CHAPTER EIGHT: The Price of Wanting You19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZIhnHWka9
(Matteo’s POV)
He didn’t touch another client that week.
Not a single one.
He rescheduled them all. Blocked off hours. Told his assistant he was resting.
But Matteo wasn’t resting.
He was watching her sleep.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUCwYgsjrr
Cooking for her.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmJ1GTHRjk
Washing her wine glass in his sink and folding her cardigan when she left it on the couch.
He told himself it was temporary.
That this quiet intimacy was just borrowed time.
But every hour she stayed…19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFZSIpoxlz
he wanted her for a lifetime.
Then the knock came.
Firm. Impatient.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnLImp9KFm
Familiar.
Matteo opened the door—shirt half-buttoned, still tasting her goodbye kiss from that morning.
And there she was.
Evangeline.
Long black hair. Killer heels. Blood-red lips.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtKnbmAxX1
The woman who once called his bed her throne.
“Matteo,” she purred, leaning against the frame like she owned his air.
He didn’t flinch. “Why are you here?”
“You forgot who taught you how to touch women, darling?” she smiled darkly. “I built this version of you. I own it.”
“I’m not yours anymore.”
“You never stopped being mine.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyTgrVh19A
She stepped in uninvited.
Matteo didn’t stop her, but his hands curled into fists.
“What do you want?”
Evangeline ran a sharp finger down the glass table, looking around.
“Who is she?”
He froze.
“I smelled her,” she said, grin widening. “She’s been here. In your sheets. In your mouth.”
Silence.
“You fell, didn’t you?” she laughed, low and cruel. “You stupid, soft idiot. You fell for one of them.”
“She’s not like the others.”
“Oh, Matteo…”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9so5f8TPUT
Her voice dropped.
“You know what happens when you choose someone.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqaSYVWrni
They take her. They break her.”
He moved before she could blink.
Shoved her against the wall—not with lust, but rage.
“Don’t touch her. Don’t even say her name.”
Evangeline only smirked.
“She’s yours now. Fine.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoChDNV97u
Then her voice turned cold.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2Zh4Eptxi
“But don’t think the people you’ve crossed will stay quiet.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKR99MqkWM
You want to play house, Matteo?19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTBTG7LmGi
Then be ready to bury it when they come.”
She left. Just like that.
But her words stayed.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSa24aqfpb
Like acid on his skin.
That night, when she texted him “goodnight” with a little heart emoji…19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pJSJQSGrr
He stared at it for a long time.
Because loving her was no longer a secret.
Now, it was a risk.
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