CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SIENNA
My chest was aching, my throat burning with unshed tears as I strode down the hallway. I didn’t stop until I reached the nearest guest room, pushing the door open and slamming it shut.
The sound echoed through the room, a physical manifestation of the wall I was building between us. I stood there, staring at the closed door, wanting to scream in frustration. Angry tears filled my eyes.
I wiped those bitches away with the back of my hand. I was not about to cry. Not over him, not over us, not over anything. I’d spent too many years learning that tears were a waste of energy.
I stalked to the bathroom and slammed that door shut behind me, too.
Gripping the edge of the sink, I stared at my reflection in the mirror.
I looked like shit. There was dried blood near my hairline, a bruise already forming on the side of my head, and glass dust still clinging to my clothes and hair.
It was going to be hell getting this all cleaned up. But this wasn’t the first time I’d dealt with some shit like this. I turned the faucet on and grabbed a towel, wetting it before pressing it gently to my skin.
“Damn,” I muttered, wincing as the towel made contact with a cut I hadn’t noticed.
Everything hurt now that I was home. My head.
My body. My heart. Especially my heart. Fuck you, Stefano DeLuca.
Why hadn’t he come to check on me yet? I blinked harder to keep the tears at bay as I cleaned the blood away slowly, watching it smear across the white towel, my mind racing even though I didn’t want it to.
He should’ve come to check on me by now. I really needed him to come check on me. I hadn’t locked the door for that very reason. I waited. Nothing. I let out a breath and went back to cleaning myself up, checking for cuts and scrapes that I might have missed.
Of course, he wasn’t coming. He was pissed. I rinsed the towel and wiped my face one more time before turning off the water. For a second, I just stood there, staring in the mirror at the stranger looking back at me.
Alone. I always ended up alone. My thoughts were racing so fast that it was hard to focus on any one thing. One thing was for sure: I was fucking up. I could feel it happening, see myself doing it, but couldn’t stop myself.
Self-sabotage at its finest.
But it wasn’t just me. Stefano was fucking up, too. We both were. We had to stop this shit before it was too late. Because I knew myself. I’d bolt if things became too complicated, if I started to feel like this shit wasn’t worth the effort.
That thought made my stomach twist. I didn’t want to run. Not from him. Not from us. I was a ride-or-die chick. But how could I ride for someone who wouldn’t let me in the passenger seat?
Sighing, I pushed away from the sink, walked over to the shower, and turned it on. I needed to get cleaned up properly. The hot water would help with the aches and pains, might even clear my head a little.
Steam filled the bathroom as I waited for the water to heat up. I took my time taking off my clothing, examining each piece for shards of glass before putting it in the hamper. I laid down towels in case any glass shook loose from my hair or clothes, so I wouldn't step on it later.
I’d have to sweep up good afterward to make sure I got all those small pieces.
Once I was undressed, I stepped into the shower, wincing as the hot water rained down on me.
I slipped on a pair of disposable cleaning gloves I found under the sink, using them to wash my hair carefully, trying not to cut myself on any glass that might still be caught in my tresses.
It was about an hour, and the water had turned cold by the time I left the shower. My skin was pruned, and I was exhausted down to my bones, but at least I was clean. I dried off carefully and lotioned up in the bathroom, not wanting to track water into the bedroom.
Then, with my robe wrapped tightly around me, I left the bathroom. My steps slowed the second I crossed the threshold. There was a first-aid kit on the bed. I stared at it, frozen in place. He’d been in here. He just... hadn’t stayed.
I smiled as I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at the kit. It was a small gesture, but it spoke volumes. He was still taking care of me, even if he was too angry to do it in person.
Tears blurred my vision before I could stop them.
I pressed my lips together, trying to hold it in.
I failed. A sob slipped out, and that was it.
The dam broke. I covered my face with my hands as the tears came harder, my shoulders shaking as everything I’d been holding in crashed down on me all at once.
Damn you, Stefano. Why hadn’t you stayed and talked to me? Why hadn’t you held me and told me everything would be okay? Why had you left me to process these emotions on my own? Fuck!
I didn’t even know why I was crying like this. I’d been through worse. Way worse. My parents had abandoned me when I was just a kid, leaving me to fend for myself. My own father had tried to do things to me that no one should do to a child. No one should do period.
I’d been raised by a devil called Maureen, a woman who’d taught me to kill before I could drive, who’d beaten weakness out of me one bruise at a time. I’d fought and struggled my entire life.
I was used to feeling down and being alone. I mean, even my bestie, Eve, had left me and come to Italy. I didn’t blame her. That didn’t mean it hadn’t hurt. I loved her to death, but I could honestly say that I was used to being left behind, being abandoned.
But having Stefano come in and bring a first-aid kit without saying anything, it felt different. It hurt in a different way. I knew it was a sign that he still cared for me. And in his defense, I was the one who’d stormed off and brought up guest rooms first.
Despite that, I wanted him to come to me. To show me that no matter what happened, there was nothing I could do to make him leave me alone. He wasn’t doing that. I realized now that I wasn’t confident in our love, in our relationship.
That lack of confidence was growing by the day.
Something had changed between us. I was starting to feel like maybe I didn’t belong here with him anymore.
Like the fairytale had ended, and the Prince had realized Cinderella, who kept losing her damn shoe or getting her enemy’s blood on it, wasn’t worth the trouble after all.
Another sob racked my body. The tears continued to fall as I opened the first aid kit and used it to bandage my few scratches and put ointment on the knot on the side of my head. My hands shook, making the simple task difficult.
I was an emotional wreck right now, but I managed. I always did. Always would. After I was done, I slid on a clean robe since I didn’t have any clothes in here. Not caring that it was still daytime, I crawled into bed.
My gaze remained fixed on the door, watching, waiting, hoping he’d come to me. Hoping he’d push the door open, stride in, and pull me into his arms. My dumb ass pride and fear refused to let me go to him.
What if he ignored me, rejected me? My heart couldn’t handle that. So, I lay there, staring at the door until my eyes grew heavy, the emotional and physical exhaustion of the day finally catching up to me.
I ended up crying myself to sleep, the pillow damp beneath my cheek. I woke up with a headache. A bad one. The room was dark. It took a moment for me to recall what day it was. The events of the day came rushing back as I blinked the sleep from my eyes.
How long had I been asleep? I stared toward the window. It was already nighttime. Damn. I’d let this mess go on too long between me and my beast. I had no choice but to cast my fear aside and seek him out.
I was just about to climb out of bed when my phone buzzed, confusion momentarily clouding my thoughts. My phone hadn’t been there before. Stefano must’ve brought it in here while I slept, along with my purse that was now sitting neatly on the chair in the corner.
He’d been in the room, probably watched me sleep, and still couldn’t bring himself to wake me, to talk to me. I reached for my phone, groaning as my muscles ached, stiff from lying in one position for too long.
I unlocked my phone and saw that our security system was alerting to movement outside. I pulled up the footage and froze. It was Stefano in his car, leaving the property. My brows furrowed as I watched him drive away.
“Where the hell are you going, Stefano DeLuca?” I whispered as the gate closed behind him.
And then he was gone. And I was home alone. Always alone. The familiar ache of abandonment settled over me, an old friend I’d never been able to fully shake. Part of me wanted to call him, to demand he tell me where he was going.
Another part, a louder part, told me to let his ass go. If he wanted to leave without telling me anything, without checking if I was okay, then fuck him. I set the phone back down on the nightstand, trying to ignore the hollow feeling spreading through me.
As I lay back down, staring up at the ceiling, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this might truly be the beginning of our end. That the Sienna and Stefano love story might not have the happy ending I’d foolishly believed in and humbly prayed for.
Perhaps in my fairytale, Beauty would not end up with her Beast.
***
STEFANO
The city blurred past me as I drove, clutching the wheel, my thoughts a tangled mess I couldn't begin to unravel. I was in no condition to be driving, yet here I was. I should've stayed. I knew that.
I should've stayed in our house, in that guest room, with her. But I couldn't. Because if I’d stayed, I would've said something I couldn't take back. Or worse... I would've done something I couldn't undo.
Like lock Sienna's crazy ass up and throw away the fucking key.