Chapter 4 SWEET POISON

Liana had already spent more than a week in the mansion. Everything she needed or even felt like she wanted was provided for her.

Contrary to what she imagined, Matteo was always at home. He went nowhere except it was very important and did nothing but appear in front of her each moment with a coy smile.

Even when he was out, he spent less than an hour most times and quickly returned home to besiege her with his presence, his evergreen smile still intact.

It was obvious that he was up to something, but it was hard to tell if he was trying to turn her into his pawn in his chess game.

He refused to make any other attempt to sleep with her, and that made Liana ask so many questions.

"Doesn't he find me attractive? Is he sleeping with someone else?"

As much as Liana detested the man for snatching her freedom from her, she hated the idea of having to share him with others, but she didn't want to admit it.

She chose to ignore him, seeing everything he did as an attempt to break her.

Liana felt that she could withstand the pressure from her heart, but not even her prayers could get rid of the temptation.

So to completely stay out of sin, she chose not to reply to anything he said or even look him in the eyes.

She excused herself anytime he was changing, and returned when she thought it was safe.

Matteo didn't mind going naked in front of her, he figured they were married and there was nothing he could hide.

The first time she saw those scary tattoos on his back, she feared that either the dragon or the eagle could crawl out of his body one night and attack her in her sleep.

For the first time since they got married, Matteo went out at night and didn't come back. Liana slept peacefully, rolling from one part of the bed to the other.

She was woken up the next morning by a knock on the door. She got up and staggered to get to the door.

"Good morning, Mrs. Romano." The steward assigned to her greeted them with a smile.

She hated to be addressed as such, but she also knew that they had no choice.

"Good morning, Julie..." Liana rubbed her eyes. She still felt a bit sleepy, but she had to pretend to be fully awake.

"Mr. Romano asked me to give this to you." Julie presented her with a flower bouquet and a gift box shaped like a heart.

Liana almost didn't take the items. "It's too early for this." She thought, but she had to grab them with both hands.

"Thank you, Julie." Liana forced a smile and Julie chuckled.

The steward seemed more excited than the receiver of the gift.

"I will be downstairs just in case you need me." Julie left, and Liana shut the door at once.

She looked at the items she was holding, none of them was enough to please her.

It was not the first time Matteo was getting her gifts.

Shoes, bags, dresses, perfumes, jewelry, chocolates, and every other thing but nothing seemed to please her.

Ashe still despised him no matter how hard he was willing to try.

She tossed the flower by the side of the cabinet where there were four others from the last four times he got her gifts.

At first, Liana wanted to toss the gift box away, thinking that it could still contain the usual things he got for her, but her curiosity couldn't let her.

Sitting on the bed, she slowly unwrapped the red box and opened it.

Her eyes widened in disbelief the moment she saw what was inside.

"Who would have thought? The devil knows these things" She flouted.

Liana slowly took out the bible from the box, alongside the silver necklace with golden crucifix attached to it.

Matteo was fond of gifting her even though there was no need for that and she rejected all of them, including the corvette he got for her as a wedding gift.

But the bible and necklace were completely different, and she wasn't sure if she could reject them as well.

With her eyes full of admiration, she grabbed the necklace and carefully tried it on. It looked very beautiful on her as she stared in the mirror.

She opened the bible, and on the first page, there was something written on it.

"FROM THE DEVIL TO HIS LITTLE SAINT."

Liana chuckled, Matteo surely had a good sense of humor.

"I see you like them..." He caught her unawares, and she almost flung the bible away.

She wanted to take the necklace off, but it was already too late.

"I didn't hear you come in." She turned to Matteo, and then she saw that he was carrying a tray with both hands.

"I made you breakfast," Matteo said, and then he joined her on the bed.

"I hope you like it, it has been a while since I went into the kitchen. But I assure you that I got some help from the chef." Matteo chuckled, but Liana was certain he had made a terrible decision.

She thought the food was going to look bad, but when Matteo opened it, she was stunned.

The aroma of the omelets and sausages made her stomach grumble, and she suddenly became hungry.

"Go ahead, try it." Matteo urged, but she refused.

"I have no reason to poison you, you are my wife." He added, and Liana decided to take a bite.

From a bite, she finished the whole food while Matteo watched with a smile.

He handed her the cup of water from the tray and took it when she drank to her fill.

"Thank you," Liana said, and for the first time, she smiled genuinely and wholeheartedly at him.

"There it is." Matteo was satisfied, but it felt like he was about to say something else.

"That's the first crack in your armor, and I am going to break it." He added, leaving her completely dumbfounded.