“We were by the pool, and some kid ran over and hit Adelina, making her fall in and hit her head. I did everything I could to save her.”
He places a hand on my shoulder. “I know you did. You’d never hurt her.”
I think back to the other day and the chaos that happened with my men. Dario doesn’t need to know. He’ll only try and kill me if he finds out, and all the work we’ve done together will be over.
“Thanks,” I say instead.
“So, despite this, how’s everything else been going?”
I pause. “We’re still getting acquainted with each other. You know how that is.”
“Yeah. When Pia and I got married, she had her reservations, but she opened up to me in time.”
“I hope Adelina does the same for me.”
“I’m sure she will. My sister is nothing if not good. I know she wasn’t exactly happy about this marriage, but she’s gone along with it because she knows it’s her duty. I hope you’ve been good to her.”
“Of course,” I say quickly, hoping Dario doesn’t notice the worry in my voice.
The doctor who treated Adelina comes over to us. “We have her in a room now. Based on the exam, she’s all right. Even so, we’d like to observe tonight to ensure she’s healthy. For now, you can go see her.” He takes us to her room and leaves, giving us some space.
Dario rushes to her side while I stay back. Adelina would probably prefer to see her brother than me. Then a thought occurs to me. What if she tells him about what happened to her? Fuck. I’d be so screwed.
“Adelina?” Dario asks. “Are you all right?”
She nods, clearing her throat. “Yes,” she whispers.
“You can talk,” I breathe out.
“Yes,” she repeats.
Dario grabs her hand. “We were worried about you.”
“Thank you,” she says to him. “For coming to help.”
“Always. I’m your brother. You know I’m here for you.”
Adelina’s eyes flit to me, then back to Dario. Is she going to tell him? “I know. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” He nods at me. “I’ll give you two some space.” He walks out of the room as I approach the bed.
“You didn’t tell,” I say.
“I didn’t want to worry him,” she explains. “He has enough on his plate. He doesn’t need to know about what your men did to me. He’ll just blame you for it.”
“You care what happens to me?”
She lets out a rough breath. “I care about my brother, and I don’t want to worry him. It’s not for you. Besides, we’ve taken some strides since then, and I don’t want to ruin that.”
“I don’t want to backtrack either.”
She meets my gaze. “Thank you. For saving me.”
I grab her hand. “I told you I always will.”
She stares at my hand a moment longer before answering. “And now I know you keep to your word. I was so scared, Matteo. I could feel the water rushing into me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. All I saw was darkness after a while. Then I heard you asking for me to wake up, and when I opened my eyes, there you were. My savior.” She squeezes my hand.
“I’d do it again and again. You need to know that. I don’t want to see you hurt. Ever.”