Page 18 of Deadly Vows

Luca pulls away from me, his eyes focused on mine as the blade presses deeper into my flesh.

“Who are you married to?” he asks lazily.

“You,” I sob. My answer is immediate, bringing a bigger smile to Luca’s face.

“Say it again.”

“Luca,” I whisper. The blade traces my stomach, heading in the direction of my ribs.

“One more time,” he coaxes.

“Luc—Ahhh!” I’m cut off as agonizing pain rips through my side as Luca drags the blade down my ribcage. Blood trickles from the wound, and the instant I try to move, Luca has me pinned.

“I can’t hear you, Elise. Who?” His tone is eerily calm as I groan beneath him in a pathetic attempt to catch my breath.

“Lu-Lu—”

Luca doesn’t give the words time to leave my lips. He drags the blade once again, and I scream and writhe in agony. This time, he doesn’t stop. He doesn’t stop until he’s satisfied with his torture, and then he releases me, letting me fall against the carpet in a sweaty, shaky mess.

I jolt awake.

The room is dark and I feel an arm wrapped around me, a warm body spooning against my back. A soft whimper escapes me as the dull throb that pulled me from my sleep intensifies. Tears spill down my face, soaking my pillow as I come to grips with my situation. Luca carved into me like a pumpkin because of his jealousy and anger. I shift in the bed, slowly moving away from Luca’s grasp before heading toward the bathroom.

Luca must have bathed and clothed me while I was passed out before moving me to our bed. I’m wearing one of his shirts, the material hanging over my thighs barely. I look back toward the bed, and Luca is still fast asleep before turning on the bathroom light. I flinch from the sudden brightness, attempting to blink away the headache as my eyes adjust. The material of Luca’s shirt feels heavy as I lift it from my side to reveal thick gauze wrapped around my torso.

The throb has erupted to more than what it was, growing worse with each passing second. I ignore my shaky breathing, peeling each layer off. My terror grows as the gauze grows thinner until I can see the pinkish tint seeping through in spaced-out patterns that I can’t quite make out. Finally, the gauze runs out, and I let it fall to the floor, my loud gasp fillingthe air at what’s been carved into my ribs. It reaches all the way from the underside of my breast to the top of my hipbone.

L U C A

Angry red lines of his name are reflected back at me, a reminder of the blade he used to do it with. I tense when I hear shuffling, shifting my gaze to see Luca himself standing in the doorway. His stormy-colored eyes study me intensely, and once again he says nothing. He pushes himself off the archway approaching me in silence before wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into him.

He places a kiss on my throat, his words filling the silence.

“You’re mine, Elise.”

Chapter Eight

Elise

It’s strange to me how other people’s decisions can place you in positions you don’t want to be in life. For instance, my father’s decision to marry me off has placed me in more compromising positions than one. It has placed me in a marriage where my husband sees me as a possession. His decision has also ended up ostracizing me from my family, forcing me to be a big part of Luca’s. I am here because of my father’s decisions, not mine. But I still wonder what I could have done to prevent this—if I could have done anything.

I laugh aloud as the thought crosses my mind.

Utter nonsense.

Since Luca carved his name onto me, I haven’t bothered trying to avoid him. There is no point. I am completely alone in this world with no friends and definitely no family to back or protect me.

I release a shaky breath, tilting my head back to better absorb the sun’s rays. Today, I’ve decided to sit outside and breathe thefresh air. The sun is warm against my skin as I lie on the blanket, silently watching the gardener tend to the elaborate flower bed that decorates the back of our home. I wonder what kind of life he leads away from here. Or if he even knows what kind of man his employer is.

Would he work here if he knew?

I flinch as pain ripples up my side from the burning of my wound. A few days after the incident, the wound began to grow infected. But thanks to Luca’s doctor, the salve he gave me has cleared it up, leaving only Luca’s precisely carved name on my flesh. Aside from the gauze and ointment, sometimes I let the wound breathe, like today. Today, I’m wearing a loose tank top that I rolled up to let it breathe. I don’t care if anyone sees it. No one would do anything to help me out of this situation. They would only pretend they don’t see it, as they’re doing now.

“Elise.”

It takes all of my strength to force myself to remain calm as Luca calls me. I open my eyes to find him standing over me, a wicked glint in his eyes as they roam over his name. I don’t think Luca feels remorseful for what he did. And as I watch his reaction to me lowering my shirt, I am sure of it. He moves to the blanket, lying next to me. He props himself up on his forearm, his gaze focusing on me as he speaks.

“I haven’t heard you play in a while,” his fingers lazily trace a pattern on my exposed thigh, “I miss hearing your beautiful melodies.”

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