011

Luca.

Diabolical.

Many would call me diabolical for what I did, but I needed to knock the little dare devil down a peg.

I stepped into the now dimly lit room, my eyes immediately falling on the curled up figure on the floor.

Caterina.

She was a mess of tangled limbs, her body hunched in on itself, as if she was trying to shrink away from the world. Even in sleep, she looked absolute exhausted–tear tracks still visible on her face, while her breaths came out in soft, uneven gasps.

One of her hands was curled near her chest, her nails faintly digging into that palm.

I couldn't help the sigh.

She’d cried herself to sleep.

I had no idea why this irritated me the way it did.

This should have been expected. She wasn't the first person to scream at me, to bang on my doors, to resist when the walls started closing in. She wouldn't be the last.

And yet…

I scrubbed a hand over my jaw, suddenly recalling the conversation from earlier. Natasha had been on my property today and practically ambushed me if I was being honest.

She had leaned into me, yet her scent had been drowned out by something softer.

Familiar.

The perfume from the woman who resided with me.

I knew she was trying to escape before the thought even formed properly in my mind, and that was why I had said what I said.

I hadn't planned on making it sound so cruel, so final. The auction had always been a possibility, but one I hadn't solidified until that moment. I didn't even know why I had let those words slip.

Was it because I had felt her there, lingering, watching, close enough that her scent had overpowered everything else?

And then, she had run.

That was what I wanted, wasn't it? To keep her afraid and desperate? To stop any form of escape plans from making way in that head of hers?

Fuck...

I was already becoming absolutely mental because of this woman.

I let out an exhale through my nose before crouching down, slipping my arms beneath her. She didn't stir as I lifted her from the floor, only murmured something unintelligible before her head fell against my shoulder.

So beautiful.

And so light. But not weak, though.

No, Caterina was anything but weak. Even now, in the aftermath of whatever storm had ripped through her, she carried the remnants of a fight still burning.

I set her down on the bed with a carefulness I didn't bother analyzing, ensuring her head rested against the pillows. Her clothes were rumpled, and the hem of her dress twisted due to the earlier distress, but I didn't move to adjust them.

That wasn't my place.

Instead, I reached for her shoes.

The heels were flimsy, more suited for a controlled environment than running through halls or making an escape.

I pulled them off, one after the other, letting them drop silently onto the floor.

Then I hesitated.

There it was. A single strand of hair had clung to her cheek, damp from the earlier tears. Without thinking, I brushed it back. My fingers barely touched her skin, but even that small contact sent some sort of shiver through my chest.

What the hell was I doing?

I pulled back like I had been burned.

This wasn't supposed to be complicated. I wasn't supposed to care.

I stood and moved away as fast as I could, shoving my hands into my pockets as I turned away.

And I was happy I did that fast enough because the next minute, Caterina was twitching, her body shifting slightly.

My cue to leave.

I strode out of the room without another glance in her direction, closing the door behind me with more force than necessary.

The halls were silent as I made my way back to my office. Something I preferred on a normal day. Tonight, it only made my thoughts louder.

The whiskey bottle from earlier was waiting for me when I stepped inside. I poured myself a glass, the amber liquid catching the dim glow of the desk lamp, then took a slow sip.

My eyes drifted toward the stack of papers on my desk.

Alessandro’s proposal.

It had been sitting there for hours, untouched, but now...

Let me just get it over with.

I reached for the proposal, unfolding the pages with measured carefulness. The words blurred for a moment before sharpening as I got to the last line.

"I'll make it simple, Luca. Keep Caterina, do whatever you want with her. I don't care anymore. Just consider the debt I owed you paid, and don't bring my dirty bits to the public."

The fucker.

My grip on the page tightened sligky.

"Let her be your compensation for staying silent."

Arrogant bastard.

Alessandro was so sure of himself. So sure I would take this deal, would accept Caterina as some twisted form of currency. As if she were just another object to be traded, to be used.

I had only taken her that day so he would work faster.

"Fuck this!" I let out a slow breath, rolling my glass between my fingers.

Wasn't I a hypocrite, though?

I had threatened her with an auction. Threatened to sell her. I couldn't help but fake another sip, the burn of the whiskey grounding me.

I was a hypocrite. After doing all those terrible things to people, being raised in a world where people were nothing more than leverage, something like this wasn't allowed to be different.

Damn this.

I sat the glass down with a soft clink. Alessandro had underestimated me. He thought he could just throw Caterina into the mix and have everything settled neatly.

I wasn't interested in neat.

So I leaned back in my chair, exhaling slowly. My mind was working through the possibilities, scenarios, and ways to turn this particular situation in my favour.

Tap.

Tap.

I got it.

Men like Alessandro had no idea how to act composed in public, plus most of the crowd saw me when I took Caterina.

Another sip. Another slow roll of the whiskey in my glass.

It was as simple as ABC.

And when it happened, it was sure to make Alessandro weep until he fulfilled his end of our little bargain.

"Oh, Luca, you are one sly devil." I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my lips before taking the last sip from the whiskey.

Everything would fall into place.

And sooner, rather than later, that little she devil would be out of my hair.