Her gaze snapped back to mine, something sharper flaring behind it. “You want me to speak to a doctor?”
“It’s just a little exam,” I shrugged. “Just to make sure you’re… untouched.”
Chiara’s posture stiffened. “You want to see if I’m really a virgin.”
I stepped forward. “Yes.”
“I don’t think so.” Her voice rose, not loud, but tight with controlled anger. “You don’t get to do this.”
“I do, and I will.”
Her hands curled into fists at her sides, her breathing uneven now. “You don’t get to decide what happens to my body.”
I held her gaze, letting the silence stretch just long enough to press the truth of it into her. “That decision was made the moment you fell into my life. I saved your life, remember? You owe me.”
Something in her expression fractured. Not fear, not exactly. Something more like rage.
“This is insane,” she snapped. “You alreadyliedabout me, and now you want to, what? Check your own story?”
“Exactly.”
“You’re serious,” she said, quieter now, disbelief bleeding into the words. “Did I give you any reason to doubt me?”
“I don’t deal in uncertainty.”
Her laugh was sharp and hollow. “So this is about you? Yourpride?”
“It’s about control.” I smiled. “Like I keep telling you.”
Her chest rose and fell too quickly. “I’m not doing this.”
I crossed the space between us in two strides, stopping just short of touching her, letting her feel the shift without giving her an outlet for it. And I could tell her body wanted to respond again. Just like the night before, when she was so eager for me to steal more than just a kiss from her.
“I hate you,” she said.
“You keep repeating that, like it’s going to make it true,” I smiled.
I motioned at the doctor. “Do your job.”
Chiara didn’t look at me after that. Not once.
I stayed in the room anyway, positioned just far enough not to interfere, close enough that I missed nothing. The doctor moved carefully, professionally, guiding her to sit despite her resistance, his tone low and measured as he worked.
“Your ankle,” he said gently, kneeling in front of her. “Let me see.”
“I’m fine,” she snapped.
“No,” I said without raising my voice. “You’re not. She was bitten by a snake, doctor. I worry it’s still inflamed.”
She went still after that, her jaw tightening as she reluctantly allowed him to touch her. The doctor peeled back the bandage at her ankle with practiced precision, revealing the bite, bruised skin still healing. He examined it closely, his expression shifting into something more focused.
“This was treated quickly,” he said, almost to himself before glancing up at me. “Whoever helped her with it saved her life.”
I smirked. “Tell her that. She doesn’t seem to believe it.”
The doctor returned his attention to Chiara, cleaning the wound, reapplying pressure with steady hands. “Another hour, maybe two, and the venom could have spread further. Whoever intervened knew what they were doing.”
My gaze stayed on her. She didn’t even look at me, but at least now she knew I wasn’t full of shit. I saved her life, so I was entitled to it now.
