The Sweetest Temptation
Chapter 300: ILU

Chapter 300: ILU

Remo struck his cane on the floor, signaling the guards. With immediate effect, the two men pulled out pocket knives, each having two-inch blades in their sheaths.

"What’s this?" Nolan asked, guarding up once again as he fought against the grip of the guards. But one of them drove the knife into his thigh with a swift delivery, startling him and sending a wave of shock and pain charging into his head.

"Agh, what the fuck, what—no, fuck, please, no," that was the beginning of a continuous torture of the short blades piercing through his skin without any idea where the next attack was coming from.

The shrew cries that came from him was like music to Remo’s ears. It was one thing to watch him writhe in fear the moment he realized the position that he was in. But the joy that had filled Remo at the bloody sight of him begging for mercy from the invasions of the tiny blades in his skin was a sight he never thought he’d delight in beholding. He sighed satisfactorily and leaned back in his seat while he watched his guards continue their delightful torture.

"And this is just the appetizer."

****

Stella blinked furiously from the merciless invasion of the lights piercing through her vision. Try as she might to focus her eyes on something tangible through the endless rays, it was all futile effort.

Am I dead? She mused to herself, sifting through the soft sheets, in search of some kind of evidence of her current state. Her fingers came in contact with a silk like material, almost like locks of hair, positioned right beside her. She summoned strength from her being to turn, but all effort was futile.

The silk material left her grasp, and then she heard swift scraping, and then a figure towering over her... the figure of a man, no doubt. A face of some sort, the face of an impossibly beautiful man, poised right above hers.

"Stella," His angelic voice called out softly, beckoning her further into consciousness.

It was as if she had beheld an angel... but then, recognition dawned on her. The face belonged to Matteo, and he was smiling down at her—a genuinely satisfactory smile that sent tingles right through her bloodstream in spite of her current state.

Her current state...

She angled her elbows, bracing herself to get into a sitting position, but a sharp pain in her side limited her movement, sending her right back to her initial position.

"Stay down, you can’t move yet." His relaxing tone managed to ease through the pain that she was now growing increasingly aware of. She shut her eyes tightly, prepping her mind to accommodate the pain while registering the overwhelming presence of Matteo.

"What happened?" She tried to speak up, but her voice came out croaked due to her parched throat. But Matteo had heard her question, and so, he gave a reply.

"You were attacked." He said remorsefully. A look of genuine hurt and unbridled anger flawed his features, giving him the air of a serial killer who’d missed his target.

"Attacked?" She asked, sieving through her hazy mind, in search of what had led to her current state.

Nolan.

Memories of what had happened came rushing back to her with such tide that it sent her right into a panic attack. Breathing harshly, she lurched forward, darting her gaze frantically as if searching for any signs of him. Matteo reached forward and caught hold of her shoulders.

"He’s somewhere around here, he’s coming back," she whimpered, tears pouring almost immediately down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey, hey," Matteo called out softly, cupping her face and turning her to face him. "Look at me, Stella, look at me."

Eventually, she complied, focusing her eyes on his, calm and reassuring.

"Listen to me, you’re right here with me. No one will hurt you ever again, you’re safe with me from here on out," Matteo stated calmly. "Do you hear me? I’ll never leave you again, you’re safe with me."

She stared into his eyes for what felt like an eternity. Recognizing the truth in his eyes, she nodded slowly, giving way to a fresh bout of tears streaming down her cheeks. Matteo leaned forward, pressed his lips on the streaks that had formed, and then her eyes, and then her lips, filling her with a passionate and reassuring heat.

"I’m not dead?" She asked, sniffing lightly. Matteo placed his forehead against hers and chuckled lightly.

"No, I couldn’t possibly allow that. You’re too special to me."

His words settled heavily in her chest. Was he stating those words because of her current state? The pain that she was in was enough, if anything, it would’ve been better if she had just died. Knowing her love could never be reciprocated was pain enough, and now this?

"Matteo," she whispered, her shoulders growing limp. Matteo helped her lay back, adjusting the light and returning back to her side, where he went to work, arranging her tresses.

"I’m so sorry, Stella."

What was he sorry for? If there was anything she wanted to hear from him, it was his confession, his admittance to the fact that he had indeed fallen for her. Everything he said, everything he did, pointed in that direction. The constant misleading spectacle was too much for her to bear.

"Matteo," she called out again, looking for the right words to start her confession.

"I love you, Stella."

The moment she heard the words, she stilled completely, momentarily spacing out, as if she had heard wrongly. Perhaps she was hallucinating due to some drug she had been giving, even more, perhaps she was dreaming. But the pain in her side and the needle in her vein was enough proof that she was indeed in the real world.

"Mat—Matteo," she whispered once more, clearly unsure of what she had heard. As if he had noticed from her reaction that she had a hard time believing what he had said, he went ahead to say it again.

"I love you so much, Stella Rossi... it’s about time I owned up to these strong feelings that you’ve managed to trigger inside of me."

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