“All right then,” he says with a sigh. “You can help me. But don’t think about trying to stab a needle in my arm.”
“I wouldn’t,” I say, horrified.
He lets out a small laugh that makes his face a lot less scary. “I was just teasing you, Gianna. Come on.” He leads me to the bathroom and pulls out a first aid kit. “Here.”
Before my very eyes, he takes his shirt off, making me squeak. His body is all hard muscle. It’s obvious he works out a lot from the defined ridges of his stomach to his broad shoulders and strong arms. This man is power and it’s both terrifying and somehow electrifying.
“I had to take it off,” he says after I avert my gaze. “It will make it easier for you to stitch up my arm.”
“Of course.” I still can’t look at him. I can’t even move.
“Have you never seen a shirtless man before?”
“Of course I have. On the television.”
He huffs. “Right. But not in person?”
“My brother didn’t want me dating. Neither did my aunt. So… no.”
“How sad.”
“What’s sad?” That finally makes me look at him and I instantly regret it. His eyes are dark and intense and it makes me feel trapped.
“That you weren’t allowed to date. A beautiful woman like you should have had a lot of boyfriends by now.”
“What about a woman who isn’t pretty? Doesn’t she deserve boyfriends too?”
“Of course. I was just saying… it’s a waste is all.”
“I’m more than my looks,” I snap. Francesca would poke and prod at me. Criticizing everything I did. How I moved. How I dressed. How I styled my hair. She made sure I was perfect in looks but that didn’t mean I was happy.
“Yes. You are. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.”
I sigh and open the first aid kit, rummaging around for an alcohol wipe. “It’s just… pretty looks are not everything. Not when you’re a pretty animal in a cage.”
“I know you feel trapped but –,”
“I’ve always been trapped. My entire life. This is nothing new. So it’s not entirely your fault.” I dab his arm with the wipe and he hisses. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him look human. Knowing he can feel pain.
“You grew up in a mansion. I looked into you for the job Marco wanted. You had everything.”
“I had nothing. No friends. No boyfriends. Just my aunt controlling my life and my brother keeping me locked away for my own protection. Just because I have a pretty face and money doesn’t mean I was happy. It wasn’t my money. I wasn’t free. And my pretty face makes men want to own me. I don’t have a life of my own.”
He goes quiet as I pick up the needle and thread. For a moment, I consider doing what Will said: stab him in the arm. But for some reason, I don’t want to hurt him. I want him to understand. I want one person in my life to understand me.
That was always my sister-in-law, Kira. But she doesn’t have any power over my life any more than I do. She can’t help me.
But Will can. He could bring me home. He could not give me to Marco. I just need him to see me as a human and hopefully he’ll let me go. It’s manipulative, yes. But it’s also the truth: everything I’m telling him.
I run the needle through his skin and he grits his teeth, looking away from me, like he doesn’t want me to see his pain. Like he doesn’t want me to see him as a human being.
“You don’t have a life of your own either,” I murmur. “Not when you’re controlled by money.”
“Everyone is controlled by money. You need money to live.”
“That’s true. But one can still be free of it. We don’t have to be controlled by outside forces.”
He lifts his eyes back to mine. “Maybe in a dream world but that’s not the world we live in, Gianna. We both know it.”
