"Matteo—" Isabella starts.
"Now, Isabella." He looks at me. "You too, Bianchi. And if you try to run or make excuses or fucking lie to me, I will put you in the ground and have no fucking regrets about it. Understand?"
"Understood."
He turns and walks out, leaving the door open behind him, the implicit command clear.
Follow me.
I turn to Isabella.
Her face is pale and tear-streaked, furious and scared all at once, I reach out and take her hand.
"It's going to be okay," I say quietly.
It’s definitely not going to be okay.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The walk to Matteo's study feels like walking to an execution.
My hand is in Enzo's and his grip is steady and warm but my entire body is shaking, trembling so badly I'm surprised I can still put one foot in front of the other. My mind is racing, spiraling through every possible version of how this conversation is going to go and none of them end well, none of them end with Matteo understanding, none of them end with anything except devastation.
What will I tell him? How will I get him to understand?
He hit Enzo.
My brother punched the man I love in the face and I watched it happen and I couldn't stop it. The helplessness of that moment is still sitting in my chest like broken glass.
I will not let him lay another finger get on Enzo. Not after what he has been through. No.
Enzo may think he deserves it but I don’t deserve to watch the man I love being beaten by my brother that I love as well.
I can’t.
The study door is closed when we arrive.
Enzo reaches for the handle and I grip his hand tighter, stopping him.
"W-Wait," I whisper.
He looks at me.
"I'm scared," I admit, my voice coming out small and broken. "I'm so scared, Enzo."
He pulls me against him carefully, mindful of his wound, and wraps his arms around me.
"I know," he says quietly into my hair. "Me too."
"What if he—" I can't finish the sentence. Can't say out loud what I'm terrified of.
What if he makes us choose? What if he kicks Enzo out? What if he forces me to marry Vittorio anyway? What if this is the end of everything we just decided we get to have.
"Whatever happens," Enzo says, "we handle it together. Okay?"
I nod against his chest even though nothing feels okay, nothing feels remotely close to okay.
He kisses the top of my head and then opens the door.
