too much already to crumble
now.
After a while, I dragged myself up and walked over to the window. The glass was cold against my fingertips as I leaned forward and looked out
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The garden below was peaceful. Neatly trimmed bushes, white roses, soft grass. The kind of place you’d imagine reading a book with sunlight warming your skin.
That’s where their mother had gone–to pick flowers for me.
It was strange.
How could this place be so beautiful and yet feel like
a
prison?
I touched the glass lightly, like it might answer me.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered, “if I was walking toward freedom… or just deeper into a beautiful cage.”
And I still didn’t.
Not really.
I sat there in the quiet, my mind spinning like a broken record, playing every moment I’d shared with Matteo on a loop. Every touch, every glance, every stolen second that now felt poisoned with doubt. My heart twisted painfully in my chest, caught between anger and something far more dangerous–hurt. Deep, bone–deep hurt. I had trusted him. Maybe not fully, but enough to let him into places I’d built walls around. And he shattered that trust without a second thought, like it meant nothing. I wrapped my arms tighter around my knees and let the silence press in around me. It felt like the kind of silence that screamed. The kind that echoed in your bones. For a second, I wondered if I was overreacting -if maybe there was some hidden reason that would make it all make sense. But then I remembered the fear. The confusion. The way my limbs refused to move when I woke up in a strange room, drugged and disoriented. No one who cared about me would’ve done that. Not without warning. Not without a word. And that was when I realized–I couldn’t let my feelings for them blind me. Not again. Whatever Matteo’s reasons were, he chose silence over truth. And I wasn’t the same broken girl who stayed quiet when people hurt her. Not anymore.
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