<-I-L-A-<<< "Are you ready?" Matteo asked as he started the engine.

"Yeah," I confirmed while I buckled my seatbelt into place.

"I'm not," Matteo said. I frowned. Nevertheless, contradicting his own words, he proceeded to drive.

"Of course, you were. I can't believe I really expected you to not do this right now," I said, sighing. I looked away from him in disbelief.

"What?" Matteo asked, "Do what?"

"Stop me. You are trying to stop me again. You said that you were doing it for the best of me and I got that, but now it's starting to feel like I'm being trapped all over again." Within in me, I could feel my anger boiling.

>>>-M-A-T-T-E-O-> "I'm not trying to stop you," I said, trying to difuse the tension in the atmosphere. "I'm just telling you how I feel. I know that it is selfish of me to want you to stay. I just hate the thought of you being so uncomfortable around Aiden, Marcella, Gio, and I."

I glanced at Ila for a split second before bringing my eyes back on the road. Ila shifted in her seat. Her whole body was pointing away from me, not a good sign.

"It's not that," Ila assured me, looking out of the passenger window.

"Then what is it?" I asked. I wanted to hear her explanation. I had heard enough from my father, from Marcella, from everyone else and I wanted to figure it out for myself.

"Matteo," Ila said. Her voice had dropped to a whisper. "I'm leaving because I realized I had made a mistake."

Ila looked at me. At the brim of her eyes, tears pooled. Before her tears fell, she turned away and sniffled. In her lap, she fumbled with her fingers. Occasionally, Ila would pull her hands apart in order to wipe her tears that ran down her cheeks. With her voice quivering, Ila explained, "I shouldn't have joined the mafia, and I knew it was wrong. I guess I didn't know how wrong it was until I got caught by Stollo. I have never once fought for my life like that, never once have I felt so terrified, so hurt, so guilty. I'm guilty because I brought this upon myself. I'm guilty because I murdered someone. I went rom a doctor to a criminal. Then, a criminal to a murder."

"It's not your fault," I jumped to defend her for herself. "I shouldn't have let you gone back alone. I should I told Aiden to bring you back to the car that night or escorted you myself. You did nothing wrong, Ila. I'm so sorry you went through that, but it wasn't your fault. You were a victim to my stupidity and Stollo's unmerciful cruelness."

Ila shook her head, unswayed by what I had said, "I just want to go home. I want to go back to my old life where I don't have to worry about being captured, where I don't have my life on the line. I need a cleanse. I want to forget everything bad that happened these past few months."

"Ila, you will still be looked for by Stollo," I told her. I know that wasn't something she wanted to her, but it was the truth.

"I'll tell him I have no connections with your mafia anymore."

I clenched my jaw. Ila was of many things, but why does she have to be naive.

"If he does capture me, it'll be my share of karma," I caught Ila whispering to herself the afterthought she had.

I tensed up, gripping the steering wheel as I made a promise in my head. Stollo won't get to her. I'll make sure of it.

<-I-L-A-<<< I wiped my tears for the last time. My eyes had dried out and I was grateful that Matteo didn't mention my crying to further push my level of embarrassment. To make sure there was no way for us to spark another conversation, I reached over to push a button on the dashboard. With the radio turned on, my sniffles from my clogged nose were drowned out.

We were about half an hour away and I was counting every last minute until we got there. As we pulled into the parking garage, I felt for the keys to my apartment. Instead of finding the small piece of metal that opened the door to my apartment, all my pocket was empty.

"Oh no," I said, with dread and congestion in my voice.

"What's wrong?" Matteo asked, parking.

>>>-M-A-T-T-E-O-> "I forgot my keys," Ila said, answering my question. Hearing that, I pulled out of the parking space. She asked, "Where are we going?"

"We are going back. It's late, you can sleep the car ride now and at the house. We can come back tomorrow with the key."

"No," She opposed. I frowned and let a small sigh escape my lips. I slowed down to a stop, right at the exit of the lot. Seeing that there are no cars behind us, I put the car into park.

"What do you want to do?" I asked turning to her as I waited for her reply.

After giving it some thought, Ila said, "Take me to my friend's house."

"Charlotte?" I raised my eyebrows. Ila nodded to confirmed and I shook my head. I have not yet looked into her. Although, I do know that she is also Dr. Montello's girlfriend. "I have money on me. How about we a hotel room for the night?"

"No, I miss her. I was planning to see her sometime anyways."

"At this time of night?" I asked her, seeing if there was any possible way of convincing her not to go.

"It's 10, she should already be out of the hospital. If she's not home when we get there then we'll find a hotel."

<-I-L-A-<<< I punched Charlotte's address into the GPS of the car and Matteo followed the directions. We pulled into her driveway within ten minutes and I was relieved to see that the lights were on in her house. I really didn't want to end up in a hotel room with Matteo. Leaving him was already hard enough and I'm sure something would have happened there that'll cloud my mind.

"Are you sure?" Matteo asked me as he killed the headlights.

Instead of answering him, I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out. I went to the back of the truck and opened it. Matteo followed me soon after. He appeared beside me and brought one of the suitcases to the ground. I manage to lift the other and successfully brought its wheel to the floor without it tipping over.

Without speaking a word with each other, we wheeled a suitcase each to the front door of the house. I extended my arm to ring the doorbell but I hesitated. I turned to Matteo, facing him.

"I think you should go now," I said. I put my hand on the free space of the handle attached to the suitcase Matteo was holding. He didn't let go, instead, he moved his hand over mine. Jerking it closer to him, it brought me inches away from him.

"Ila," Matteo said, giving me this look that made my heart sway.

Realizing what he was trying to do, I moved back. Countering my action, Matteo pulled me in once more. This time, I bumped into Matteo's body and his free arm held me there.

"Don't do this to me," I begged. I could feel my heart tremble and I wondered if it could handle any more of this. Matteo's hand slide from my lower back to the back of my neck. He gently guided my head forward to meet his. "Don't make it harder for me."

Ignoring my plea, he drew his lips to mine. This kiss, unlike the others, was long with a story. I felt his emotions that were never once spoken of or shown. He was fighting for me. This was his way of showing me how much he needed me to stay.

Touched by the sincerity and genuinity, I soon found all thoughts stripping itself away from me. Just as passionately, I was kissing back. Still submissive in my role, the authority in his kiss pulled at my heart.

Overwhelmed with such emotions, I needed to pull away. Blindly reaching behind me, I searched for the doorbell. Finally, my fingers fumbled over a button and I pressed it. From where we stood outside, the doorbell could be heard from the inside. Matteo pulled away and sighed agitatedly. At the sound of the door unlocking, he gave me once final stern look before going back to the car. Before I could call out to him, the door was opened by Charlotte.

"Ila? Is that you?" Charlotte asked, clearly surprised.

"Hey, Charlotte," I greeted, forcing a smile upon my freshly swollen lips. "I just got back from California and I forgot the keys to my apartment. Can I stay for the night?"

"Of course," she said as she opened the door wider for me to enter. Looking over my shoulder, Charlotte asked, "And who is that?"

I looked behind me to see Matteo pulling out of the driveway, slowly. He kept his eyes on me. There was a glare in his gaze that sliced sharply through my conscious. Was he mad at me?

"Oh, him? He's just my uber driver," I told Charlotte, lying through my teeth.

<~> Please show much love <3