CHAPTER NINE : Scars That Don’t Fade in Water16Please respect copyright.PENANAhRqUgufmi8
(Matteo’s POV – The Shower Scene)
He stepped into the shower without turning on the lights.
He didn’t need to see his reflection.16Please respect copyright.PENANAbvY7DlWDHD
Not tonight.16Please respect copyright.PENANA7ISZSXGIeG
Not after her warning.
The water hit him hard.16Please respect copyright.PENANAd0WiLy1Siu
Too hot.16Please respect copyright.PENANAksU31Itv21
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.16Please respect copyright.PENANAiJex2eXeEU
Steam clouding the mirror behind him.
He squeezed his eyes shut.16Please respect copyright.PENANAq1FfXjy0sK
But he still saw her.
The woman who kissed his scars like they weren’t warnings.16Please respect copyright.PENANAiXNgSbD5ky
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,16Please respect copyright.PENANA7RaeoC3kX0
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…16Please respect copyright.PENANAUeQ3kkZwld
And men like him?16Please respect copyright.PENANAA4WRxz4NkU
Weren’t supposed to love out loud.
The water kept pouring.
As if it could wash away guilt.16Please respect copyright.PENANA0x6jtehuZU
Fear.16Please respect copyright.PENANAU8oSJrVuYn
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 bed16Please respect copyright.PENANA1UVRdYtJEd
who didn’t know16Please respect copyright.PENANAteNxDskTe2
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:
ns216.73.216.203da2“Please don’t leave when you find out who I really am.”