Aria stayed on the edge of the velvet armchair, her knees pulled to her chest. Rain still hammered against the mansion windows, as if the storm itself was echoing the turmoil inside her. Every muscle ached from running, from fear, from the endless adrenaline of tonight. And yet… she couldn't bring herself to move.
Footsteps.
She stiffened. The door opened, and he stepped inside—Luciano Moretti. His presence filled the room, commanding it, dominating it. The storm outside seemed to dim in comparison to the electricity he carried.
"You're awake," he said, voice low and calm. But there was something beneath it—danger, curiosity, a silent warning.
"I… I couldn't sleep," she lied. Her throat was dry, voice shaking, but she refused to meet his eyes.
He crouched slightly, closing the distance between them. Aria felt the heat of him, smelled his cologne—sharp, dark, intoxicating. "You will sleep. You need rest. You will be here for your own safety, whether you like it or not."
"I don't need your protection!" Her voice cracked. "I—"
"Don't speak." His hand shot out, gripping her wrist with surprising strength. Not painfully, but enough to pin her in place. "I decide what you need, Aria."
Her eyes finally lifted, meeting his. And that's when she saw it—the storm behind his eyes, the flicker of something dangerous yet unguarded. Something that whispered that beneath the cold, ruthless exterior, there was… a man.
She pulled her hand back sharply. "You don't get to tell me what I need."
A ghost of a smirk touched his lips. "Perhaps not." His voice dropped to a whisper, heavy with something she couldn't name. "But I do get to decide whether you live or die."
Aria's heart slammed against her ribs. It wasn't a threat. It wasn't a bluff. She knew it wasn't.
He stood abruptly, pacing the room like a predator circling its prey. "You saw me. You know too much. And I don't forgive mistakes, Aria."
"I didn't do anything!" she protested, panic rising. "I didn't—"
"Shh." He cut her off with a soft but deadly tone. "The past is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is right now… and you are here. With me. In my world."
Aria shook her head. "I want to go home. I want my life back."
His gaze hardened, sharp enough to cut steel. "Your life is over, Aria. As of tonight, you belong to me. Whether you like it or not."
Her stomach dropped. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. But even as fear clawed at her, a part of her—a part she didn't understand—felt… watched. Needed. Observed. Something she couldn't resist.
Luciano turned away suddenly, moving toward the window. The rain was relentless, a perfect mirror for the storm that now raged inside the mansion—and inside her. "I will give you food, water, a place to sleep. You will obey my rules. That is all I ask."
"Obey?" Her voice trembled. "I—"
"You will learn." His words were soft, almost intimate, yet carried the weight of absolute command. He didn't look at her, but she felt his eyes on her still. Watching. Judging. Hunting.
Aria swallowed hard, shivering—not from the cold, but from the tension between them. She didn't know if she hated him, feared him, or… wanted him.
The door clicked behind him as he left, and the room was silent again, except for the rain. Her pulse raced, mind spinning.
Trapped. Afraid. Obsessed.
And in that moment, she realized something terrifying: survival wasn't just about escaping him. It was about resisting him.
And resisting Luciano Moretti… might be impossible.
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