Chapter 33
Angela
My legs burned, but the thought of him catching up to me pushed me forward. I didn’t know my little trip to the market would literally make me end up in hell. I knew my doomsday was near. But I thought I could postpone it just a bit longer until I heard Lorenzo call out my name.
My first mistake was freezing after hearing his voice. The second was running. Fuck, how could I be so stupid?
I thought some fresh air on a weekend would be a good dose of refreshment. But who knew it would end up becoming the worst decision of my life. I cut through another alley as I heard the footsteps behind me beginning to fade. I only knew one thing; if he caught me, I’d be as good as dead.
I cut through another alley, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The adrenaline surged through my veins, making my heart race even faster. The quick, desperate rhythm of my escape pounded in my ears, louder than the city’s distant hum.
Just as I rounded a corner, a blade whizzed past me, missing by inches and embedding itself in the wall adjacent to me. I paused, my eyes widened as I heaved, turning to look at where the blade had buried itself in the wall. My pulse skyrocketed as fear gripped my chest. Turning to go the other way, another blade flew by, forcing me to stop in my tracks.
I heard the footsteps again, closer now, echoing through the narrow alley. My breath hitched as I turned to face him. Our eyes locked, and for a moment and the world around us seemed to disappear, leaving only the two of us in that narrow alley. My heart hammered in my chest as I witnessed him standing in his ever-so-enchanting aura.
“You really thought changing your hair and eye color would be enough?” His voice was calm, almost taunting, as he walked towards me like a predator stalking its prey. I stepped back, soon finding myself pressed against the cold, unyielding wall.
He wasted no time in lunging at me and trapped me between his arms. My heart skipped a beat, as excitement and fear churned in my stomach. His intoxicating scent washed over me, making me forget my surroundings.
“You really did underestimate me, didn't you?” His breath was hot against my ear as he inhaled sharply, seeming to savour the scent of my perfume. “You forgot to change your scent, Dolcezza ,” he said in a dark, obsessed voice.
My eyes widened, the reality of my situation crashing down on me. Lorenzo’s eyes bore into mine, filled with a dangerous intensity. I could feel his breath on my skin; his proximity overwhelmed me.
I decided not to let my confidence slip. But it went down the drain when I saw the anger and pain in his eyes. It was so sharp, I felt it could slice me in half. His hands shot up, slowly pulling my wig off, and then he yanked out my hairpin, letting my dark tendrils tumble down my shoulders. I stayed silent, my shortness of breath still evident in my heaving chest.
"Why?" he asked darkly, his voice dripping with a mixture of rage and sorrow. Of course, the first thing he would want to know was why I betrayed him. His eyes bore into mine, searching for answers, for some sign that it wasn’t true, that there was some explanation that could make sense of the madness. "Why, Angela?" Lorenzo's voice thundered through the narrow alley as he punched the wall right next to my head.
I wanted to look away, to escape the intensity of his stare, but I couldn’t. I was pinned against the wall, both physically and emotionally. His grip on my arm tightened, not enough to hurt, but enough to make it clear that he wasn’t letting me go until he got his answer.
“I…” I started, my voice trembling. How could I possibly explain?
“Speak!” he barked, shaking me slightly, his patience wearing thin. “Tell me why you did it, Angela!” Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. I swallowed hard, trying to find the words, but they caught in my throat, choked by the guilt and shame that had been festering inside me for so long.
"I had no choice," I whispered.
"Why the fuck did you take the bullet? You could have dodged it! I knew you could!" His fury intensified, eyes burning with the heat of the real reason behind his pain. So he didn’t care that I betrayed him?
"I deserved it. After everything I did, I deserved it," I confessed, my voice cracking with the weight of my guilt.
"And what? Just die on me? Make me the fucking villain? Why the fuck did you do it? You could have told me!" His frustration made him clench his fist.
"I did what I did. I'm no saint. I did betray you, and that’s the end of the story," I admitted, tears streaming down my face.
"Then why did you not kill me? Hm? You don't miss , Angela. Isn’t that what you said? Then why the hell didn't you shoot me when you had the chance?” I stayed silent. Do you even realize how much those words have haunted me for months?” His voice thundered, shaking with a raw intensity that echoed through the alley. I stood there, speechless, unable to find words to match the storm brewing in his eyes. “Do you have any idea what I went through every single day, searching for you like a madman, hoping against all odds that somehow you were still alive? Do you understand the torment of being labeled delusional by everyone around me, for clinging to the hope that you might miraculously appear before me one day?” His voice cracked on the last words, the weight of his emotions crashing down like a tidal wave. "Show me," his demand cut through the air sharp and urgent, fueled by a mix of anger and desperation that left no room for argument.
"What...?" I barely managed to utter before he grabbed my shirt collar and yanked the fabric down popping the first two buttons to expose my cleavage, his eyes fixating on the bullet scar at its center.
"Fuck! Fucking hell!" He banged his hand on the wall. "You could have fucking died!"
"And I wanted to! You think I wanted to live with the burden of what I fucking did?" I shouted back, my own anger rising to meet his.
"Why? I need to hear it! Fucking tell me. Please." His voice cracked, a plea hidden beneath the rage. “You said you trusted me! You could’ve told me whatever that bastard made you do. Then why didn’t you?”
"Because it was my mistake to care when I was not supposed to! I cared! And that was my sin. I broke the only rule I wasn't supposed to. I knew I had to pay for it sooner or later,’’ I sniffed. “Just finish this, please. And this time, aim for the head."
"You make me so mad... I... fuck!" He ran a hand through his hair.
"Don't do this. Either kill me or let me go." I was tired of the constant running and hiding.
"I can't. Want to fucking know why? You are my wife. I don't care if we're not married yet. You were my fucking wife the day I put the ring on you. You were my fucking wife the first day I set eyes on you. The moment I saw you, I owned you. I told you, Angel, once you gave yourself to me, there was no going back. And now that you've made the biggest mistake of your life, you need to fucking pay."
"I said you could kill—"
"You will marry me. Today. Right now!" He declared fiercely. I froze, digesting his words.
"You are not thinking this through. I betrayed you. You don't give second chances, Enzo. It's not you."
"Yes, it's not me! I've lost my mind, blaming myself for the last fucking six months that I killed you. You died because of me. I can't bear the thought, Angela! Even though everyone was screaming at me that you died, my heart said otherwise. I wasn’t ready to believe that you could leave me so easily. My heart knew you were still here. I just had to look harder,” I gaped at him, not finding any words. “I fucking love you, Angela Thompson! I'm crazily, obsessively, most fucking dangerously, and psychopathically in love with you! Do you even realize what I went through when I couldn't find your body in the lake? I died a million deaths there, Angela! The chills I get when I realize that this fucking mark on your chest—” he jabbed a finger where the scar was, “it was given by me. If it hadn't missed your heart by a few centimeters, I could have killed you! I could have taken my own life! " I remained silent, his words washing over me like a sudden revelation, though the intensity of his love was nothing new to me.
"I don't deserve this. I don't deserve you." I shook my head while my voice was a broken whisper.
"Since you betrayed me, I'm the one who's going to decide what you deserve. And you deserve to be mine. Only mine. And just to make it clear, I am not asking."
"Enzo—" I tried to protest, but he cut me off with a fierce, desperate kiss.
"Enough talking." He continued to kiss me, his lips demanding, his hands framing my face. "I love you. I fucking love you, Angela. I don't care about anything else. Just you. Just you ."
"I love you too, Enzo," I cried, the words spilling out between sobs. "I'm so fucking sorry! And I love you so much, gosh, it hurts!"
"Just keep kissing me!" he commanded, and I complied eagerly, feeling his strong arms enveloping me as he lifted me up, my legs instinctively wrapping around him. He pressed me gently against the wall, deepening the kiss with a fervor that spoke of longing and relief intertwined. And just for that moment, I clung onto him, hoping to never wake up from this dream.
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