Lissy Romano

8| A piece of cake.

Lissy Romano

Thankfully, Domenico believed me when I convinced him he had misunderstood. Although he kept giving me a strange look afterward, I was pretty sure I had him fooled... for now.

I finished my cake and ice cream. It was my first time ever having ice cream, but not cake. No, I had eaten cake before... once.

Miguel's birthday came to mind—the celebration with all his friends, and that cake. I'd stared at it, unable to look away as everyone else ate it, praising how delicious it was. Then one of Miguel's friends noticed me watching, my eyes filled with quiet longing.

Miguel had told me countless times not to eat anything without his permission, especially not something like that. But when his friend offered me a slice, I couldn't refuse, even knowing I'd pay for it later.

I devoured the cake quickly, terrified Miguel would take it away. That night, after the party ended, he yelled at me for breaking his rule. To punish me, he made me run until I couldn't breathe, forced me into hours of grueling exercise, and then starved me for three days. Only water.

That one slice of cake? It wasn't worth it. I learned my lesson. Nothing—not food, not happiness—was worth the punishment for breaking Miguel's rules.

"You good?" Domenico's voice pulled me out of my memories. His concerned gaze bore into me.

Shit. I'd been daydreaming in front of him, lost in my past. He must've noticed something was off.

"What?" I said, trying to feign normalcy as I blinked up at him.

"You seemed off. Everything okay?" Domenico pressed, studying me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired," I said quickly, faking a yawn for effect.

"Then let's get you to bed," he said, standing and taking my arm to help me up.

The instant his hand wrapped around my arm, pain shot through me like fire. That spot—a fresh bruise—hurt the most. I winced, trying to suppress the reaction, but it slipped through anyway.

"What's wrong?" Domenico asked, his voice suddenly filled with worry.

"My head... my headache," I lied, clutching my temple. "That's why I took the painkiller earlier."

"Alright. I'll take you to bed, then bring you more painkillers," he said before scooping me up as if I weighed nothing.

"I can walk myself," I protested weakly, but he cut me off.

"Shush. Don't argue, Lissy," Domenico said firmly as he carried me through the mansion.

He was surprisingly gentle. Despite his gruffness, he was turning out to be kind, almost caring—a side of him I hadn't seen before.

When we reached my room, he set me down on the bed and tucked me in, even taking the time to remove my shoes.

"Stay here. Don't move. I'll be back with the painkillers," Domenico said before leaving the room.

I don't want to say I enjoyed seeing him worry about me, but... it felt nice. For once, someone cared.

When he returned, he handed me a bottle of water and two painkillers.