My retreat to the master bedroom was swift. I don’t know how long I stayed there, sitting on the edge of the bed, but darkness fell and swallowed me whole. I heard heavy footsteps approach but paid no mind to them. It was only when the bedroom light switched on that I lifted my head from my upturned knees that I blinked rapidly, adjusting to the brightness, that I saw Marco standing in the open doorway.

I hugged my knees tighter and my eyes followed him as he walked into the room, reaching for his earpiece. I didn’t know what he was up to, but I kept a careful eye on him as he removed the black receiver from the waist of his pants and made a show of placing the device onto the vanity before taking a seat on the dainty stool that shouldn’t have supported his massive frame.

He watched me rock gently and said, “I heard what he said to you. I probably shouldn’t interfere, but you should know better than to believe anything Daniele says.”

I didn’t respond for a long moment. My voice was hoarse when I queried, “So, he’s lying?”

“I don’t know if he’s lying, but I do know he hates you and will say anything to make you hurt.”

Thank you, Marco.

I struggled with the panic that insisted it be felt as I uttered quietly, “I don’t know how to make this right.”

“You can’t,” was his firm response.

My voice quavered. “There has to be a way.” I rocked harder, back and forth, whispering, “There has to be.”

And, right then, Marco was done being nice. “Jesus Christ, Vittoria. I think I have observed long enough to know you aren’t a murderer but, fuck. Be reasonable. Do you know how lucky you are to be here, in this place, after what you did?”

Part of me did know. It didn’t change the fact that the solitude was killing me. I must have sounded pathetic when I confessed, “I’m so lonely.”

Marco was not sympathetic. He rested his elbows onto his knees, leaning closer to me. “You’re sitting in luxury, living in a gold-plated prison. You’re not in chains. You’re not being starved or abused. You get to live a semi-normal life. Can you see how this attitude might come across as ungrateful?”

My lashes were wet as I scrambled to sit up. “If he doesn’t want me, that’s fine. I’ll go away. I’ll leave and never come back.”