Page 48 of Deadly Vows

Elise

Beep beep beep.

The rhythmic tone slowly creeps into my dreamless slumber, raising me from sleep. As I crack my eyes open, an unfamiliar ceiling comes into view. The rhythm of the machine slowly speeds up as my eyes drift to the corner to find Luca asleep in the chair. His arms are crossed over his chest, his head hangs over his lap, and his breathing is deep.

The longer I study him, the heavier the throb on my wrists becomes. I slowly lift my hands, my fingers trembling as I take in the thick gauze wrapped around my wrists.

No…

I squeeze my eyes closed as tears spill down my cheeks. Even my death Luca controls. Our argument washes over me with intensity as I silently sob in the hospital bed. He controls my brother, he controls my family, he controls every aspect of my life—a life that I have never had control over.

My frustrations force my sobs to escape me loud enough that they rouse Luca from his sleep. He tenses, sitting up as his eyes fall on me. Once he sees I’m awake, he visibly relaxes. A smile of relief forms on his lips to see me awake, but I ignore it as he comes toward me, frantically ripping at the gauze around my wrists.

My heart pounds as desperation grips me. The gauze is thick and shreds, leaving a trail of fabric as I try to reach the blood-crusted stitching. My fingers violently tremble when two hands close around mine, holding me steady. I slowly lift my eyes, peering into Luca’s deep gray eyes. He shakes his head slightly, his grip tightening.

“Don’t…touch me,” I whisper.

Luca hesitates for a moment before releasing me, and I lower my hands to my lap, no longer able to hold his gaze. My hands blur slightly as more tears drip, saturating the color of the sheets.

Luca releases a deep breath, his fingers gently pushing my hair behind my ear.

“Elise… how could you do that?” he asks.

I release a bitter chuckle, tossing my hands in defeat. “Does it matter?”

“Of course, it matters. Do you realize you almost didn’t make it? We live so far from the city, if we were five minutes later—”

“Yes. That was what I wanted. That was my plan…to be gone from all of this. From you. From this torture, this crippling loneliness,” I say.

“This isn’t a life worth living,” I finish.

“Elise—”

“You said it yourself on several occasions. My life meant nothing. My own father didn’t want me. He never loved me. My own family wants me dead for someone they’ve never even met.My mere existence is a failure…a burden,” I say, repeating Luca’s words to me.

Silence passes between us, and I feel Luca’s hand under my chin. He lifts my gaze, forcing me to look into his eyes as he speaks. I see no malice, no anger, no disappointment. Only fierce determination is reflected at me.

“I also said my life would be less interesting without you. I said you are a Pasquino now, and I will kill anyone who threatens that. There are things you don’t know about our lives, Elise. Our connection lies long before our arrangement. You’ve always been mine to protect,” he says.

Before I can respond, the door to the room opens. A man in his seventies enters with a smile as he looks between us.

“Happy to see you’re awake, Mrs. Pasquino. You gave your husband here quite a scare. You lost three pints of blood. Any more, and you might have died,” he smiles as if I’m lucky.

As if my being here isn’t something that has once again been forced on me.

Luca steps aside as the doctor comes to do a physical checkup.

“Will she be able to come home today?” he asks as the doctor shines a small light in my eyes.

“We usually like to keep these cases for at least 72 hours for evaluation before releasing them,” he says hesitantly.

I know immediately he works for Luca and knows what kind of man Luca is. He’s scared to tell him the truth.

“But we’ll keep her for twenty-four just to be sure,” he says, standing tall.

Luca only nods.

The doctor looks back at me with a kind smile. “We’ll get you some food and fluids, and you should be feeling normal in a few hours,” he says.

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