Chapter 5

By the time the last show of the day finished, it was after midnight, and she had a throbbing headache from sitting in darkness and the flickering light of the projector all day and a slightly upset stomach from a diet-soda and popcorn.

As she headed back to her car, the sudden reality of her situation sank in, and she started trembling.

Eliza didn't know what to expect from Romano.

Eliza had never seen him display anything other than icy control, even in bed, but it was the first time she had ever done anything like this.

She always strove to be the perfect omega and perfect spouse, always putting Romano’s or her father's wishes first, and something as innocent as going to the movies without telling her husband seemed beyond reckless.

While she knew Romano would never physically hurt her, his potential to hurt her emotionally was unlimited.

The house was ablaze with light when she got back, and the dread made her stomach heave.

Eliza swallowed down her nausea before parking her car and heading toward the front door, which was wrenched open before she even had the chance to get her keys out.

She gulped slightly at the intimidating form of her husband looming in the doorway and stifled a yelp when Romano grabbed her arm and yanked her inside.

Romano slammed the door shut, gripping both her shoulders in his huge hands and backed her up until she was leaning against the door.

It took her a few seconds to get over her disorientation and grasp that Romano wasn't hurting her.

Romano’s eyes feverishly raked up and down her trembling body, until he was satisfied that everything was in relatively good condition, and then he raised his eyes to meet hers full on.

His eyes, which Eliza had so little opportunity to actually look into of late, were heartbreakingly beautiful. They were blue and set between incredibly thick, black lashes and beneath sweeping brows, and right now they were smoldering with something that, in a less controlled man, might have been described as fury.

Romano’s hands released her shoulders and crept up to her face. She flinched slightly at the contact, but they remained gentle, moving to cup her jaw, his large thumbs brushing over her cheeks.

Eliza’s breathing became ragged when he leaned toward her, dipping his head closer to her.

Romano was so close that the omega could feel his clean, warm breath on her face.

He tilted her jaw slightly, and she groaned, inhaling his scent greedily, aching for her husband's lips on hers, wanting it, so desperately her legs had just about turned to jelly, and the only thing that kept her from falling to a puddle at Romano’s feet was his solidly muscled body braced against hers.

Eliza could feel alpha's erection throbbing against her stomach and knew he wanted her as desperately as she wanted her husband.

Romano’s lush mouth was centimeters away from hers, and when he spoke, his lips brushed against her mouth.

"You pull a stunt like this again, tesoro mia, and I swear to God, you'll regret it!" (Trans/ my darling)

Eliza flinched as reality brought her back down to earth with a crash.

Romano let her go, and she slid down the door to land at his feet. Romano raked a contemptuous glance over her, the ice back and the fire gone.

"Where have you been?" he asked calmly. Eliza staggered to her feet, humiliated that she had allowed this alpha to affect her to such an embarrassing extent that she would fall at his feet.

Eliza tilted her head back defiantly and refused to answer him.

"Eliza, I'm warning you..."

"Warn away," the omega taunted shakily.

"You want to stay married? Fine. But I refuse to let you walk all over me anymore. It's time you started showing me some respect!"

"How the hell am I supposed to respect someone who sold herself to the highest bidder?" the alpha growled with tight control, and Eliza gasped, stung.

"I have no respect for you, Eliza, not even as the potential mother of my child, because, quite frankly, you can't even do that right."

At that, Eliza completely lost it, and for the first time in her entire twenty-four years, Eliza resorted to violence.

Eliza launched herself at the alpha, hissing, spitting, and scratching like a cat.

In that moment she hated him so much that it felt like a living thing trying to claw its way out of her to get at her tyrant husband.

When she came back to herself, she realized that Romano had her in his arms, her back to his front, her wrists in his hands, and his arms crossed over her chest.

They were both out of breath. There were terrible mewling sounds coming from the back of the omega's throat, the words of hate she had repeatedly hurled at her husband having long ago faded into incoherent sobs.

Romano’s lips were in her hair, just above her left ear, and he was making soothing sounds, not hurting her, just restraining her with his superior strength. Eliza went limp, hanging defeated from his arms.

"I'm sorry." She froze; the words were so quiet she wasn't sure she heard him correctly.

"That was...cruel and wrong of me. I didn't mean that."

More words? Eliza didn't know how to respond and so chose not to say anything. She felt Romano swallowing before he gingerly released her wrists and stepped away from her.

Eliza made a show of rubbing them, even though the alpha hadn't hurt her at all.

Instead, the omega seemed to have inflicted most of the damage on both of them. A few of her nails were broken, and her fists were bruised from the few angry punches she had managed to land against his hard body.

Eliza turned around to face her husband and was shocked to see that he was bleeding.

He had scratches on his hands and face, including a deep, angry-looking one on his neck. He also had bite marks on his muscled forearms, and a darkening bruise on his jaw.

Romano saw her eyes land on the bruise and ruefully rubbed it.

"You pack a mean punch," he said sheepishly, before looking down at his hands and swearing softly in Italian.

"You've hurt yourself." He said and grimaced at the bruises and broken nails.

Eliza snatched her hand from Alpha's; she was not sure what this weird act was about and definitely did not trust it.

Romano’s eyes darkened at her mistrustful glare, and he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Eliza pushed her way past him before heading toward the staircase.

"Eliza..." she stopped but didn't turn around.

"I really am sorry about what I said. It wasn't true." she knew his apology was insincere.

While Romano hadn't ever said so, Eliza knew that he blamed the omega for the baby she had lost early on in their marriage.

The fact that Eliza hadn't conceived since then had merely cemented his low opinion of her.

"I'm going to bed," she whispered, ignoring the apology and still not looking at him.

"Yes..." Romano moved out of her way and buried his hands in his trouser pockets.

Eliza was intensely aware of his eyes boring into her back as she walked away from the alpha, and held her head up as she ascended the stairs to the second floor.