Chapter 45

FREYA

I sprinted down the stairs of the house after leaving Luca’s room, barely able to see where I was going through the tears streaming down my face.

It didn’t matter where I was going.

All I cared about at that moment was getting as far away from Luca as possible.

My chest was constricting, making it hard for me to breathe. My mind became foggy and I stumbled on the last step of the stairs and tripped.

I couldn’t stop myself from falling directly onto my butt, whimpering when my back made painful contact with a step behind me.

I didn’t lift myself up.

I didn’t move.

I didn’t think I could even if I wanted to.

My body felt like it was breaking down bit by bit, almost as if it knew what was happening to me. It knew that I had just lost my ~destino~, the man that I was supposed to love for the rest of my life. Not having the strength to get up, I sat on the bottom step of the stairs and sobbed.

I brought my hands up to my face and cried harder than I ever had in my life.

I never thought anything would hurt more than the day when my dad died but I was so so wrong. This felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest, leaving me to die a slow and painful death filled with misery and regret.

I was thankful that it was still early in the morning because none of the family would be awake. They wouldn’t witness how broken I was, sitting here crying over someone who didn’t even want me.

But I guess it wouldn’t matter if someone saw me. Luca’s family hated me.

Nothing would change that.

“Donna?” someone suddenly said.

My head snapped up and relief entered my chest when I locked eyes with Matteo’s. He was standing in front of me in sweatpants and a T-shirt, looking like he had just woken up.

As his sleepy eyes ran over my broken form, fury and worry entered his expression. “What the fuck happened to you?” he asked.

I couldn’t stop the sob that escaped my throat as I looked at him. I put my hand over my mouth as I pulled my shaking form up to a standing position. I tried to open my mouth to tell him all that happened but nothing came out.

I felt numb.

So instead, I just shook my head and launched myself into his arms.

Matteo, completely shocked, stumbled back a bit when I made contact with him.

He hesitated a second, probably worrying about what Luca would think if he saw us hugging, but then securely wrapping his arms around me and squeezed me tight.

“Hey, shh,” he said as he ran his hand up and down my back in a soothing way. It didn’t stop me from sobbing uncontrollably into his neck.

He didn’t try to push me to explain, which I was extremely grateful for. He just held me as I cried. I had never appreciated Matteo more than in that moment.

After a few seconds like that, Matteo said, “Hey, everything is going to be alright. I’m going to call the Don, and he’ll help you. Whoever did this to you is going to face severe consequences. Everything is going to be okay, I promise.”

My head snapped up in a panic, and I took a step back so I could see his face. “No! No, you can’t call Luca! I can’t see him right now. I can’t see him. Please, Matteo. Please don’t tell him.”

Matteo’s brows knit together as his expression grew even more worried. “Okay, I won’t tell him, but you need to tell me what the fuck is going on, right fucking now.” His voice had gone from comforting to deadly serious in a matter of seconds.

I didn’t want to talk.

I didn’t want to do anything but crawl into a hole and spend the rest of eternity there.

I was worried that if I even tried to explain what happened between me and Luca, I would just turn into an uncontrollable sobbing puddle on the floor.

But as Matteo looked at me, sincere worry and panic in his eyes, I knew that I owed it to him.

I couldn’t just run away without giving him an explanation.

Something was wrong with Luca, and the family deserved to know.

I opened my mouth to speak, struggling to get the words out through my tears. “Luca,” I started. “Luca, he…”

Without waiting for me to finish, Matteo picked me up gently and carried me back up the way we’d come. I wanted to cry out, to tell him to stop. But my voice was far too weak.

I felt drained, weakened beyond belief.

When we finally came to the door of Luca’s room, Matteo didn’t hesitate to shove it open and burst into the room, carrying me bridal-style in his arms.

And we stepped into my worst nightmare.