Chiara entered her father’s restaurant with a smile. Everything was just as it was the day she had left. The faint smell of grease still lingered in the air, the soft sounds of classical music still played from the background, and her piano; looked just as beautiful as the day she had left it. Aria and Matteo must have dusted and cleaned it for her since she had left, she was grateful.Her sister, Aria, walked up to her with a smile. They both maintained eye contact until Aria finally hugged her. “Sis! I can’t believe you visited, I didn’t even think you’d come so early. Dante let you go or did you sneak out?”Chiara scoffed, rolling her eyes in front of her chest. “As if I can with the amount of security that man has.” Aria pulled away and took a moment to inspect her sister, she was curious about the hoodie. “I didn’t think Dante would be the kind of person to buy you baggy clothes. Considering he didn’t take your clothes I thought he would dress my big sister up.”“The hoodie isn’
Dante watched from his surveillance footage as Chiara exited the unfamiliar car parked in front of his gate. “What kind of trouble are you getting yourself into, Darling?” He muttered, his eyes still fixed on the screen.Chiara took one final glance at the driver, there were no words, only a forced smile before she entered his house. Dante smirked, she was staggering—visibly drunk and he knew who the driver of that car was. The same person he had been tracking and silently observing for years.He was quiet, listening to Chiara’s soft footsteps as she descended into her bedroom. Quickly shutting off his MacBook, he exited his room and went to Chiara's room enjoying the way she jolted out of the same bed she had just settled in. His eyes scanned her, enjoying the fact she was still wearing his hoodie. He almost smiled—almost. “You're late.” He said blankly with a scowl like he was angry.“I-I… I don't care…” She slurred, giving away how intoxicated she was.“You came home drunk and lat
Chiara trudged tiredly down the hallway, rubbing her eyes as she approached the dining room. The thought of Dante entering her room and punishing her, resulted in her barely sleeping.“Dante…” She mumbled sleepily, her gaze on the empty dining room. “Dan—” She was cut off as Dante’s arm wrapped around her waist. The sensation was enough to send goosebumps on her skin, but he refused to let go despite how she struggled.“You called, Darling? Did you miss me?” She shuddered, leaning into his touch with a resigned sigh. “You’re going to punish me… just do it now. You’re making me anxious by not doing anything.”His eyes sparkled with excitement as he suddenly turned her to face him. “Close your eyes, and don’t open them until I say so.”She sighed, but hesitantly obeyed. Her heart pounded in her chest with every second that passed, and her eyes jerked open when she felt his lips on hers. She said nothing, waiting for him to force his tongue into her mouth, but it never happened. The kis
The door to Dante’s lair opened as Dante fired a bullet at his victim’s head. Allegra walked in and scrunched up her face in a frown at the sight in front of her.“You should put up a sign if you’re going to do this.” She said as she closed the door.Dante rolled his eyes at her statement, tossing the gun aside. “What did you think I was going to do? Watch a movie?”Allegra scoffed as she walked up to him, only stopping when there was barely any space between them. She slowly trailed her fingers down his chest in a seductive manner, giving him an innocent smile as she did. “I know that’s not what you use this place for, but you could at least lock the door.”Dante chuckled and roughly grabbed her wrist to stop what she was doing. “Why are you here, Allegra? Didn’t you and Nico say that you didn’t want to be included in whatever I was doing?”She rolled her eyes, pulling her hand out of his grip. She eyed him while rubbing her wrist, her eyes giving away her anger. “Dante, whatever you
It had been two days since the argument between Dante and Chiara. Dante had spent the first day and most of the second, working. It was such a relief for Chiara to go the dining room and find it empty, save for the food on the table. Today, as she entered the dining room, she stiffened when her eyes locked with Dante’s. With a deep breath, she turned around to leave, an action that was cut short when Dante called her.“Chiara,” He called, his husky voice making her shiver, but she said nothing. “Answer me when I call you,” She kept quiet and he sighed. “Come here, now.”With much reluctance, she took the seat closest to him and stared quietly at the empty plate in front of her. She heard a groan from Dante, and when she looked at him, he looked away.“We’re going out after dinner, get ready when you’re done eating.” Again, she said nothing, silently scooping mashed potatoes onto her plate.Her actions infuriated Dante, he hated the way she ignored him. Although not permanent, she was
It had been twenty minutes—maybe half an hour—since Chiara and Dante arrived at the club and Chiara couldn’t be more bored than she was today. The music seemed to be drowned out by the tension between the both of them, yet, Chiara still found the place too noisy to read in. Why did Dante drag her here? Was this some kind of not so obvious punishment?“This is boring…” She muttered to herself, her eyes subconsciously doubting towards Dante to see if he cared about what she had said.Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t, it didn’t change the fact that Dante was still ignoring her, instead choosing to talk to the men who had been hovering around since a few minutes ago.She sighed, leaning into her chair with her eyes closed. She never knew it was possible to get bored at a club. When Dante remained silent despite her silent behaviour, Chiara suddenly got up, giving him a subtle glare.“I’m going to the bathroom,” She said, only leaving when Dante gave her a small nod.Chiara walked to the
Chiara’s eyes fluttered open and she took a look at her unfamiliar surroundings. Where was she? The ast thing that she remembered was going to the bathroom. “Finally awake…” A familiar gaze said besides her, and Chiara weakly shifted her gaze to the person that spoke.“N-Nico?” She stuttered as her vision became clearer. “W-what am I doing here?” She questioned, trying her stand. Her sore arms collided with the back of the chair where she sat and it finally dawned on her that she was tied up.“Untie me! Why are you doing this?!” She questioned as she struggled to free her hands, despite how much it hurt.He bent until his breath touched her face, causing Chiara to shudder. “I’m doing this for Dante. He’s not safe as long as you’re here.”Nico’s words hit Chiara like a truck. She closed her eyes to stop the tears that threatened to fall. How many times would she hear this from the people close to Dante? It wasn’t her fault that Dante had chosen to make her his pet, and why did nobody
The sunlight slipped through the curtains, casting delicate golden streaks across Chiara’s room. The light painted her face, and she groaned, turning in the other direction. Chiara wasn’t a morning person, and the thing that she hated more than mornings was being woken up from her naps. Her eyes fluttered open, and she blinked a few times to adjust her vision.“Have a good nap, darling?” she heard Dante’s voice from across the room and turned to him, giving him an irritated glance.He stood by her window, a cocky smirk on his face as he looked at her. The way the sunlight outlined his features, made him look attractive, not that Chiara would ever tell the cocky bastard that.“Why did you wake me?” She questioned, her voice almost coming out as a strained groan.He didn’t answer and made his way to her bed, sitting down as it did. “I realised that it had been a while since we did anything. It wouldn’t be fun if the only thing that you do here is existing.“I can’t do anything with you—
Chiara was woken up by the repeated sounds of her ringtone. She sat up and looked around her room through hazy vision, trying to tune out the noise as she adjusted herself to reality. When her tiredness had subdued, she carried her phone and glance at the caller id displayed on her phone screen. It was an unknown number, and Chiara suddenly felt the urge to ignore it. Reluctantly, she answered, shuddering as her cild screen brushed against her ear. “H-hello?” She stuttered, suddenly getting a bad feeling. “Chiara? Did I wake you?” She calmed down when she heard Dante’s voice from the other end. “N-no,” She lied, trying not to ask about what happened the previous day. “I woke up a while ago…” “O-okay,” he paused for a while and Chiara could almost imagine him running his hand through his hair. “H-how are you?” She dragged her bottom lip through her teeth. “I’m good, great actually. It’s not like I’m thinking about yesterday or any—“ “It doesn’t sound like you’ve forgotten—“ “I
Chiara wasn’t the kind of person who could talk a sad person out of their depressed state. She was more of the kind of person who would encourage other people to do it, and maybe that was why her father was such a mess. Her father’s mental state wouldn’t encourage her to start now, but with Allegra’s pleading, she felt like she didn’t have a choice.She trailed behind Allegra in silence, mentally preparing herself to be emotionally present. She sighed, suddenly feeling unsure. What was she supposed to say to him?“We’re here,” Allegra suddenly announced, interrupting Chiara’s thoughts. The duo stared silently at the door that divided them and Dante. Allegra turned to Chiara, her face making her seem as nervous as Chiara was. “You know what to do, right? Just talk to him and try to make him feel better.” She didn’t wait for Chiara’s response before she opened the door and pushed Chiara into the room.Chiara stumbled but quickly steadied herself against the door which Allegra had shut.
Chiara had always hated funerals and her hatred became worse after her mother’s passing. The idea of forcefully parting with a loved one on a usually sunny day always made her feel like her emotions were being made a mockery of. Perhaps, because Dante had also had a taste of loss was the reason why they had chosen a cloudy day for Nico’s funeral. She didn’t think it was on purpose. It would have been sunny if they had left for the event earlier.Now dressed in a fitted black dress, Chiara stared at Nico’s picture, trying to convince herself that she felt nothing. He wasn’t someone Chiara knew very well. She only felt so uncomfortable because the world had pinned Nico’s death on her. It felt like this wouldn’t have happened if she never met Dante, if she had agreed to Nico’s terms back then.“Chiara!” She jolted, quickly turning to the source of the sound. It was her grandfather, dressed in a sleek black suit. He never seemed like he was on friendly terms with Dante, and a part of her
It had been a while since Chiara was able to have those quiet days she had savoured before. She used to crave for days without Dante—days she would spend with herself, her family or with work. Now, it seemed the days that she had spent with Dante was what she wanted.It was a particularly quiet day today. The restaurant was virtually empty and the only thing Chiara entertained herself with was the novel that she was reading from her phone. She lacked the inspiration to play anything on her piano. In fact, the only thing she wanted to do was to sleep until Aria woke up.The restaurant’s entrance door swung open and Chiara whipped her head up to look at the person who had entered. It was the man she had talked to yesterday, Stefan, was it?He smiled as he walked up to her, taking a seat on one of the stools in front of the bar table. “Hey, Chiara.”Chiara smiled at him, her gaze shifting to her fingers. She had thought of Stefan a lot since yesterday. He was nice and didn’t make her fee
The tense atmosphere was something Chiara had accustomed herself to since she moved in with Dante, yet as she packed her bags, she felt troubled. She knew she had to fill in for Aria and take care of things at home until her father recovered, but she had never told Dante about it. Sure, she hated the fact that her life was being lived on Dante’s terms, but she didn’t want to cause trouble for her father at the same time.A knock on her door broke her out of her reverie. The door creaked open and Dante walked in, wearing the same cold expression he had on since Chiara visited Aria at the hospital. Dante wasn’t the kind of person to feel bad for someone he didn’t know, so something must have happened to him, but she knew that he wouldn’t tell her.His gaze shifted to her travelling bag and they both tensed, the tension between them becoming more uncomfortably palpable. “Are you planning on leaving? I didn’t give you permission to do that.”Chiara bit down on her lip, her gaze shifting t
Chiara dashed into the hospital, Dante besides her and Allegra a reasonable distance from the two. Her father’s words replayed in her head like a broken record, and her eyes burned with tears that remained unshed. She refused to believe it—not until she had some sort of confirmation.She ran towards the receptionist, who gave her a startled look, and took a deep breath as if it would be any way to calm herself down.“Aria Ricci…” She mumbled, nervously playing with her hair. “S-she’s my sister.”The receptionist nodded and glanced at her computer. After a few agonising moments, she turned back to Chiara and Dante, a sympathetic look on her face as she pointed to a hall a few meters away. She quickly followed the woman’s direction, only stopping when she spotted her father who was pacing around in front of the door of what looked like an operating room.Her heart dropped and she stumbled towards her father. “P-papa! What happened to Aria?”As Lorenzo was about to answer, Dante reached
The sunlight slipped through the curtains, casting delicate golden streaks across Chiara’s room. The light painted her face, and she groaned, turning in the other direction. Chiara wasn’t a morning person, and the thing that she hated more than mornings was being woken up from her naps. Her eyes fluttered open, and she blinked a few times to adjust her vision.“Have a good nap, darling?” she heard Dante’s voice from across the room and turned to him, giving him an irritated glance.He stood by her window, a cocky smirk on his face as he looked at her. The way the sunlight outlined his features, made him look attractive, not that Chiara would ever tell the cocky bastard that.“Why did you wake me?” She questioned, her voice almost coming out as a strained groan.He didn’t answer and made his way to her bed, sitting down as it did. “I realised that it had been a while since we did anything. It wouldn’t be fun if the only thing that you do here is existing.“I can’t do anything with you—
Chiara’s eyes fluttered open and she took a look at her unfamiliar surroundings. Where was she? The ast thing that she remembered was going to the bathroom. “Finally awake…” A familiar gaze said besides her, and Chiara weakly shifted her gaze to the person that spoke.“N-Nico?” She stuttered as her vision became clearer. “W-what am I doing here?” She questioned, trying her stand. Her sore arms collided with the back of the chair where she sat and it finally dawned on her that she was tied up.“Untie me! Why are you doing this?!” She questioned as she struggled to free her hands, despite how much it hurt.He bent until his breath touched her face, causing Chiara to shudder. “I’m doing this for Dante. He’s not safe as long as you’re here.”Nico’s words hit Chiara like a truck. She closed her eyes to stop the tears that threatened to fall. How many times would she hear this from the people close to Dante? It wasn’t her fault that Dante had chosen to make her his pet, and why did nobody
It had been twenty minutes—maybe half an hour—since Chiara and Dante arrived at the club and Chiara couldn’t be more bored than she was today. The music seemed to be drowned out by the tension between the both of them, yet, Chiara still found the place too noisy to read in. Why did Dante drag her here? Was this some kind of not so obvious punishment?“This is boring…” She muttered to herself, her eyes subconsciously doubting towards Dante to see if he cared about what she had said.Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t, it didn’t change the fact that Dante was still ignoring her, instead choosing to talk to the men who had been hovering around since a few minutes ago.She sighed, leaning into her chair with her eyes closed. She never knew it was possible to get bored at a club. When Dante remained silent despite her silent behaviour, Chiara suddenly got up, giving him a subtle glare.“I’m going to the bathroom,” She said, only leaving when Dante gave her a small nod.Chiara walked to the