Chapter 17 - Gabriella (1)

I found myself opening up to Mariano. I didn't plan on it. One moment, I was trying to keep my grief inside, determined not to show him what kept me up tonight in case he'd see my weakness and use it against me. But there was something in his presence that made me cave and I ended up telling him anyway. When I started, it felt so good I even told him I wanted his brother's blood.

He didn't say much. Even as I was so pissed that I sobbed on his chest, he just…let me. At some point, I feel his warm hands on my back and in a fucked up way, I feel comforted in the arms of the enemy.

I hate that I find solace in him, but I can't deny that at this moment, he feels familiar—like the man I became briefly friends with in the dungeon.

It's stupid of me to consider that, for a moment, maybe this fraudulent marriage may not be so bad. It's a moment of weakness on my part that as soon as I calm down and stop crying, I tell myself not to go there again.