CHAPTER NINE : Scars That Don’t Fade in Water15Please respect copyright.PENANAflAh7kQlun
(Matteo’s POV – The Shower Scene)
He stepped into the shower without turning on the lights.
He didn’t need to see his reflection.15Please respect copyright.PENANAxdxSx0ftYh
Not tonight.15Please respect copyright.PENANAbd6seqHRj5
Not after her warning.
The water hit him hard.15Please respect copyright.PENANAu1nMwGtl1k
Too hot.15Please respect copyright.PENANAHeZcrKtXEv
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.15Please respect copyright.PENANARiiLn4MNu8
Steam clouding the mirror behind him.
He squeezed his eyes shut.15Please respect copyright.PENANApcqNm7Mbvw
But he still saw her.
The woman who kissed his scars like they weren’t warnings.15Please respect copyright.PENANAizt7jebRrg
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,15Please respect copyright.PENANAN5X7qg8Wac
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…15Please respect copyright.PENANAGpkYyHC69v
And men like him?15Please respect copyright.PENANAeQ5qpGNcwo
Weren’t supposed to love out loud.
The water kept pouring.
As if it could wash away guilt.15Please respect copyright.PENANAeFtlxkQXIQ
Fear.15Please respect copyright.PENANAWqRsptNKbX
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 bed15Please respect copyright.PENANA65QgeVa4nu
who didn’t know15Please respect copyright.PENANAx4DLKzsirF
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:
ns216.73.216.12da2“Please don’t leave when you find out who I really am.”