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"I know that," I whisper, swallowing hard as I step inside the kitchen. The air smells like breakfast and him. "I'm just…surprised. It's been a long time since anyone cooked for me."
He pulls out a stool at the island for me, and I slide onto it, my heart pounding as he brushes a strand of hair from my face. His touch ignites something wild and desperate within me—an urge to erase every inch of space between us.
I resist the urge and remind myself to play it cool even though I feel anything but cool when he's so close. I feel more like a wildfire raging out of control.
"Thank you," I whisper. "It smells delicious."
"I'm glad you think so." He places a plate in front of me before circling around the island to sit across from me.
We eat in silence for several long moments. Everything tastes incredible. Either he's an amazing cook, or I'm starving. Or both.
"It's incredible, Mattia."
A small smile tugs at his lips. "You found the clothes I set out for you."
I glance down at myself, blushing. I had to tie up the T-shirt to make it fit and roll up the sweats so I wouldn't trip on them, but they work. They cover the important bits, at least. When you grow up poor, fashion isn't high on the agenda. Sweats and a T-shirt are my comfort zone.
I look like a little kid compared to this man.
"After breakfast, we'll go shopping."
"You don't have to take me shopping," I protest.
"Afraid to be seen in public with me?" he teases.
I roll my eyes, not amused. I'm not afraid to be seen with him. I feel guilty. I shouldn't be here in the first place. Now, he's cooking for me, and offering to take me shopping. He freaking married me to keep me safe—and I actually believe that's why he did it. He's being nice when he doesn't have to be.
I don't understand him at all.
"How did you know about me, but my brothers don't?" I ask, desperate to understand something about this strange new world.
He hesitates with his fork hovering near his mouth. "You don't want to know the answer to that question, Aurelia."
"I wouldn't have asked it if I didn't want to know."
He eats in silence for so long that I think he's not going to tell me. He's spoken, and I'm just supposed to accept it. How infuriating.
I fidget in my seat, growing more frustrated by the moment.
"One of Vincent's former captains came to me to tell me about you," Mattia says, his steely eyes flickering across my face. "He thought Rafe would pay him for what he knew."
"D-Did you pay him?"
He eyes me levelly. "I dumped his body in the fucking river."
"Oh," I whisper, my stomach turning a flip. I set my fork down, my appetite vanishing.
"He deserved what he got, Aurelia. He's known about you since before you were born, and he never said a word until he thought he could use it for a payday." Repressed fury dances in Mattia's expression, turning him into the same ice-cold, severe man who carried me out of Brio's last night. "Loyalty isn't something that changes with the seasons. Vincent's men never understood that. Rafe's do. When you betray this family, you pay for it."
My stomach turns again, my insides twisting into knots. Is that the fate that awaits me, then? A violent death and an eternity at the bottom of the river?
I shiver at the thought, fighting the urge to wrap my arms around myself.
"D-Do my brothers know about me yet?"
"Not yet."
"Because you don't trust me," I whisper, staring at my plate.
