Chapter 4 - The Terms of Surrender
Clara opened her eyes. The terror that had gripped her in the grocery store parking lot was entirely gone, replaced by a deep, anchoring certainty. She wasn't the fragile, heartbroken girl who had run into the night anymore. She was a mother who had kept two children alive on the ragged edge of the world. The fire that had kept her going for four years coalesced into pure steel.
"I didn't do it for you," Clara said, lifting her chin, refusing to shrink under his touch. "I did it for them. And if I find out you are lying to me about any of this, Matteo, I won't just vanish next time. I know how your world works now. I will burn your empire to the ground before I ever let you near them again."
Instead of anger, a dark, brilliant smile spread across Matteo's face. It was the smile of a predator who realized the woman he loved was just as lethal as he was.
"I would expect nothing less, mia regina," Matteo whispered, his voice laced with absolute adoration.
May you like
He didn't demand her submission. He didn't order her to beg for forgiveness for running. He simply shifted his hand to the back of her neck, pulling her forward until their foreheads rested together. The scent of sandalwood finally wrapped around her not as a painful memory, but as an impenetrable shield.
"I will spend the rest of my life proving it to you," Matteo vowed. "Whatever you want. Whatever you demand. My men, my money, my life—they are yours to command."
