We enter my room and I shut the door. Only then do I release her, pushing her toward the center of the room. She glances at the main door.
“Go ahead,” I tell her. “Run again. But you won’t ever see Mirabella again.”
Her eyes close and her body energy deflates.
"You have one chance," I say. "One chance to tell me why you keep running from the only person willing to die to protect you."
Her arms wrap around herself. I hate that I notice the goosebumps rising on her skin. Hate that some part of me wants to wrap her in warmth despite everything.
"You don't understand.” She shakes her head.
"I'm so fucking tired of hearing that.” I close the distance between us. “Make me understand why I’ve had to endure your running from me. Twice.”
She backs away until her spine meets the wall. Good. Let her feel trapped. Let her feel a fraction of the helplessness I felt when I realized she was gone again.
"I thought we were building something. Was it all a fucking game to you? Making me fall in love with you again? Letting me believe I could be a father to Mirabella?"
Her eyes glisten with tears, but I’ve seen this before. I won't be manipulated again.
She still says nothing. Not even those lying excuses she’s made before.
Fine. Play it like that.
"You can hate me all you want.” I place my palms against the wall on either side of her head, caging her in. "You can run from me until your legs give out. But Mirabella?" I lean closer. "My daughter stays with me."
The tears spill over now. “You can’t just take her from me.”
"Yes. I can.” I shake my head because I can’t believe she doesn’t get what she’s done. “I can't fucking believe you. You took herfrom me. I didn't even know she existed. And then the moment I find out, the moment I start to love her, you rip her away again. What sort of monster are you?"
I drop my hands, stepping back before I do something I'll regret. “I don't care if you don't want me. I can live with that. You’ve killed whatever could have been between us. But you don't get to decide that my daughter grows up without a father. Not anymore. And especially not when the Bratva would easily sell the two of you."
I grab a zip tie from my pocket and secure Eva's hands behind her back, not gentle but not cruel either.
My fingers brush her skin.
A touch that once sparked desire now kindles only anger.
She looks up at me, eyes wide with fear.
I push away the guilt at putting it there. I'm done being played.
"Please, Adriano, I was trying to protect?—"
"Stop." I cut her off, pushing her to sit in a chair. "I'm not interested in more lies. You made me look like a fucking fool in front of my family, in front of my men."
She shakes her head frantically. "That's not why?—"
"Shut up." I pace the small room. "You know what Alessandro said? That I shouldn't bother looking for you. That my judgment is compromised when it comes to you."
I laugh derisively. "He was right. I've been weak. But not anymore."
I stop directly in front of her, watching her recoil from me.
For years, I've been the monster other men fear, the last face they see before meeting their maker.
Yet with Eva, I've always been gentle.
That ends tonight.
