Page 41 of Twisted Vows

“No.” His eyes sweep over me. “You’re not.”

My stomach flips. My body shouldn’t respond like this around him. My breathing shouldn’t go so shallow, and my eyes shouldn’t fixate on his gaze.

Silence crackles like dry leaves catching fire. Then he shifts and straightens. “Seven. Tonight. You’ll have your walk again, as I promised.”

I release a sigh of relief, but my mind immediately tangles in suspicion.

What if he’s being nice to me because of some bad news? What if he just wants me to relax before the other shoe drops?

My thoughts tie themselves in knots, and I let the question at the top of my mind burst free. “My mother. Elena. Is she okay? Tell me the truth. Please.” My nails dig into my palms as soon as the plea escapes me.

Enzo pulls out his phone, swipes, and holds up the screen to show me a video.

Elena, my mother, sits upright. A nurse adjusts blankets with one hand and carries a chart in the other. Her voice is faint but calm.

The nurse arranges the blanket around my mother’s shoulders with practiced care. “All right, Elena. I’m just tucking this in so you stay warm. How’s your breathing?”

My mother frowns, her eyes darting before settling. “It’s…loud today. My head feels busy.”

The nurse’s voice remains steady and unhurried. “I know. That happens sometimes. You did the right thing telling me.” Fabric rustles softly. “Try putting your feet flat on the floor for me. Good. Can you name five things you can see?”

My mother’s gaze drifts around the room. “The window. Your pen. The plant. The clock. The blue chair.”

The nurse squeezes her hand, warmth threading through every word. “Perfect. You’re doing really well. Your daughter would be proud of you.”

Elena’s shoulders ease. “Sophia worries. When is she coming?”

The nurse smooths the blanket one more time. “She does, and she’s busy, but she’ll be here any day. And she made sure you’re not alone. I’ll be here all night, okay? I’ll check on you every hour.”

My mother nods, calmer now. “Okay. Thank you.”

Enzo puts his phone away. “Reassured?”

Tears sting my eyes as my head bobs up and down. Sharp, almost painful relief sweeps through me.

“You really took care of her.”

He nods. “I said I would.”

“Why…would you…” The words die in my throat when he pivots and exits.

I’m back on the cot, the blanket clenched in my fists, my body shaking. Not from fear this time, but from kindness. Because kindness from a man like him can only be a trap.

My jangled nerves worsen with each breath until I head to the mini bathroom to splash water on my face. In the mirror, I find a pale, wild-eyed version of myself, one with frazzled hair and shadowed eyes.

“Pathetic. He cages you, and you wonder which dress he’d prefer.”

A bag of clothes and essentials from my apartment arrived on my second day. I didn’t ask how. Gio only told me that Enzo ordered it.

I was grateful for the books in there, but the clothes meant little to me at the time. I rifle through them, hold up a blue dress to the poor light, then a cream one. “Ridiculous vanity,” I tell myself again and again, yet my fingers quiver as they trace the fabric. It’s a horrifying realization that I care how I look for him. Excuses quickly form in my mind. I’m doing this for survival, distraction, and my own sanity. But the warmth in my chest betrays the truth.

Hours drag, minutes tripping over each other. That twisty, nervous energy has my stomach in knots.

I can’t shake the sensation.

Every rustle outside sounds like doomsday, or maybe deliverance. Either way, my poor heart can’t catch a break.

When the knock comes, I’m up like a shot, racing forward with a burning buzz in my chest.