“So I’m going to ask again. Where were you?”
I scowled at him, not liking the tone of his voice. “I’m twenty-four years old. Did you have to tell anyone where you were going when you were my age?”
“That’s different, and you know it,” he said, standing up.
“How so? Because you’re a man and I’m a woman?”
“Isa—”
I shook my head, cutting him off. “The only difference is that people don’t give a damn about your virginity.”
“That is not what I’m saying at all,” he replied, sounding surprised.
“We’re not talking about this anymore. Idon’twant to talk about it with you. It’s none of your business.”
“The fuck it isn’t. Everything you do is my business. I don’t want any other fucker to take advantage of you.”
“Do you really think I’m so stupid that I can’t make decisions for myself?”
“Of course not. Just tell me who the fuck it is that hurt you.”
I laughed. There was nothing humorous about the sound. “Hurt me? You make it sound like I had no say in the matter.”
He shook his head, but even he didn’t have the words for it now.
“I’m not telling you who I spent my time with.”
“Because it's someone I know?” he asked.
My expression didn’t change, but I could feel my face getting hot, which obviously told him the answer.
“Does he want to marry you?”
I felt my face crumble for a fraction of a second. Not knowing where I really stood with Elio and our future had been weighing heavily on my mind.
Valentino’s face hardened. “He doesn’t want to fucking marry you?”
“It’s not…”
“Don’t lie to me, Isa. I can see it on your face. And the fact that the fucker doesn’t want to marry you is hurting you.”
“It’s not like that.”
“It isn’t?”
“We haven’t talked about it.”
“Did you sleep with him?”
I could feel the flush on my cheeks growing hotter. “That’s none of your business.”
“Oh, yes, it is.” He looked off to the side for a brief moment. When he turned back to me, there was a strange expression on his face. “I can always have a doctor come over to check for your virginity.”
My eyes widened. I never thought Valentino was capable of hurting me like this, but his words hit their mark.
It didn’t matter that I could see the instant regret in his eyes. My hands moved before my brain caught up, and I grabbed the first thing I touched—my straightener—and threw it at him.
He ducked out of the way in time, and it ended up hitting the wall and breaking.
