CHAPTER NINE : Scars That Don’t Fade in Water26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiX53T4ckx
(Matteo’s POV – The Shower Scene)
He stepped into the shower without turning on the lights.
He didn’t need to see his reflection.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOr80yy8Xyz
Not tonight.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMaZZNw6SN
Not after her warning.
The water hit him hard.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5eUtWy1DA
Too hot.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoQgpZ8y2D
Too loud.
But it still didn’t drown out Evangeline’s words.
"You want to play house, Matteo? Then be ready to bury it when they come."
He braced both hands against the tile wall.
Water dripping down his spine.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgw95IKBP9d
Steam clouding the mirror behind him.
He squeezed his eyes shut.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7d01PLcXyo
But he still saw her.
The woman who kissed his scars like they weren’t warnings.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj68wvDkFjo
The woman who moaned his name like it was home.
He had no right.
He had no right to make her feel safe in his arms,26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MP4qKyqik
when his past was the very thing that could destroy her.
“Don’t touch her,” he had said. “Don’t say her name.”
But Evangeline would.
They all would.
Because Matteo had chosen to love out loud…26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVDiNh7kdy
And men like him?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGHHiJjxTT
Weren’t supposed to love out loud.
The water kept pouring.
As if it could wash away guilt.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbX6LQ2ZAX
Fear.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJ3Mbu6ZPT
Love.
But Matteo knew better.
There were scars that didn’t fade in water.
There were sins that didn’t cleanse.
And there was a woman in his bed26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPCb06quB5
who didn’t know26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tXd9j6OMP
he was about to ruin her life.
He let the water run until the heat numbed his skin.
Then, in the silence, he whispered the one thing he couldn’t say to her face:
ns216.73.217.11da2“Please don’t leave when you find out who I really am.”
