Sophia’s lips curved upward in a smile. “Yeah, because that worked out so well for me, didn’t it?”
“Go.” Another kiss this time on her lips. “Shower. I will get you some fresh PJs and then…”
She was looking at me strangely, like she had never seen me before. I paused.
“What?”
I shook my head.
“It’s like we are a real couple, Sophia. Finally, we are a couple and…” I shook my head. “Go and clean up. I’ll leave the things in the bathroom for you. When you are done, join me on the sofa.”
I followed after her as she walked away. My eyes were glued to her ass as it swayed. Even under that thick wool skirt, it was impossible to look away from it.
I waited outside until she was in the shower and the door was closed. Not because I didn’t want to see her naked, but because she deserved some privacy. It was only when I heard the rush of water that I went inside, taking some soft flannel PJs in with me, and placing them on the vanity.
Bending down, I pulled her box of sanity products out of the cupboard. She would need those as well. I wasn’t sure what else she would need, but I had heard somewhere that ice cream or chocolate was a good idea.
Would she want those things? She had just eaten after all.
“So…” I began to call her name and froze as something fell from the box and onto the floor. It was wrapped in tissue paper, but it had shattered anyway, and liquid was seeping onto the floor.
I stared at it, completely confused, and then, without thinking reached down and touched my fingertips to one of the droplets.
I sniffed and recoiled.
Almonds.
It smelled like almonds.
Stumbling backward, I fell onto the toilet. Sophia’s clothes went sprawling onto the floor.
It smelled like damn almonds, and she had hidden it where she thought I would never look. There was only one reason.
It was poison.
Cyanide to be exact.
This woman, who I had begun to trust again, had hidden cyanide in the home we shared, and it didn’t take a genius to realize why.
I had wondered what her and her brother's game was, and now I knew.
She was going to poison me. No wonder she had been so adamant that she cook for us. It was all part of their plan right from the beginning, and like a lovesick fool, I had fallen for it.
I had let her manipulate me. And because I still had feelings for her, I hadn’t taken the proper precautions.
Jumping up, I smashed my fist into the vanity mirror. The sound of shattering glass was louder than even the shower.
The water turned off, and the door opened a crack. “What happened?” Sophia’s eyes darted from me to the mirror and then to the floor.
Every ounce of blood drained from her face. “Matteo.” She stepped out of the shower, naked and dripping, only this time when I looked at her, I wasn’t overcome with lust.
Turning on my heel, I walked away, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw her reach for a towel.
“Matteo, please let me explain,” she called out after my retreating back.
I ignored her. I didn’t hurt women. I’d never been that much of a monster, but I knew that if I stayed in the same room as her, I wouldn’t be able to control myself.
What a moron I’d been. An absolute joke. I’d been so sure that what she had been hiding had been in London that I hadn’t even thought to wonder why she was here sharing my bed.
