After gathering a towel, I head for the shower, anticipating washing Alessio off me. While the water heats, I discard Lev’s shirt after a long inhale of his unique scent. It lands alongside my panties, which I want to burn becausehetainted them. Once naked, the faint outlines of yellowing bruises on my thighs becomes apparent.
A handprint.
A motherfuckinghandprint. He marked me.
I stand beneath the hot spray, staring at my thighs where he gripped me open, seconds away from forcing me to survive a different kind of trauma, if not for Lev.
Eventually, the breakdown will hit. It’ll toss me right over the edge.
It doesn’t come.
Instead, it’s rage that invigorates me.
I want him dead, and I want to be the one to do it.
21
LEV
When I return to the dorm with a handful of granola bars and apples—food I was able to carry out of the dining hall easily—Serafina is freshly showered and standing by the window, glaring out of it. She spins the moment the door closes.
“The fucking assholemarkedme! I have bruises.”
My gaze drops to her thighs, now covered in sweats. There were the beginning stages of bruising last night, so it’s likely they’ve grown prominent.
“It’s probably stupid to be worried about bruises when it could have been worse, but still…” She shifts, grimacing with slow movements that make me want to hunt his ass down. She shouldn’t be sore. She should be her normal, spunky self who makes me question my own mind.
Silently, I offer her the food, and she rips into a granola bar, her claim about not being hungry clearly a lie. As she chews, her cheeks turn pink. “I guess you saw a lot of me last night.”
“No more than I had to. You were…uh, well, the dress was ripped, and I had to get my shirt over your head. Once you were in bed, I removed the scraps to make you comfortable and saw the marks.”
“It’s fine,” she mumbles around the food. “I trust you.”
She shouldn’t, considering she’s only known me for a short time. Trust isn’t something that should be handed out easily, even if I’ll never harm her. I’d do anything to keep her safe, even beyond the kinds of actions I’d take to protect Vanessa and Anastasia. Anything to protect Serafina’s happiness, because she deserves it. Because she makes everything inside me feel better.
Still doesn’t make sense, but it’s happening, and I can’t change the way my mind is soothed by her presence.
My phone vibrates, saving me from the mental torment of this entire situation. “Zeno’s down the road. I’ll head down to let him in. You’re good to stay?”
She nods, finishing off the bar while simultaneously searching for more, so I toss her another, alongside an apple.
“We’ll get you something more substantial later, but this will hold you off.”
Once seeing her eat again, I head out to the parking lot in time for a black SUV to swing into a free spot, its tires screeching. Zeno barely parks the car before he’s by my side, his frenzied gaze a testament to his love for his sister.
“Where is she?”
“Upstairs.”
Vanessa comes around the other side of the vehicle, linking her hand into his. With her touch, his stress visibly lessens; the wrinkles around his eyes smooth, and his shoulders lower a few inches.
“Privet,”she greets. “Wish I was visiting for better reasons. How is she?”
Determining Serafina’s feelings isn’t my place, especially since I’ll likely mess them up. “He didn’t… I stopped him in time. She threw up last night, slept, showered, and now she’s eating. She woke confused but quickly recalled everything. Based on an earlier interaction, she’s pissed off.”
Zeno exhales loudly, rubbing his face. “Your picture—it’s Vitale. The Commission won’t look favourable upon their behaviour and should end the union. He shouldn’t have gone near her until finalizing the engagement. She’s still Mancini responsibility.Myresponsibility. Once the Commission ends this, I refuse to let this rest. The Vitales have too much to atone for. This. Helping Ursin and working against my father.”
Vanessa strokes her hand up his arm in a soothing manner. “This will be over soon. Why don’t we see Serafina, and then you can return to planning war?”
