Chapter 6
1238 Words
Lucy didn't stop walking until she reached her room.
The moment the door closed behind her, she leaned against it, pressing one trembling hand against her chest.
Her heart was still racing.
She could still feel the ghost of Matteo's fingers against her neck.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
You can tell me everything you don't like... and I'll fix it for you.
The words echoed in her mind.
She didn't know what frightened her more: the way he had spoken them, or how calm he had been afterward.
As though nothing unusual had happened.
Lucy pushed herself away from the door and crossed the room. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor.
Matteo had been kind to her.
He had fed her.
He had given her beautiful clothes.
He had taken her away from her aunt.
He had treated her wounds.
He had bought her a phone.
He had even taken her to dinner.
But then there were moments like tonight.
Moments when something changed in his eyes and she couldn't recognize the man standing in front of her.
She wrapped her arms around herself.
Which one is the real Matteo?
The question frightened her more than she wanted to admit.
A knock sounded.
Lucy straightened immediately.
"Come in."
Rosa entered carrying a fresh glass of water.
"You didn't eat much at dinner."
Lucy lowered her gaze. "I'm not very hungry."
Rosa placed the glass on the bedside table.
"You should still try to eat something."
Lucy nodded.
Rosa studied her for a moment.
"Is everything all right?"
Lucy hesitated.
She wanted to tell her.
She wanted to ask what Matteo was like when he wasn't being kind.
But something stopped her.
"I just... I'm tired."
Rosa's expression softened.
"Then rest."
She turned toward the door.
"Rosa?"
The older woman stopped.
"Yes?"
Lucy swallowed.
"Is Mr. Moretti always... like this?"
Rosa was silent for several seconds.
"Like what?"
Lucy struggled to explain.
"Sometimes he's kind. Then sometimes..." She stopped.
Rosa's eyes seemed to understand more than Lucy had said.
"Mr. Moretti is complicated," she said carefully.
"Does he get angry?"
A faint shadow crossed Rosa's face.
"Everyone gets angry."
"That's not what I meant."
Rosa looked at her for a long moment.
"No," she finally said. "It isn't."
Lucy waited.
But Rosa only gave her a small, tired smile.
"You'll learn his moods."
The door closed behind her.
Lucy stared at it.
You'll learn his moods.
Somehow, that didn't make her feel better.
---
The following evening, Lucy sat at the dining table with Matteo.
Everything felt normal.
Almost too normal.
He was dressed in a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms. His attention was on his dinner, his expression calm.
Lucy barely touched hers.
She kept remembering the previous night.
The moment his hands had pinned her down.
The quietness in his voice.
The way he'd simply told her to get dinner afterward.
She pushed a piece of food around her plate.
Matteo looked up.
"Eat."
Her fingers tightened around the fork.
"I'm not very hungry."
His eyes remained on her.
"You've barely eaten."
"I'm sorry."
Something changed in his expression.
Not anger.
Something quieter.
"You don't need to apologize for eating."
Lucy looked up.
He picked up the serving spoon and placed more food onto her plate.
"Eat."
This time, his voice was gentler.
Lucy obeyed.
For several minutes they ate in silence.
Then Matteo asked, "Did you enjoy the movie?"
Her fork stopped halfway to her mouth.
"How did you know I was watching a movie?"
"I have cameras throughout the house."
Her stomach tightened.
He said it so casually.
As though telling her the weather.
"You were watching it for nearly three hours."
Lucy lowered her fork.
"You were watching me?"
Matteo's gaze remained steady.
"Not personally."
Somehow, that didn't make her feel better.
"The security system monitors the house."
"Oh."
She looked back down at her plate.
Matteo watched her for a moment.
"Did you like it?"
Lucy nodded.
"It was nice."
"Good."
He returned to his food.
That was it.
No interrogation.
No anger.
No strange touch.
Just dinner.
And somehow, that made Lucy even more confused.
---
After dinner, Matteo received a phone call.
He stepped away from the table.
"Speak."
His voice changed.
The warmth disappeared completely.
Lucy looked up.
A moment later, Matteo's jaw tightened.
"How much?"
He listened.
"Then take everything."
Silence.
"No. I don't want an explanation."
His voice was quiet.
Cold.
"Make sure he understands that betrayal has consequences."
Lucy stared at him.
She had never heard anyone speak like that.
Matteo ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket.
When he turned around, his eyes landed on her.
For one brief second, neither of them spoke.
Then his expression softened.
"Ready to go upstairs?"
Lucy nodded.
The change was so sudden that she almost wondered if she'd imagined the man she'd just heard.
---
Later that night, Lucy sat on her bed with her new phone in her hands.
She opened the contacts.
There was Tracy's number.
She smiled faintly.
At least she had one person she could talk to.
A soft knock sounded.
Before Lucy could answer, the door opened.
Rosa entered carrying several books.
Lucy's eyes widened.
"More books?"
Rosa smiled.
"These came from Mr. Moretti."
She placed the books carefully on the nightstand.
Lucy picked up the first one.
It was a novel from a genre she'd mentioned liking during dinner.
She picked up another.
Then another.
Every single one was something she would have chosen herself.
Her fingers slowly traced the cover.
"He remembered."
Rosa smiled.
"He remembers everything."
Lucy looked toward the door.
For some reason, that sentence sent a strange shiver through her.
Everything.
She thought about the way Matteo had noticed her bruises.
The way he'd remembered the birthmark on her neck after thirteen years.
The way he'd remembered what she liked to read after one conversation.
The way he'd known exactly what movie she had been watching.
He noticed everything.
Lucy wasn't sure whether that was comforting...
or frightening.
---
Much later, Lucy lay beneath the covers with one of the new books open against her chest.
Her eyes moved across the pages, but she wasn't really reading.
Her mind kept returning to Matteo.
The man who had rescued her from her aunt.
The man who had bought her food and clothes.
The man who had given her books.
The man who had made sure she was treated gently.
And the same man who had frightened her only the night before.
She turned onto her side.
Maybe Rosa was right.
Maybe she simply needed to learn his moods.
Maybe once she understood him, everything would become easier.
Lucy closed her eyes.
She didn't know that learning Matteo's moods would become one of the most important skills she would ever develop.
She didn't know that one day she would be able to tell from the sound of his footsteps whether she was safe.
She didn't know that his kindness would eventually become something she depended on.
And she certainly didn't know that the man she was beginning to trust was also the person who would make leaving him almost impossible.
For now, she only knew one thing.
She was no longer afraid of Matteo every second of the day.
And somehow...
that scared her more.
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