7. Reality Returns

Matteo’s Pov

I walked away from the liveless body, and I was handed a piece of clothing to wipe away the blood from my hands. I walked back to my mansion, my breaths heavy and my steps quicker than normal. My heart was pounding, and my mind was racing. I tried to breathe slowly and evenly, but it was difficult to calm my racing thoughts.

I knocked on the wooden door and waited for what felt like eternity before it was pulled open by Aria. She stood before me, looking utterly breathtaking, but she couldn’t meet my gaze. She was afraid of me. I brushed past her and called for Carter to join me in my office. On getting to my large office, Carter took in my appearance and frowned.

“You killed him”. He whispered to my hearing.

“Yes! Yes! I fucking killed him! And I want to do it again!!”. I yelled, my anger getting the best of me.

“You’re angry. Why?”. He was still calm

“He didn’t suffer as much as I wanted him to! I wanted to break his bones and watch him scream!”.

“Our only lead. You killed off our only lead!”. Carter yelled as well.

I sat in silence, trying to make sense of what had just happened. I ran my fingers through my hair, my mind racing. I moistened my lips with my tongue, taking a deep breath. I crossed my arms, my hands gripping my elbows tightly as I tried to process the events of the last few hours.

“You killed the first lead, and now another one! What the fuck, Matteo! This isn’t simple! You have to calm the fuck down”.

“I’ll kill them all. I swear it”.

“Are you mad?!! You need these men! You need them to find who ever your wife has been fucking behind your back!”.

I turned to Carter, my frustration and anger growing. I pushed my chair back from the desk and shouted, "Get out!". He hurried from the room, and I was left alone with my thoughts. My hands were shaking, and I felt the need to release my pent-up energy. I grabbed a vase from the mantle and threw it against the wall, watching it shatter into pieces. He brought it all back. It was back in my head. All that happened. What did she do to me? How she betrayed my love for her. She was my one weakness. The one person I could lay down my life for without a second thought, and she played with my feelings. My love for her, why did she do it? I hated to think she never actually did love me. Everything was perfect. She was. Our lives were. Now, I hated the idea of love. It didn’t exist to me, and it never will.

Jumping into one of my cars, I rode to Marino’s industries to bury myself in work. My mind took me back to my time with Daya before I knew what she had been doing behind my back. She was wonderful! A blessing, I thought. I accelerated my car, not thinking about my life on the line. All I could think about was Daya. Daya. Daya. Daya. I pounded on the steering wheel as I drove, my voice hoarse from shouting into the night air. I pulled into the parking lot of Marino's industries, my heart pounding in my chest. As I rushed through the building, I could feel the eyes of my employees on me, their whispers trailing behind me. Suddenly, I froze in the middle of the room, my mind racing as I closed my eyes.

“Get back to work!”. I yelled, startling myself as well.

And they hurried to their desks, trying to act like nothing happened. I strode to the elevator, but it was occupied, so I raced up the stairs. My fingers are itching to get rid of it all. The one picture of daya I had left. Buried under all the papers in a forgotten locker in my office. I needed to erase her from my life.

My heart pounded as I unlocked the door to my office, the key shaking in my trembling hand. I rushed to the locker, throwing open the doors and searching frantically for the key. The seconds ticked by, my anxiety rising with each moment that passed.

With shaking hands, I reached for the key on the top shelf, my heart racing as I found it. As I opened the locker, I saw her smiling face, the memories flooding back. My other hand clenched into a fist, a wave of emotion crashing over me. I felt like I was going to explode. The anger built inside me, rising to a crescendo. I held the picture in my hand and threw it at the window, shattering the glass in a deafening crash. The picture fluttered down to the streets below, disappearing from sight. I fell to my knees. My mind was filled with images of her, memories of the time we'd spent together. I remembered how happy we'd been, how in love we'd been. I stood up, my legs shaking, and walked over to the broken window. I peered through the shattered glass, my eyes searching the streets below. Just as I turned away from the window, my office door flew open, and an employee came running in, out of breath and with a smile on his face.

“Sir, they’re back”. He said.