Bound by Hatred
An Enemies-To-Lovers Romance
When Gianna watches her older sister being forced into an arranged marriage, she promises herself to escape a similar fate.
The moment Matteo – The Blade – Vitiello sees Gianna on his brother’s wedding, he wants to possess her. Her father agrees to the bond, but Gianna has no intention of marrying for any other reason than love. A few months before the wedding, Gianna runs away and begins a new life in Europe away from the mafia. But one of their best hunters and assassins is after her: Matteo.
When Matteo and a couple of her father’s soldiers catch her, not only her freedom is at risk, but also the life of the people with her.
Gianna is taken home and forced to marry Matteo.
Ridden by guilt over having dragged innocent people into her world and overcome with hatred toward Matteo, Gianna is determined to make life hell for her husband. But Matteo is a master at mind games and their struggle for power soon turns into hate-fueled nights of passion.
- Pages
- 281
- First published
- 2015
- Language
- English
- Edition
More editions
▾
Pick a cover to preview.
Reviews
Finished February 9, 2026
4.25⭐ Matteo was a huge surprise for me. I was not expecting to love him as much as I did. He is absolutely devoted to Gianna and is kinder and more understanding than she deserves. Gianna is foolish & selfish, she wants Matteo but doesn't want to want him. She casts him as the evil villain in this story; he is a violent mafia man, but no other man would have treated her better, given her propensity to be outspoken, prideful, and impetuous. Gianna tries to escape, knowing the odds are stacked against her, and if caught, it could mean her death. She also jeopardizes her sister, who lends aid to her escape, which will infuriate her husband. Gianna is a bitch towards Matteo and unnecessarily mean when he has treated her with kindness and protected her. Their chemistry, however, is undeniable. They have some steamy scenes together. The ending was sweet, and I did very much enjoy their story, even if Gianna wasn't the most likable in parts of the book. I do love it when the women try to make a run for it, and the MMC gives chase. Maybe I would have married Matteo if he’d ever bothered to ask me instead of ordering me to do it. And now I wouldn’t ever get a real wedding or a beautiful dress. I’d always thought I didn’t care about these things but now that they were lost to me I felt saddened. Nobody had ever looked at me like that, like I was the only source of water in a time of drought. And by God, I enjoyed it. Part of me at least, the other part, the stubborn part, wanted to hang onto my anger and sadness and indignation, and not give a damn about Matteo’s desire for me. I felt like it was my duty to fight this marriage, and the tingling that flooded my body whenever Matteo touched me. I owed it to Sid, and to my own self-respect. I’d fought too hard and long to be free. His grin got even cockier. “Because you didn’t want to admit that you waited for me.” I hated that he was being considerate. I hated that he wasn’t acting like a total asshole, hated that hating him wasn’t as easy as I’d thought. If he wasn’t an asshole, then somehow Sid’s death was even more my fault, because my running away was unnecessary and selfish and unfounded. Six months ago it had been all I could think about, had been an obsession that had consumed me, and now it sometimes felt that I only thought about running because I felt that I was supposed to do it. It was confusing. I wasn’t as miserable as I’d worried I’d be living with Matteo. Of course, he was a crazy-ass killer, but it wasn’t as if I wasn’t used to that kind, and it actually made life exciting even if I hated admitting it. “I’d do it for you. You are my wife and I want to make you happy.” “If you really care about me and want to see me happy, let me go. All I’ve ever wanted was freedom and a normal life.” The moment the words left my mouth, I realized I wasn’t sure if they were still the truth. Matteo’s expression shut off, something hard and cold settling in his eyes. He lay back down and extinguished the lights. I almost apologized and reached out for him. His lips brushed my ear. “I guess then that means I don’t care enough. Because letting you go? That’s the one thing I’ll never do.” “All I could think about when I wasn’t at your side after you’d broken down was ‘what if you die and all I’ve ever done was treat you badly and push you away.’ I’ve been acting like a major bitch. I’m sorry.” “I love you, Gianna. I’ve fucking loved you for a long time.” Hearing Matteo say that he loved me set my heart aflame. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so happy. I’d thought admitting my feelings to anyone would give that person more power over me, but instead I felt freer than I had in a long time. I’d fought my emotions for so long, had held myself back for no good reason. I’d tried to become someone else, some kind of ideal I’d thought I needed to be, but that had never been me and never would. Matteo had held up a mirror to my face and showed me who I really was and where I belonged. I’d hated it, had fought it tooth and nail, but it was time to be brave. “Yes. I love him, the bad and the good,”
Finished November 23, 2021