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I geared up, putting on a pair of leather leggings, a leather jacket, and my Doc Martens before walking out of the bedroom.
Matt hadn’t left the house yet. I walked out to find him lying on the couch with a towel around his waist, his hair still wet and messy. He looked tired, as if he hadn’t slept at all. But not even that took away his alluring and haunting good looks. Damn him for being so sexy.
I shook my head free of those thoughts and walked over to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, passing right in front of him, not saying a word. I felt him lift his head and follow me all the way to the fridge.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m going for a ride. I won’t be your prisoner, Matt. So if you are so adamant about keeping me trapped in this marriage, it seems like you’ll just have to trust that I’ll be coming back.” I replied, striding straight to the stairs. Now that he fucked up the elevator, I have no clue how many stairs I’ll have to go down.
“Fine, but Max is going with you.”
“No, he is not.” My voice was steady and unwavering, no room for discussion. “I need some time alone. You’ve made yourself pretty clear about the consequences of me leaving. If I were to go, I would have left already. I’m going alone!”
Without another word, I walked through the door, watching as Matt quickly stood from the couch and marched towards me.
“Francesca.” He called, but the door shut right in his face.
That was easier than I thought.
If he was trying to stop me, he was doing an extremely poor job at it. Where was the all-commanding, soon-to-be Don of the largest Mafia famiglia in the country?
I got on the bike, not caring for the memories of his fake thoughtfulness that swamped my brain.
It was a lie.
A calculating, fake gesture to make his life easier by taming me into submission. I was the foolish girl who had actually fallen for it just because the man behind it was a damn magnificent specimen. Fuck him and his good genes.
Driving without a clear destination was liberating, even though my thoughts were caught by him.
Matt had manipulated me.
Lied to me.
Forced me to stay married even though we didn’t need to be. And still, every time I thought of him, alongside the new hate I desperately tried to cling to, came a feeling that meant nothing but trouble. I wanted to go back. Hit and kick and fuck him hard for what he’d done to me. Rake my nails down his back until I drew blood, only to kiss it better when we were done.
Stupid, stupid girl.
I drove in peace under waging thoughts. No one trailing behind me.
That was easier than I predicted. Why hadn’t he put up more of a fight? The first time I left, he had his fists banging on the door.
That thought came creeping back into my mind more than half an hour into my journey. Those two weeks living outside of reality seemed to have fried my freaking brain. How could I have not thought of this before?
I pulled over, parking on the side of the road. Of course Matt would have all his vehicles bugged with tracking devices. Mine wouldn’t be the exception.
I wasn’t running away, but I sure as hell didn’t want him to know where I was. I wanted him to squirm thinking that I wouldn’t be coming back and that just wasn’t possible if he knew exactly where to find me.
Childish?
Maybe, but I had to know I could get to him the same way he could get to me.
I knew what to search for, and soon enough, I found the device and yanked it out, discarding it into the middle of the tall grass.
That will have him entertained for a while.
I stayed over in a town called Cold Spring, in a cabin near the river. Once I settled in, I could finally relax and hear myself think without his constant presence.
I sat outside in a wooden chair, looking at the beautiful view in front of me. Summer was almost over, and the autumn breeze was already blowing proudly in the evenings, making me shiver lightly at its passage. The trees had started shedding, painting the ground in shades of red, yellow, and orange, adding a bucolic sense to the scenery.
