Her Pov:I slip out of the sedan as I almost crawl outside. A few more steps, and there's the gate of the construction site leading outside.I get up and slowly walk to the gate of the construction site. With a few steps, I will be out of here. My chest tightened as if an invisible hand clenched my ribs. Each step towards the gate seemed to echo with voices from my first day in Italy—whispers of fear, shadows of memories dragging me back.Leonardo told me to stay in the car. What will happen when he sees I have run away? I don't have my passport with me... What will I do? How will I survive? What if Leonardo finds me?I force them on the back of my head. I won't get this chance again. I will have to take it nonetheless. Once I am away from here, I can probably make a way out of here.I turn around and take a last glance at Leonardo. He's giving me his back on this side. And the guards of his are beating the people they have caught from the SUVs. The air is full of their painful screa
His Pov:I slam the door behind me. I needed to leave the room, or I would have killed her by now. Her words enraged me more than it should have. Her influence on me is getting stronger with every passing day. And I can't afford that. I would have just killed her if I hadn't loosened my hold on her neck. I don't understand when she had gotten that much effect on me that all I could see was red. I couldn't see anything past that. Her seemingly not wanting me always irritated me. But when she admitted that she wants to fucking get rid of me I felt something I didn't know I was capable of feeling.She's so desperate to get rid of me that among the guns and guns shots, all she could think of was escaping me, making me want to thrash something or squeeze the life out of someone. It's true that I have no reason to keep her, but I can't let go of her. Yet. I can't. But she can. She wants to leave me, and it makes me enraged. To the point I almost killed her today! She was just doing okay
Her Pov:He slams the door behind him and leaves as I am on the floor trying to catch my breath, stupefied and scared stiff.I feel tears welling up in my eyes, still not being able to breathe properly. Sweat forms on my forehead as my mouth and throat are burning and aching from his chokehold. I taste metal in my mouth from biting on my lips due to pain. I still can't get over what just happened. I tried to stop my hands from shaking as my mind kept playing of him strangling me. No mercy in those dead eyes. No second thought, no hesitation in those hazal eyes...I didn't know, behind the Leonardo, I knew there was such a beast hidden. I assumed it after that day he fucked me but I never could have thought that the beast that is hidden inside him might be his real identity. The rest of it is just a facade. It's just a show for the world. And he plays it very well. Too well that a freaking murderer is roaming free outside.I was always kind of scared of him even though he had never sho
Her Pov:Leonardo... He is standing behind me in a black tuxedo towering over me. His hazel eyes lock with my ice blue ones in the mirror . He's standing too close to me. So close his breathing is creating a sensation on my nape as he's watching me through the mirror.And his eyes... His eyes have something I have never witnessed before.. It has admiration amusement and something else... Something totally else...Not being able to bear his piercing gaze, I trun my face away. He gets closer as his nose touches the shell of my ear slightly as he takes me in. " You smell so fucking good." He concludes in his husky voice as he intensely watches me...I move away from him. I can't bear how close he is to me. I wear the necklace and the other jewellery as I get myself ready.All this time, Leonardo's staring at me. Watching me. As if trying to read my actions. I try to keep myself calm, but only I know at this time I am anything but calm. I don't know how much the security the place will be
Her Pov:The lady comes to us hurriedly as she recognises Leonardo even while he is wearing a mask. The lady is wearing a wine toned gown as she looks breathtakingly beautiful even behind her mask." Brother.. You are late.." She whines." But you didn't cut the cake." Leonardo replies. His voice is way softer with her admirable even." Of course I had to wait for you.." She states happily." Is it? Is it me or your precious husband that you are waiting for you?" Leonardo asks her in a playful tone as I watch totally taken aback. I never witnessed Leonardos this side. Even he can be playful like a normal person..She laughs. " Well, that also. I had to come back from Paris alone as he had to urgently attend a meeting in the US. He must be on his way to here."Before Leonardo could say anything else, her eyes fell on me as even behind her mask, I could tell that caused a crease on her forehead. She was about to say something, but a voice from the middle of the room made her halt and al
Her Pov:Leonardo's watching me from a few steps away with shock visible in his eyes even from behind the mask. " Because of me what?"I don't answer him as I run. I run back to the hall. I could feel myself tripping from the length of my gown, but I don't stop. I can't stop. I could feel my tears wetting my cheeks, but I didn't stop.I don't hear any footsteps behind me as I kept running towards the hall. He is not following me to the hall. I reach to the hall, and the guards let me in as I hurriedly look around for the man. He's not in the middle of the room now. The crowd moved to the same centre where the cake was at. Then.... Is he there?With every step I take towards the crowd, my pulse rises. As if the whole world can hear my heartbeat. As if it would burst out of my ribcage. But I don't stop. I near the crowd, and the woman has a sword in her hand for the huge cake as she seems to be ready to be cutting the cake. But I can't focus on that as I look around for the man. I loo
Her POV:" And this is.. Antonio.. Her husband." And my eyes shot up to Antonio as I was totally dumbfounded. What? Husband!? And just at that moment, his dark brown eyes clash with my ice blue one from behind our masks. " And this is Rosalina." Leonardo concludes.Even from behind his black mask, I could see how his eyes got bigger. First shock and then disbelief settling in those dark brown eyes as he watches me with unbelief. I try to breathe as my eyes are locked with his dark brown ones. He's still the same. Same tall and dark with dark black hair. Those dark brown eyes won't he same intensity. But is he actually the same? What is Leonardo talking about? Husband? Husband of his sister? But it has been only around 2 months that he left me there, then how is he Leonardo's sister's husband?I break eye contact with him as my gaze moves back to Leonardo as a low gasp leaves my mouth. " Husband?" Before Leonardo could reply, Susan, his sister, came forward and took Antonio's ha
Her Pov:Leonardo drops the glass at the table beside us, and all of a sudden, his hand reaches for me, and he drags me to the middle of the room.He drags me to the middle of the room to Antonio and Susan. My breath hitched, but my legs moved before my mind could catch up. My heart pounded like a frightened bird.The dance floor was dim, illuminated only by the soft glow of scattered candelabras. The haunting melody of a lone violin filled the air, wrapping the atmosphere in a seductive, sinister cadence.A cold sweat runs down my spine when he drags me so close to a dancing Antonio and Susan but then he swirls me and pulls me to him hard as my hands rest on his shoulder trying to keep my balance.He pulled me closer, his arm slipping around my waist, fingers pressing into my lower back to hold me firm against him. A gasp leaves my mouth from the sudden movement, my chest rising and falling too quickly, betraying my own nerves.He takes my hand from his shoulder as he takes it in hi
Her Pov:The sun sinks lower over the Seine, casting molten gold across the water, painting the ripples with liquid fire. The city hums around us—soft laughter from distant lovers drifting through the air, the rhythmic lapping of waves against the stone embankment, the whisper of the wind as it tangles through my dress.Paris feels like a dream, weightless and unreal, but Leonardo beside me is more vivid than anything else.He moves with his usual silent grace, his presence coiled and restrained, like a predator choosing patience over pursuit. The evening glow sharpens the angles of his face and deepens the shadows beneath his cheekbones, making him look like something sculpted from darkness itself. He is breathtaking, but never soft—never safe.A sudden gust of wind sweeps in, lifting the hem of my dress, sending a shiver dancing up my spine. Before I can react, warmth engulfs me. Leonardo moves with a quiet swiftness that steals the breath from my lungs, pressing against my back, h
Her Pov:I swallow hard, looking away from him for a second, trying to gather my thoughts. “Is that it?” I finally ask, my voice barely a whisper. The question lingers, hanging between us, almost absurd in its simplicity.“No,” he says softly, his voice barely louder than the river’s murmur. “There’s more to be freed than just the fish.”I glance up at him, but his expression remains unreadable, as always. But something in the way he looks at me makes my breath hitch, like he’s seeing through every wall I’ve built.He steps closer, and I feel the heat of his presence before I even see him fully. The air between us thickens as though the world is holding its breath. I want to speak, to ask him everything, but my throat tightens, the words sticking in my chest. I stand there, frozen in place, as his gaze holds me captive, just as much as he claims to have done to the fish."They’re just like me..." he whispers, the words soft but piercing, making my chest tighten. His eyes are intense,
Her Pov:Paris stretches endlessly beyond the car window, a blur of elegant streets and towering architecture, but none of it holds my attention. All I see is him—Leonardo, sitting beside me in the backseat, his presence heavy, commanding. He hasn’t spoken much since we left, and I can’t tell if the silence between us is suffocating or intoxicating. Maybe both. His fingers tap lightly against his knee, his eyes staring straight ahead, but I know he’s aware of every movement I make. Every breath.The ride stretches on for hours, the city fading into quieter roads, then almost nothingness. I shift uncomfortably, feeling the slight ache still lingering in my body, a reminder of last night—of him.Heat curls under my skin at the memory, but I push it away. He hasn’t looked at me the same way since this morning, and I hate how that unsettles me. Like I’m standing on uneven ground, waiting for him to either pull me in or push me away.His two men sit in the front, quiet as ever, focused on
Her Pov:When I wake up, he’s nowhere to be seen. The bed is cold beside me, as if he had left hours ago, yet the air still carries the ghost of his presence.Last night, he was all over me. When I drifted into sleep, it was with his scent wrapped around me, his breath mingling with mine, his body pressing down on me in a way that made me feel utterly possessed. Now, with the morning light streaming through the curtains, I feel the stark emptiness of his absence. My fingers brush over the sheets, still slightly wrinkled from where his hands had gripped me, from where his body had pinned me down as he took me, as he claimed me.A sharp ache pulses between my legs, a reminder of just how relentless he was. His thrusts had been merciless, as if he wasn’t just trying to claim my body but my very soul. As if the mere act of having me wasn’t enough—he needed to carve his presence into my skin, into my bones, into the deepest recesses of my mind. And what’s worse? I had wanted it. I needed i
***15 Years ago****His POV:When my eyes cracked open, it felt like waking from death itself.The ceiling above me swayed, blurry and unfamiliar, though I’ve stared at it a thousand times. For a moment, I couldn’t even remember where I was—only the weight of my limbs, the stickiness of blood dried across my skin, and the stinging throb radiating from every corner of my body. My breath came out jagged, uneven, as if my lungs had forgotten how to pull in air.I don’t know how long I’ve been here. Hours? Days? I can’t tell. Sleep doesn’t feel like sleep anymore. It feels like falling into some black hole and clawing my way back up every time, just to fall again.My body—my entire being—felt like it wasn’t mine anymore.My skin prickled and burned, covered in sweat, filth, and blood. When I shifted, a sharp, tearing sensation ripped through my back and arms. I sucked in a breath through gritted teeth, forcing my eyes to move, to look down.Shards of glass.Tiny, jagged pieces embedded in
***15 years ago***His Pov:It’s been three days since my mother pushed me down the stairs.Three days since I felt my body crash against every hard step, bones snapping, skull cracking, everything blurring into nothingness before I blacked out.My right hand is fractured. They had to wrap it in plaster, sling it from my neck like a reminder of how breakable I really am. My head is bandaged too—tight and rough around my skull—covering the deep wound above my eyebrow where they stitched me back together. Seven stitches. I counted them when I woke up, fingers trembling as I traced the skin around them, wondering why I still felt so numb.I don’t even know how I survived.If David hadn’t done something… if he hadn’t begged or screamed for help… I would’ve bled out right there at the bottom of those stairs, and no one would’ve noticed until I started to rot.From the bits and pieces he’s let slip, I think he ran to the neighbours, knocked on their doors in the middle of the night, sobbing
**15 years ago***His Pov:I don’t even know how much time passed while we sat there, lost in the comfort of something that felt almost... normal. Maybe an hour. Maybe two. All I know is the sun had already started creeping higher, bleeding light through the half-closed curtains while we sat cross-legged on the floor of my room, controllers in hand, laughing at nothing and everything as we played my favourite video games.David had woken up too. He’d been with us the whole time, sitting close, occasionally throwing in jokes or grabbing the controller for his turn. It felt like family — not the kind of family I grew up with, but the kind I used to dream about. A soft, peaceful, happy little bubble. It almost felt like Father's Home, when Aunt Rachel used to stay with us, making dessert while the TV buzzed in the background.For once, the world outside my door didn’t exist.Until it did.Until everything shattered in a single heartbeat.A sharp sound cracked through the air — the dull,
**15 Years Ago**His Pov:I flip through the crumpled, half-burned pages of the only thing I have left—the only thing she couldn’t destroy. My fingers trace the torn edges carefully, like they’re made of glass, like they’ll fall apart if I hold them too tight. The paper is stained, corners smudged, some pages singed at the ends. But it’s still here. It's my favourite book. The only one I could save.A sharp sting burns the back of my eyes, and I blink hard, fighting the tears that keep coming even when I tell them not to. A droplet escapes anyway, falling on the brittle page in front of me. The black ink smudges under it like it’s bleeding.Why does she always do this to me?Why does she always hate the things I love?I don’t understand her. I’ve never understood her. No matter how much I try. I’ve always liked quiet things—books, cameras, and games. Things that let me disappear into a different world because this one hurts too much. But to her, those things are worthless. Nonsense.
His Pov:I stand on the balcony, the city lights flickering below like dying embers, as I take a slow drag from the cigarette I borrowed from one of my men. The smoke curls in the air, a temporary distraction, but even that isn't enough.I don’t smoke—not usually. I’ve never needed vices to dull my mind, never sought escape in addiction or meaningless habits. I’ve always been above such weaknesses.And yet, here I am.Because of her.She’s made me crave, made me restless, and made me need.My fingers tighten around the cigarette, the burn at my fingertips, nothing compared to the fire coursing through me. I can’t erase her from my mind. No matter how much I try, she lingers—her ice-blue eyes wide and full of something between fear and defiance. Her swollen lips, parted and trembling. Her teary eyes, her breathy moans and her tight cunt all just leaves me hungrier.The way she looked at me, the way she sounded, the way she felt wrapped around me—so impossibly tight, so warm, so fucking