Chapter 125: Red and Blue Hands
"It’s nothing," Matteo said instinctively, not liking the pinched, worried look in Amelia’s eyes. If he told her the truth, he knew she would be blaming herself for causing him trouble. "I’m more worried about you. How are you feeling?"
"Don’t change the subject," Amelia said firmly, tightening her fingers around Matteo’s wrists, preventing him from pulling away. After all they had been through, she wasn’t going to let Matteo wriggle out of answering her questions.
Besides, Matteo’s non-answer had told her more than anything else he could have said.
"This was because of me, wasn’t it? That’s why you didn’t want me to ask about it," Amelia stated, her voice soft as she turned her gaze back into Matteo’s hands. Her fingers gently brushed against a freshly healed cut, the blue blacks of his skin swimming in her irises.
"You didn’t wear your gloves. That was foolish of you," Amelia started with a quiet sigh. To allow his hands to suffer such frostbite, Matteo must not have cared much about his own well-being when he went out to search for her.
That very thought made her heart ache, yet it sparked a kindle of warmth in her.
"I did not," Matteo agreed placidly. "Then again, I have ten fingers, but I only have one of you. It stands to reason you’re my priority."
"That’s so..." Amelia spluttered. She didn’t even know how she could respond to such a statement. "Your fingers are important! If you lost them, how would you do your job? How would you live?"
"If you’re dead, there’s no point in living," Matteo said simply. "And I’ve always fancied having robotic limbs."