Page 17 of Claimed By Him

“If I’m okay?” she asked incredulously. “How about Freddie? Huh? Is he fucking okay?” She poked my chest, but I stood steady, looking down at her in confusion.

“Obviously not, Fi—”

“Why’d you do it? Were you jealous? Was that the reason?”

“The reason for what?” I asked, getting angry now, and moving forward into her space. I didn’t like what she was implying.

She looked frantic, she wore no makeup this morning, and she was dressed in soft pink sweats. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, and she wore fluffy slippers. Fuck, I’d never seen her like this. That selfish part of me flared up, and I could just imagine her in my bedroom, looking like this after waking up next to me. She looked fucking adorable.

But her expression was something else. She was livid. She obviously believed something with all her heart, something that was not true.

“What was the reason for you to hurt him, Tony?” she asked darkly. Her eyes teared up and her lip wobbled.

“I. Didn’t. Hurt. Him.” I said slowly, deliberately. She had to know I was telling the truth.

“Then why the fuck did you follow him?”

“Because he obviously hurt you.”

Her eyes searched mine, darting between my left and right pupils while she breathed angrily.

“What did he do to you, Fi?” I asked carefully.

Her eyebrows dipped, and her tears broke free onto her cheeks. She looked… guilty?

“Nothing.” She shook her head and dropped her face into her hands. “He did nothing!”

I couldn’t help it any longer. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her. She sobbed into my chest, allowing me the sweet pleasure of feeling her warm body against mine. God, if only this wasn’t such a sad moment. If only she allowed this on any other day. If only… she was mine.

I let my cheek rest against the top of her head. “It was nobody’s fault.”

“Bullshit!” She suddenly ripped herself away and pushed my chest. “Bullshit, Tony!”

“Jesus, Fiona I swear to God, I didn’t—”

“What the fuck do you want here, huh?” she asked. “You want to ruin my life even further? You’ve already taken my future away from me!”

Fuck, Fiona. Can’t you understand that I could be your future?I could have been a much better future for her than Frederico. I would have devoted my life to her, not ripped it away from her.

“You really think I did something to him? You think I’m that fucking evil?” I pointed a finger at my chest, frowning down at her questioningly.

Her hands flew up impatiently. “Well, you’ve killed people before, haven’t you?”

“That’s got nothing to do with this!” I shrugged exaggeratedly, becoming impatient myself.

“Doesn’t it?”

We stared at each other for a few seconds. How the fuck could she be so fixated on this belief that I killed him? How could she not even have the slightest doubt in her eyes? It nearly ripped my heart out of my chest.

That was what flipped the switch for me. That feeling of complete weakness, that someone as small and harmless as her could be my downfall. I clenched my jaw, not wanting to switch these emotions off but realizing that I had to. She looked up at me with such hatred and anger that I knew I wasn’t going to convince her otherwise.

“Okay. So that’s it, then.” I nodded and broke eye contact. “You’ll always believe the worst in me.”

“Well, I—” Fiona shrugged, and I heard the smallest twinge of doubt in her voice. A moment of hesitation. She could see I wasn’t going to defend myself any further, and obviously, that gave her pause for thought. But I’d already flipped that switch. I’d already realized that nothing good was ever going to come from the feelings I had toward her.

“Have a great life, Fiona.”

I stuffed my hands into my pockets and walked away from her. I couldn’t even look back, no matter how badly I wanted to. I kept my head down and walked around the house instead of through it. I couldn’t deal with any more Morettis right now. I’d paid my respects, and now I was done with them.

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