A Second Chance: Book Three of The Costanzo Series-Standalone

CHAPTER EIGHT

Two weeks later...

MELINA

It's been two weeks since Melina was in the torture room. She's figured out she's in Italy as everyone here speaks Italian. By everyone, that includes the maids living in the house where Melina has been recovering for the past two weeks. Leo had brought her to the maid's quarters, and until today she hadn't stepped out of it. Right now she's on her way to Thomas' office with the cleaning supplies Linda gave her. She's surprised she'll be cleaning his office and bedroom as she assumed he wouldn't let her anywhere near him. What will he do when he sees her again?

In the last few weeks, she and Linda have become good friends. The forty-year-old woman has been good to Melina. Her kindness makes Melina miss her elder sister, Franky. Melina never knew her mother's true identity. The woman walked out on the family when Melina was two years-old.

Franky says that's when her father's drinking problem started. Melina didn't suffer what happened when her father was drunk. Franky always made sure she took the beating or blocked the bottles their father threw at Melina. Melina feels indebted to her sister, and that's why she didn't dare tell her about what happened with Thomas. She knows Franky would do anything to save her, and Melina didn't want her involved. Melina will do everything she can to make sure that never happens.

Arriving at Thomas' office, Melina places the cleaning supplies on the floor. She moves her eyes across the room to get a good look at the place before she starts. The size of the room makes her jaw drop. It's massive. She can see why Thomas asked her to clean it. He knows she's terrible at cleaning and wants to torture her in a different way.

Melina imagines how many hours she'll take to wipe the dust off the bookshelves that start behind his desk and encircle the room. By the time she's done, she won't have enough time or energy to clean one of the couches that sit across from his desk or even the coffee table between the two couches. She sighs, picking up a cloth to start with the windows as she doesn't want to clean them at the end when she's desperate to leave.

***

Melina feels something tickling her face as she sleeps. She lifts her hand to slap it away but gets caught in something. Her eyes shoot open.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing sleeping when you're supposed to be working?" Thomas asks, a breath away from Melina's face.

Melina quickly sits up on Thomas' bed and wipes the drool off her mouth. She stares at him wide-eyed, wondering how she'll escape the situation she's put herself in. Her brilliant idea to take a nap in Thomas' room after she finished cleaning his office was her most stupid decision yet. But she didn't have a choice. Linda didn't allow Melina to take a proper break in her room as she wished.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I must have fallen asleep while taking a small break." Melina knows her lie is too unbelievable, but it doesn't hurt to try and lie her way out.

"Really? That's the best you can come up with?" He arches his brow at her. Melina looks down, praying he won't hurt her, having caught her in a lie. "Take off your clothes."

"Huh?" She lifts her head up and locks eyes with him.

"I said, take off your clothes," he says, his breath fanning her face with every word. She smells the familiar cigarette breath she hated but accepted over time.

"Why?"

"I don't see why I have to give you a fucking reason. Take your damn clothes off, Melina."

"No," Melina shakes her head, standing up from the bed.

"No!" He laughs drily. A yelp escapes Melina's lips as Thomas backs her up against the wall. "I see you've grown a backbone because I let you heal." His hand rests around her neck, pinning her to the wall.

"Thomas," she whispers, putting her hands on his, trying to ply them away. "Please let go." Meeting his eyes, she pleads with him, but Thomas glares at her and tightens his hold. He moves close to her ear and rests his lips there. Heat crawls up her body as his hot breath fans her neck. She swallows hard as his scent fills her nose, blinding her senses.

"Melina," he whispers, causing all the hair on her back to rise. "If I want you fucking naked, you fucking get naked." His other hand moves to her waist. "Understand?" he asks, pulling her closer to him. Their chests rise and fall fast together.

"Yes."

"Good." He releases her waist and takes a step back from her. "Now, get naked," he commands

Melina still hesitates to take off her clothes and begins looking at the door. Something doesn't add up. Why does he want her to take off her clothes? She looks between him and the door and decides to make a run for it. She doesn't take more than a step before he grabs her by the hair and throws her on the bed.

"I'm sorry," she screeches.

"I can see you have a degree in pissing me off." He straddles her waist and pulls her hands above her head with only one of his. She fights to get free as his other hand moves down her body, ripping her dress open. The buttons of her clothes fly into every corner of the room. Tears fill her eyes as Thomas' eyes roam her body. She can't believe what's happening. She never thought he'd take her against her will. How is he going so quickly from being angry to rape? He only caught her taking a nap on his bed!

"Fucking stay still," he growls at her. Her heart sinks as she feels his hand on her waist, pressing her to the bed. Shaking her head, she tells herself it's not happening, that Thomas would never do this to her.

Her eyes shut, and the tears run free, as she feels Thomas' hand pushing her dress up. Her body goes limp, and she waits for her underwear to be ripped off. She hopes it won't hurt too much if she doesn't fight. She hears him whispering in Italian to himself and doesn't bother to try and understand since she can't translate the language.

"Il dottore ha fatto un buon lavoro. Non ci sono molte cicatrici. Va bene," he says in Italian. Then, he switches to English. "The doctor did a good job. There aren't many scars. That's good."

Melina can only stay still and keep her eyes closed, confused by the whiplash of ruthlessness to gentleness.

"Get out," Thomas suddenly says. Melina's eyes shoot open. He lets go of her hands and pulls away from her. Melina stares at him, wondering if she's dreaming.

"Get out and make sure no one sees you naked." Moving closer to her, he grabs her face, holding her chin. "If any of my men fucking see a glimpse of your body because your dress is torn, I'll make sure I finish what you thought I wanted to do." He lets go of her face like it's dirt on his hand.

Slowly standing up, Melina pulls the middle of her dress together and tries to cover her exposed skin. She wills her feet to move but doesn't take a step on her own as Thomas grabs her by the arm and drags her to the door. She holds on tight to her dress, remembering his threats as he throws her out.

She flinches as the door bangs loud behind her. He's so angry, and she doesn't even know what she did wrong. Getting caught sleeping in his bed during working hours would make him mad, but his anger is so strong that she knows for sure it's something else.

Why did he ask her to take off her clothes if he didn't want to rape her? Her eyes move to her chest, wondering if something there stopped him. Tears fill her eyes, seeing why he stopped. She bites her lips, muffing her cries as she looks at her scars. Going limp against the door, her back hits the door hard as she drops to the floor. Her heart starts to ache, realizing Thomas must have always been disgusted by her scars. No man on this planet would find her attractive with the number of scars on her body. She pulls her knees to her chest and hugs them close to her hurting heart. She's sure since they're no longer together, he doesn't have to lie about how ugly they are. She can't believe she actually believed he didn't see them as disgusting. Feeling like the biggest fool on earth right now, she throws her back, crying her heart out.

It's like every day she wakes up, and Thomas hurts her more. She doesn't even understand how this is possible when she's the one who betrayed him, but her heart is the one getting shattered.