Page 79 of Vow of Desire

“And you think killing me is the answer? Is this why Luciana didn’t come to see me? You’ve been keeping her locked up?”

“For her own safety. She is my little girl. Not yours. Not anybody’s.”

“Daddy, please,” I beg, getting to my feet. I ignore the pain in my foot and rush to my dad’s side. “Don’t kill him. I am not a little girl anymore. How many times do I have to tell you?”

“He needs to die,” Dad grits out.

“No.” I run in front of my father’s gun, putting myself between him and Matteo. “If you shoot Matteo, you’ll have to shoot me too.”

“Luciana,” Matteo breathes out. I can hear the shock in his voice. Neither one of us could have thought we’d get to this point: me sacrificing myself to save Matteo.

“What are you doing?” Dad asks, his hand wavering on the gun. After a beat, he lowers it. “Get out of the way, Luciana.”

“I will not let you kill Matteo. I will not. He saved my life.”

“No, he didn’t!” Spittle flies from my father’s mouth. “If he had saved your life, you never would have been in danger in the first place.”

“And none of that was his fault. I’m the one who brought Dante into our lives. I didn’t mean to but it happened. And you have to understand that. Matteo is not in the wrong here. He has never treated me badly. I love him, Daddy. I told you before. I still mean it. I love him.”

Matteo sucks in a breath. “You love me?”

I don’t answer him. Instead, I keep my eyes glued to my father. One wrong move and it could be the end of Matteo’s life. “Dad, hear my words. I want to be with Matteo. We have peace between our families. Let’s keep it that way. I am happy. I am safe. Isn’t that what you want from me? If you keep trying to control me, then I will hate you. But right now, if you let me go, I’ll forgive you. I’ll still let you be in my life. But if you insist on treating me like a prisoner forever, then I will eventually grow to hate you. And neither one of us wants that. I know you don’t want that. I know you would hate it. So please, Daddy. Just let me go. Don’t kill Matteo. Don’t mess everything up.”

“But you never wanted this,” he whispers.

“I know. I didn’t at first. But now I do. Now I want to be with him, Daddy. I want nothing more. Don’t do this. Don’t ruin my life. Don’t ruin yours. I know you want me to be your little girl forever but I can’t be. You know it deep down. I’m right. You don’t need to worry for me. Matteo fought so hard to save my life. You should be thanking him. Not trying to kill him. Please.Please.”

A loud sob escapes my father’s mouth and the gun drops to the ground. I nod at Matteo and he carefully picks it up. Then I wrap my arms around my dad and hold him close.

“I love you, Daddy.” He’s shaking in my arms and I cling on tighter. “I love you so much. Just let me go. Let me be happy. Let me grow into the woman I want to be. It might not be exactly what you want. But it’s what I need. Please, Daddy. Please.”

“I’m scared of losing you forever,” he cries into my neck.

“You won’t lose me forever. Not if you let me go. So let me go. Let me return home with Matteo. Don’t kill him. We can get everything we’ve wanted. Peace. Happiness. It can happen. Just trust me. Can you trust me?”

He nods against my shoulder. “I do trust you.”

“Then let me go.”

After a long beat, he stands up, wiping at his eyes. “It’s so hard. You’ve been my baby all your life. I raised you all alone after your mother died.”

“I know. And I’m so grateful you’ve been a good dad. But holding me as a prisoner is not doing the right thing and you know it.”

“Can you ever forgive me?” he asks in such a pathetic voice. It makes me wince but I try not to show it.

“Of course I’ll forgive you. Just never do anything like it ever again. I am going home with Matteo. Accept it.”

He slumps against the wall and cries harder. The sight of my dad lost in his pity party makes me angry. Even though he’s cared for me all my life, he always did things for himself and not truly for me.

But I don’t want to hate my father. It’s much easier to forgive and move on. That’s the polite, proper thing to do and for once, it’s the right thing to do.

“I love you, Dad. But I’m leaving with Matteo now.” I turn to my husband. “Are you ok? The last time I saw you, you hadn’t woken up yet.”

“I’m fine. Not feeling my best. But fine.” His eyes flick to Rocco. “Is he going to be a problem?”

“I’ll make sure he isn’t. Let’s go home.”

Matteo nods and silently follows me out of my father’s house. I know it will be a long time before I set foot back in there.