Silence met that confession. My hand was curled into a fist so tight my fingers ached.
Then another sigh.
“Katarina—”
“I just want to know one thing: Who put you in charge of making my decisions for me? Who gave you the right?”
“Angel—”
“Don’t call me that! I’m not an angel. I’m not a saint, and I won’t forgive you for this.”
“Yes you will, because once you take a second to think about it, you’ll understand why I did it. I didn’t want to hurt you. From themoment we met, I didn’t want to hurt you. I will never hurt you,” he said in a rough growl.
“And marrying me when I was drugged and out of my mind? How do you justify that?”
More silence, and then his deep rumble.
“To protect you.”
“Bullshit. What protection does your name give me? You just gave me another jailer to answer to, when I was free for the first time in three years.”
“You wanted a family and a place to belong, someone to belong to. Someone who would care if you were hurt, who would slay your demons for you. Someone who would never turn their back on you.”
I swallowed the angry retort that sprang to my lips at how he’d taken all the soul-destroying, personal things I’d told him and used them as an excuse to do whatever he wanted.
I tried to harden my heart to him, but it felt impossible. He was the only thing left that kept it beating.
I forced coolness into my tone. “But I never asked you to be any of those things.”
“You asked me to kill for you,” he snapped back. “You agreed to be mine.”
“I agreed to fuck you, which I have. You made sure to do that as soon as you could. You chose to take that first from me while hiding the truth from me. You put lies between us and ruined it. You ruined everything,” I said. The cold in my chest was now twinned with anger. Disappointment so thick I could hardly breathe.
“I ruined nothing. I saved you, and I will save you time and time again, as long as you need, wherever or whenever you need me.”
“You’ll save me? Except from you.”
Silence fell. When he spoke, his voice was as deep as mantle.
“You knew who I was when you reached out and touched me, when you believed in me, when you shone your fucking goodness on me. You already knew who I was, and you didn’t complain when it suited you.”
Those words hurt to hear, because they were true, weren’t they?
“I wanted to choose my family. I wanted control over my own life, and if you don’t understand that and why I need it, you don’t understand me.”
Massimo chuckled darkly, but there was nothing amused in the sound. “And if you think I’m going to let you go in a fit of temper, you don’t understandme. I made a mistake. I should have told you... I’ll pay for it, with you by my side. I’ll make it up to you, with you by my side.”
“No you won’t. I don’t want to see you.”
“You don’t have a choice, we’re married,” he reminded me.
I let out a scoff. “And you think you aren’t taking away my freedom or choices? Just listen to yourself.”
He was quiet, a fuming, loaded silence.
“You’re angry. You have the right to be. I’ll be home soon, and we’ll talk about it in person.”
“No. I don’t want to see you, and this isn’t my home. I don’t have one anymore. I am completely alone... and maybe that’s what I need.”