Page 29 of Hostile Love
I glare at him, tears stinging my eyes.
“Why the hell would I be thrilled to hear we’re getting married when I wasn’t even involved in the decision?”
My chest tightens, making it hard to breathe properly.
“Blanco’s lawyers prepared a business contract. A fuckingcontract, Mat, thatyousigned. Regardless of whether it was me or Sofia bound to you, a bunch of misogynistic males made plans for our future on our behalf. That’s not love, or even a choice. It’s control. A way to hold authority over me.”
My hands are shaking, and my heart is beating out of my chest.
“I can’t spend the rest of my life with a man who thinks that's okay.”
Matheus scowls, my point of view clearly pissing him off.
“And the fact you think I’d want to become a Souza when your brother ordered his men to burn my body along with all the dead girls his scumbag employees murdered––that’s just––”
“Dani!” he barks, cutting me off. “I’m more than my family’s name. Haven’t I shown you that already?”
“Yeah, you did. But you turned around and made a deal with Blanco straight after. Just like a typical Souza would.”
“I only signed the fucking thing…” His teeth clamp shut and his hands fist by his thighs. “…because he knows things about my real father. The night you were hurt at the Di Rossi mansion, that’s when I knew I wanted to marry you. There was no contract or deal to be made at that point. Just me wanting you as my wife. But this…”
Matheus prowls closer, his chest rising and falling, and his eyes darker than ever.
I suck in sharply when he grabs my jaw and dips closer.
“The way you’re looking at me right now with those cynical eyes. It’s not whatIwant.”
When he lets go, my instincts have me reaching for him in a moment of weakness. My heart and my head aren’t working together.
In my own defense, I snatch my hand back and press it to my chin where the warmth of his touch still lingers.
I’m mad at him, and I’d do well to remember why.
The muscles in his chest vibrate. The unsettled aura is something I’ve never experienced around him. If I wasn’t a capable assassin, I’d be terrified.
He takes a controlled step back, stuffs a hand into his hair and exhales slowly.
I can’t quite decipher his tight expression. There’s a subtle quirk to his soft-looking lips, but his unsettled chestnut eyes are filled with chaos.
Jet-black lashes bat slowly as his thoughtful gaze leaves my breasts and cuts to the window across the room.
“All my life, I tried to have a relationship with Elias. To make him accept me. So, forgive me for wanting to understand who the fuck I am if he’s not my father. I had thought I could do that with you by my side.”
“Well, from where I’m standing, you’re the type of guy who traded information for wedding vows. How fucking romantic.”
Matheus frowns. “Romance? Is that what this is about? You want me to get down on one knee and propose?”
“God, no!” I answer honestly. “Why pretend to give a fuck about what I want now? Ink and a handshake were enough for you at the time.”
He makes a grunt-like sound at that, the noise as dismissive as his posture.
“I did what I did. It was a means to an end, and the end clearly wasn’t worth it.”
“No, it wasn’t worth it. I actually thought you were different, Mat. But you’re just like every other gangster out there.”
“Seems so.”
Spinning on his heels, he heads to the nightstand, grabs his gun, and moves to the door, butt-naked and exuding confidence in every stride.
