No walls or anger. No families or agendas. Just Maria and Matteo, raw and bared to one another. He made love to my body and soul, speaking to me in a way that was impossible to ignore. He told me that he saw past my darkness and jagged scars—beneath the vile parts of me I wanted desperately to throw away— and he wanted all of it. The beauty of who I was underneath and the complexity of the woman I showed to the world. As if the ugly wasn’t there, and all he saw was perfect grace. When faced with such absolute acceptance, I had no option but to hand myself over—wounds and heartache, devotion and loyalty—I gifted my soul to Matteo De Luca. I was offering him new ways to hurt me. Gambling on trust, with my heart as collateral. And I reveled in the realization that he would give me his last br
