Page 35

There is something that just doesn’t feel right with her anymore. The light that used to shine in her eyes is no longer there. She isn’t the same Emily that I knew.

“I brought you some tea and sandwiches, Mrs. Davacalli.” She sets the tray down and gives Ginny and me one last look. “I will be in the kitchen if you need me.”

“Thank you, Emily.” I offer her a warm smile, but she doesn’t return it. She inclines her head and walks back to the kitchen. I watch her until she disappears around the corner.

“What has gotten into her ass?” Ginny comments. “She used to be so… chipper and smiley.”

I shrug. “Ever since I came back from the hospital, she has been off with me.”

Ginny brushes off my comment and pulls me to the couch, where the tray has been laid out for us.

“Now, spill, how good was it?” She wags her eyebrows at me.

I blush, and my cheeks go up in flames.

“Oh, you have it bad, girl.” She picks up her cup of tea and gushes. “I think we may need something a little stronger than what we have here. Emily!”

“Oh my God, Ginny…” I roll my eyes at her antics, but I can’t help but smile.

Emily appears again, but this time, she looks like she is on the brink of irritation. But when she notices me watching her face, she blinks and schools her features.

“Yes?”

“Please get the bubbly out. We have some celebrating to do. My girl got laid!” Ginny smiles, and I laugh at her brazen nature. “Bring two bottles. My husband will come and pick me up.”

Emily bites down on her lower lip, and a flash of emotion crosses her eyes. I don’t catch it quite fast enough before she schools her features.

“Emily? Are you okay?” I pick up my teacup and hold it in my hand. “You seem rather… not yourself.”

She shakes her head and then plasters on her polite smile—a fake one. “No, I’m fine. I think I’m just tired. I will get your champagne.”

She leaves without another word, and I am left feeling uneasy. Something is going on with her, and I don’t know what it is. But I will need to get to the bottom of it. Her entire demeanor has me on edge.

I am about to get out of my seat to chase after Emily when Ginny steals my attention.

“So tell me, how do you feel?” She brings the cup to her lips, pauses, then looks down at the liquid, her brow furrowing before she continues. “And be honest.”

I shrug. “I mean, I feel good considering that now he doesn’t leave the bed or look at me like I killed his cat every time we get intimate. I think we are making strides in our relationship now.”

“Are you happy?”

Matteo’s face flashes in my mind, and my heart turns to mush almost instantly. “Yeah, I am.”

Ginny tilts her head to the side. “But? It sounds like there is a but at the end of that sentence.”

I sigh. “I mean, I can’t stop thinking about what Daniele said when we left the café that day. It’s been replaying in my mind over and over again.”

“Have you spoken to Matteo about this?” She takes a sip of the tea and pauses. “What the fuck?”

The widening of her eyes has me on edge. My heart thumps heavily in my chest. “What is it?”

She sniffs the tea, places it on the table, and then takes my cup from me. She looks to the kitchen and then back at me. “I need you to call Matteo right now.”

“What? Why?”

Ginny reaches for her bag and pulls out her phone. “I am going to call Dario. We need to get out of here now.”

Ginny stares into my teacup again, her face draining of color.

“Okay. Don’t panic,” she says, though her voice shakes ever so slightly.

She sets the cup down with exaggerated care, like it’s a ticking bomb. “This tea is poisoned, Maria. I’m serious.”

For a second, I see something rare flicker in her eyes—fear.

Not her usual dramatics. Real, bone-deep fear.

“Poisoned?”

She clamps her hand over my mouth and hushes me.

“It’s a super rare plant, you won’t be able to tell it’s in there unless you are familiar with it.

I don’t have much time to explain, but I need you to text Matteo and tell him to get over here now.

If this tea is poisoned, then it means Emily is the one who has been poisoning you. ”

My stomach churns violently. I feel like I’ve swallowed glass. The tea was halfway to my lips. My hands start to shake. Oh God—how long has this been going on?

No, there is no way that Emily of all people would do this to me…

She made me breakfast and asked about my dreams. She brought me soup. She made me that calming tea every time I was anxious. A breath hitches in my throat.

God—she was poisoning me with care.

I hear the first crack in my chest. The betrayal spreads through my blood like a thick sludge settling over every muscle.

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I am too shocked, too stunned, and… scared. All this time, it was her. I think back to all the times she offered me that tea to ‘calm me.’

“Oh my God.” I pull out my phone and quickly type a message to my husband before reaching for Ginny’s hand. “We need to get out, Tony should be outside.”

I turn so we can leave, but then I pause. The hairs on the back of my neck stand, and a cold chill runs down my spine as I come face to face with eyes that could only resemble those of a cold-blooded reptile.

“Emily…” I stare at her, completely at a loss. A woman I thought was a friend holds a knife out to us. Instinctively, I place Ginny behind me, not wanting to put her in the direct line of fire. “Put the knife down, please.”

My voice cracks before I can stop it.

“You tucked me into bed when I was sick, Emily. You held my hand when I cried over my brother, Antonio. You were there. You were my friend. How—how could you do this to me?”

“You took his love from me,” she hisses, her voice trembling with rage. “He was supposed to choose me. I was the one who stood by him—who knew what he needed. But then you came along, with your pretty little voice and your innocent eyes, and suddenly I was invisible. You ruined everything!”

I see her left eye twitch. Her hand shakes while holding the knife. The temperature drops in the room, and I gulp.

“You were supposed to die.” Her eyes are wide, like she is high or possessed. “Why didn’t you die like you were supposed to, Maria? Now… now I have to kill you myself.”

Emily’s eyes gleam, unfocused. “Beatrice was supposed to make him strong, but she made him soft. She ruined him.”

Her voice drops to a whisper. “I had to do what was necessary. And then you… you were worse.”

She lifts the knife higher. “But I won’t fail this time.”

My breath catches in my throat.

This isn’t just madness.

This is personal.

She took Beatrice from him—and now she wants to take me, too.

The betrayal stings so deeply, I almost forget to move.

But I can’t freeze.

I won’t.

I have to survive this.

For Matteo. For us. For everything we haven’t had yet.

I will not let her take that from me.