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His gaze locks onto mine, something unreadable swimming in the depths of his eyes. “It is more real than it has ever been, Maria.”

I should be relieved by his words. I should let them settle in my chest like a soothing balm, should let them wash away the uncertainty clinging to me like a ghost. But instead, doubt curls around my ribs like a serpent, whispering the cruelest question of all—what if this isn’t real?

What if I’m just another duty he’s committed to out of guilt?

What if, one day, the warmth in his eyes cools, and I’m left alone in the shadows again?

What if this isn’t real? What if I’m just another fleeting moment to him—just a duty he’s committed to out of guilt?

My fingers tighten around the fork, and I lower my gaze to my plate, suddenly unable to meet his eyes. I want to believe him—I need to believe him. But my heart has already learned the cost of trusting too easily.

And yet… he came back for me. He stayed with me.

“I want to believe you,” I murmur, almost too quietly.

Matteo exhales. His voice, when he finally speaks, is quieter—but no less intense.

“I know why you hesitate, Maria. I know I’ve given you every reason to doubt this—to doubt me.” His jaw tightens fora brief moment before he releases a slow breath, his shoulders softening. “But I need you to know this.”

He leans forward, the flickering candlelight casting shadows over the sharp angles of his face. His gaze—steady, unwavering—locks onto mine, and for the first time, I see something in them that wasn’t there before.

“I am here. I am yours. And I am not going anywhere.”

The raw sincerity in his voice sends a shiver down my spine.

“I don’t expect you to trust me overnight. I don’t expect you to believe every word I say just because I’m saying it. But I need you to see that I’m standing right in front of you, choosing you. Every damn time, I will choose you.” He pauses, his throat bobbing as he swallows hard. “I don’t want to make this work out of duty, or guilt, or obligation—I want to make this work because I need you. Because you, Maria, are the only thing that makes this world feel real to me.”

His words press against something deep inside me, cracking the carefully constructed walls I’ve spent months building.

My breath catches. I swallow hard, feeling the sudden weight of his words settle between us. “I don’t want you to hurt me, Matteo.”

He lifts his eyes to meet mine and the world stills. I forget how to breathe. I can hear the blood gushing past my ears.

“I was unfair to you, and I cannot apologize enough for what I have done to you and your heart.”

I open my mouth to speak but he holds his hand up to allow him to finish.

“I have not loved a woman since Beatrice. When I lost my wife, something inside me snapped. I thought I locked my heart away, convinced myself no one would ever reach it again. But you?—”

His breath hitches, his fingers tapping against the table once before stilling.

“You were already inside before I even realized it. And that scared me.”

I hold my breath, my chest tightening as he continues.

“I pushed you away because I thought it was the only way to keep myself from losing again. Because love—real love—makes you weak. It gives someone the power to ruin you.” His voice drops lower, almost hesitant. “And I swore I would never be that vulnerable again.”

He shakes his head, jaw tightening. “But when I saw you lying there in the hospital bed, Maria—when I saw you pale and unconscious, barely breathing—everything I thought I knew shattered. I wasn’t protecting myself. I was punishing myself. I was punishing you for something you never even did. And I was so fucking wrong.”

His voice is raw,thick with a kind of desperation I never thought I’d hear from him. His fingers tighten around his fork for a brief moment before he exhales, his jaw tightening.

“Do you know what it feels like, Maria?” His voice drops lower, barely above a whisper. “To think you’re untouchable—only to realize too late that someone has already burrowed so deep inside of you, you can’t breathe without them?”

He looks at me then, and for the first time, I see it. Not just the love, but the fear.

“That’s what you are to me.”

He finally looks at me, his piercing gaze locking onto mine. “You are the sun I revolve around, Maria. I will never let my fear push you away again.”