Page 42 of His Tesoro

When we got back to the apartment building, Sienna invited me to her place, but I was holding back tears from the pain shooting through my joints. I made my excuses, waving at her when she got off on her floor, and headed to the penthouse.

22

SOFIYA

Pain woke me in the middle of the night. My ankles, knees, and hips screamed at me, and my head was splitting. I whimpered as I threw my arm across my face, cursing myself for using my rollator instead of my wheelchair while shopping. I had been stupid and vain, but Sienna was so perfect and beautiful. After spending the day with her, I couldn’t imagine she’d judge me for using a wheelchair, but it was impossible to know that when I first met someone.

I was paying for my decision now.

I grabbed my phone, squinting against the bright screen light, and groaned when I saw it was two a.m. I needed my meds and heating pad, but that meant getting out of bed. I almost started crying when I realized I’d left my heating pad in a kitchen drawer. I’d been using it earlier this evening and, for some inexplicable reason, thought I should keep it out there.

I didn’t know how many minutes passed before I got up the courage to sit up. I wiped away a few tears as the movement exacerbated the pain in my joints. My rollator was by the bed, but I’d left my wheelchair against the wall. Ever since being measured for my new chair, my old one felt even bulkier and more uncomfortable.

“God, you’re so stupid,” I said to myself.

Well, there was nothing to it. I reached out and grabbed the rollator, pushing up to a standing position. I couldn’t stop myself from crying out, my vision going spotty from the pain. I took a halting step, another whimper slipping through my lips. My wheelchair was a few feet away, but it felt like a yawning chasm.

“Stop being a baby. Just keep walking.”

Sweat dripped down my back at the exertion as I took another step. My knee felt like it was on the verge of dislocating, but before I could decide if I should try to sit on the floor and scoot to my chair, my ankle gave out and I crashed to the ground. My rollator flew forward, hitting the wheelchair with a metal clang so loud I could feel it reverberate through my bones.

I didn’t have the energy to get up, so I curled up on the floor, tears streaking down my face. I was being a baby, but I’d always had Mila with me during bad flare-ups, and I missed her desperately.

My bedroom door crashed open and I cried out. I twisted my head to see who it was. The light from the hallway illuminated a large male figure. My heart pounded in fear until I realized it was Matteo.

He flipped on the overhead light, and I shut my eyes as the brightness sent a dagger through my head.

“What the fuck is happening?” he growled.

I should have apologized for waking him up, for making so much noise, but I knew if I opened my mouth, all that would come out was a sob. So I clenched my teeth and silently willed him to leave me.

“Shit. Did you fall?”

I cracked my eyes open to find Matteo crouched over me. He must have come home sometime after I went to bed because I hadn’t seen him since this morning. His chest was bare and covered in tattoos, although my vision was too blurry to make out what they were. His pair of dark sweatpants hung low on his hips.

“Sofiya,” he said, his voice stern, “did you fall down?”

My lower lip trembled, but I managed to whisper out a “yes.”

“Okay, let’s get you back in bed.” Strong arms surrounded me as he lifted me off the floor and gently laid me on the mattress.

My face burned with embarrassment at him finding me like this. “I’m sorry,” I croaked. God, this was not the way to get my husband to like me.

“What were you doing?”

“I was trying to get my heating pad and meds.”

He brushed my hair from my face in a move that was surprisingly gentle. “Where are they?”

“Meds are in the bathroom and the heating pad is in the kitchen. The drawer by the fridge.”

He nodded before glancing at the lamp by the bedside table. He turned it on and headed for the door, flipping the overhead light off as he went. My eyelids fluttered closed in relief at the softer light.

It wasn’t long before he was back, supplies in hand. He stayed silent as he set a glass of water on the nightstand and plugged in the heating pad. I winced as I sat up, and Matteo quickly moved to help me, arranging a few pillows behind my back.

“Thank you,” I said, my voice hoarse as I took the medication bag.

He just grunted.

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