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 usāsoft 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 softānever 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. āIs that it?ā I finally ask, my voice barely a whisper. The question lingers, hanging between us, almost absurd in its simplicity.āNo,ā he says softly, his voice barely louder than the riverās murmur. āThereās more to be freed than just the fish.āI 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 heās seeing through every wall Iāve 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."Theyāre 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 himāLeonardo, sitting beside me in the backseat, his presence heavy, commanding. He hasnāt spoken much since we left, and I canāt 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 heās 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 nightāof him.Heat curls under my skin at the memory, but I push it away. He hasnāt looked at me the same way since this morning, and I hate how that unsettles me. Like Iām 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, heās 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 wasnāt just trying to claim my body but my very soul. As if the mere act of having me wasnāt enoughāhe needed to carve his presence into my skin, into my bones, into the deepest recesses of my mind. And whatās 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 Iāve stared at it a thousand times. For a moment, I couldnāt even remember where I wasāonly 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 donāt know how long Iāve been here. Hours? Days? I canāt tell. Sleep doesnāt 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 bodyāmy entire beingāfelt like it wasnāt 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:Itās 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 tooātight and rough around my skullācovering 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 donāt even know how I survived.If David hadnāt done something⦠if he hadnāt begged or screamed for help⦠I wouldāve bled out right there at the bottom of those stairs, and no one wouldāve noticed until I started to rot.From the bits and pieces heās let slip, I think he ran to the neighbours, knocked on their doors in the middle of the night, sobbing