“I am filled with regret right now,” Leonardo said.
Valentina didn’t want to be alone with him. Now that her virginity was gone, did this put her in a precarious situation?
“My husband must be looking for me,” she said, trying to get past him.
He grabbed her arm, and she had to stop herself from visibly gasping at the sudden jolt of pain.
“You shouldn’t be with him, Valentina. He is a monster. He is going to hurt you.”
She stared down at her arm. “You are hurting me.”
“He had no right to you. You belong to me.”
Valentina tried to pull her arm out of his hold. He was going to leave a bruise. Where Giovanni’s touch filled her with comfort and security, Leonardo’s was doing the exact opposite.
Fear lodged in her throat. A scream was so close to the surface, ready to come tumbling out. This man was not her husband. He wasn’t a good man, and she didn’t want him touching her. She … hated him. So much that her feeling startled her.
No one had ever made her feel this way. Not ever.
She wanted to hurt him. To slap his disgusting face, to break his hands for even daring to hurt a woman. He used his power in malicious ways.
Valentina couldn’t help but think of all the women he must have hurt.
She had never considered herself a person capable of such hatred, but when it came to Leonardo, her feelings took on a whole new scary level.
“Let go of me,” she said.
“Get your hands off my wife.”
Hearing Giovanni’s voice was a welcome relief.
The moment Leonardo let her go, she stepped toward her husband, needing his comfort. She looked up at his face, but he stared at the other man.
Was he angry at her? Did he think she wanted that man’s touch?
“Valentina, your mother is looking for you,” Giovanni said. “It is time for us to leave.”
She wanted to go with him, but he wasn’t going to move.
Her heart started to pound, and fear settled in the pit of her stomach, making her feel sick. This wasn’t good.
He looked so angry.
Valentina had no choice but to step around him and make her way inside the house, only to come face to face with Victoria. Leonardo’s wife.
“You know, everyone pities you, including that man out there. I was there when he said your name. You’re nothing special,” Victoria said.
This woman was filled with spite. It was no lie that she was only the second choice.
Valentina had no time for the woman. She went to leave, but Victoria grabbed her arm, squeezing it tightly. She couldn’t help herself from wincing, her face scrunching up as the woman sank her nails into her arm.
This woman wasn’t her boss. She had no right to touch her this way.
“Leonardo doesn’t want you.”
Valentina wrapped her fingers around the woman’s wrist and tightened, putting all of her strength within the grip, and it worked as Victoria let her go.
“Do not touch me again,” she said. “I have no desire to steal your husband, Victoria. You can have him.” There was so much more she wanted to say but instead, she glared at the woman and stepped away.