Matteo's pov- I was nervous at first to tell Gabriella about my past but she put me at ease with her words. Over the years I was never able to tell anyone what really happened, I was scared they'd just judge me

That they'd think I'm disgusting, but she reassured me that she wouldn't judge me. She made me feel safe enough to share my deepest darkest secrets with her

Earlier I was sure I was going to be left alone to deal with my demons but she helped me when everyone else just stood there. I don't blame them for not doing anything but I just wanted that reassurance from someone and she gave it to me

I will never know how she became so mature. Her eyes, they hold so many secrets, pain that she tries so hard to hide but I can see it, I can feel it because I've been there

Trying to convince everyone and myself that I'm fine as I drown deeper in my pain and self pity. I want to know what happened with her but I don't want to push her

"Bambina?" I called out softly and she turned to me with a curious look on her face

"How did you know how to help me?. You seemed really experienced, you knew exactly how to calm me down. How did you know how to do all that?" I asked slowly, not trying to overwhelm her

I watched as her expression changed, her gaze became harder and she looked down at the floor, clenching her jaw tightly

"You don't have to tell me. I just want to make sure you're fine" I said quickly, afraid that she was angry at me

"It's fine. I just need a minute to arrange my thoughts" she said softly, fiddling with her fingers

"Take your time" I said and moved away from her slightly, wanting to give her space

I gazed at her from far away and noticed her hands tremble ever so slightly, her chest moved up and down quickly

"Bambina please calm down. You don't have to tell me, fuck I'm so stupid. I shouldn't have asked" I rushed out

"I'm fine. I trust you enough to tell you, you told you your darkest secret. It's only fair I tell you mine too" she said and I shook my head

"You don't have to feel pressured just because I told you. You don't have to feel like you need to tell me, you really don't have to" I said and grabbed her hand

She turned towards me and my heart clenched at the sight, her eyes held so much pain, it hurt to look at her in this state

"I want to tell you but can you please promise me you won't say a word about this to the others?" She asked and I nodded immediately

"I swear on your life. I will never speak about this with anyone" I assured her and she took a deep breath. I stayed quiet and allowed her to gather her thoughts

"My life with mom was different from what I told you guys" she started and I kept quiet, listening to her intently

"Everything was good until mom brought Luke home one day. Something about him didn't feel right, he made me feel uncomfortable everytime he came over

Whenever mom wasn't around us, he would beat me. He said he couldn't stand my face, he told me I was ugly. Mom would often leave me with him and he never failed to make my life a living hell

I never knew what I did that was so bad to make him hurt me the way he did, he would whip me, carve disgusting words unto my body, starve me. Try to drown me, if I didn't make food for him on time he would punish me

He punished me for the silliest things, he took pleasure in breaking me. He shattered whatever hopes and dreams I had. One time he tried to sell me off when mom was away all because I tried to tell her what he was doing

I ran away and I met papa, he took me in and trained me. I am who I am today because of him

When I got back after six months when I was sure mom had arrived, it became worse. He vented all his anger on me, I was his personal punching bag" she finished, tears were falling down her face rapidly

She had her head bowed, at that moment I saw a vulnerable part of my bambina I never thought I'd ever see. She looked broken

I felt anger pulse in my veins, what kind of sick psycho would hurt a kid so badly?. She was just a fuckin child, she didn't deserve all that

"Bambina did he touch you?" I asked the question that had been on my mind

"He did, it was part of the things he enjoyed doing to me. The one time he tried to rape me, mom came home earlier than expected so he was forced to let me go" she whispered, her shoulders trembled as a sob escaped her

"Come here" I said, fighting back the tears and pulled her into a hug

She buried her face in my chest and cried, hearing her sobs I couldn't fight back my tears anymore. I held her tightly as we both cried, for everything that was done to us without our consent

I pulled away when I was sure she had stopped crying. I stared into her eyes and placed a kiss on her forehead

"You're so fuckin strong" I whispered to her

We stayed hugging each other for some time and I looked down at her, not sure how to ask the question on my mind

"Say it" I heard her say and I snapped out of my thoughts to see her looking at me "What?" I asked in confusion

"You're thinking too loud, you want to ask something so just say it" she said with a shrug

How the fuck did she know I wanted to ask her a question

"Why didn't you kill him?" I asked and she stilled

"I couldn't. I wanted to but whenever I saw him my body would freeze, I couldn't do anything even though I wanted to

I feared him so much that even though I could easily kill him I didn't. It frustrated me because I never knew why I couldn't bring myself to killing him" she answered and I immediately understood

Her trauma didn't let her. It was the same with me, whenever I saw that monster my body would stop functioning, my mind would scream at me to fight but my body just wouldn't cooperate

"He's gone now. He'll never hurt you ever again" I tried to reassure her

"He's not dead. He's still alive and still troubling my life. He's working with Viktoria but I feel that they're both being used by someone bigger" she said tiredly

My eyes widened in shock. I suddenly remembered when she told us he was sending her messages and calling her. Fuck so all that was true and she had to deal with it all by herself.

"I'm sorry for not taking your words seriously" I apologized, feeling guilty

"It's alright" she said, brushing it off

I suddenly recalled something and my jaw dropped. Yes it makes sense now

"Antonio knows doesn't he?" I said and looked at her

"Yes" she answered plainly

That's why he was acting weird at the hospital. And he gets mad at Dom for keeping secrets

"Stop what you're doing, I told him I wasn't ready to tell you guys yet. He was just respecting my wishes" she said with a pointed look

"Are you a witch?" I asked seriously

"I don't think so. Do I have a crooked nose, wrinkly skin, hunched back?" She asked and walked over to the mirror, staring at her reflection I chuckled at her behavior, I can see she's back to her usual ways, I'm no idiot though, I can tell it's just a facade

"Do you wanna go down now? I can tell the others are growing impatient" I suggested and she nodded after some time

We went downstairs and saw everyone in the exact position we left them. These guys are crazy

"Are you two okay? Bambina your face is red, did you cry?" Dom asked when we got there

"We're fine. Can we get something to eat? I'm famished" I said, trying to draw the attention to myself. I noticed she was becoming uncomfortable

"Come on" Emilio said, breaking the awkward silence and motioned for us to go to the dining table

I shared a look with Gabriella and we made our way to the dining table. Thankfully no one asked what we were talking about, I don't think I'll ever be able to tell them what happened, it will crush them. Especially Antonio, I don't want to hurt him

______________________________________ Hey guys!

I hope you like this chapter, it's not much but it'll have to do for now. Let me know what you think about it in the comment section

If you have any ideas, drop em in the comment section and I'll try to add it into the next chapter.

Please don't forget to VOTE. I need them votes, also please comment, I need to know if you're actually enjoying the book

I'll see y'all in the next chapter. I'll try to speed up the update so you guys aren't left hanging

That'll be all for now. Have a good day/night. Love y'all ❤️