ARIA“How’re you, little fairy?”Silence was the only answer I received before I heard a deep intake from the other side.“How am I?” My sister’s voice was a hiss that made me close my eyes in despair. “HOW. AM. I?”My lips trembled apart but not a single word poured out of them.“WHERE ARE YOU?” Alara shouted into the phone, “A year. A FUCKING YEAR.” A grimace twisted my features. My sister didn’t curse but when she did, it was something rare.“Listen…” I rubbed my face, wiping away any signs of wetness left.“No.” I heard her bark, “You listen. Where are you? Do you know how worried I was? I searched for you. My sister. My sister, who had been the responsible one, disappears without a sign. For a year. No call. No message. WHY?”Her last words were a tangled scream.I breathed deeply, understanding her anger.Her reaction was justified.It wasn’t like that your sister vanishing without a word and barging back into your life after a year was normal.I wanted to open my heart to her b
ARIABut most of all…She was a free human.And I was a caged animal.How could it be so different? How could fate play this game with us? Why was I always on the receiving end of everything harsh and cruel?Why? Why? Why?I had no answer.“Aria?”I blinked my eyes, breathing through my nose and brushing away the horrible thoughts.I needed to change the topic before she did more damage to me than it was already done.“How is your golden boy?” I asked with fake cheerfulness.She was silent for a moment before she spoke again. I wanted to smile. My little sister had grown. She understood what I was doing and I was proud of her.“Golden boy, huh?” She murmured, “Matteo.”Matteo. That was his name. The little boy with golden mane.“His name’s Matteo.” Alara’s words made desperation claw at my heart. Despite my attempt, she knew that I didn’t know what her son’s name was.That fact filled me with shame and hurt.“He’s—”“Let me talk to her.” I stopped when I heard that deep, dark voice. M
ARIAI was in my room when the knock made me sit up on the bed.I frowned, eyeing the door as if I could see past the solid wall of steel separating the person on the other side and me.I had returned the phone to the maid knowing that it was a foolish decision to make but what else could I do?The maids belonged to Fabiano and I knew they would’ve told them everything even if I hid the phone.There was no way out for me.I stood up when another knock sounded this one more impatient and walked to the door. The door opened without my permission and in stepped the guard I had encountered before. I smoothened my expressions before studying him. He was big, tall and full of hard muscles. He could pass for a wrestler.“Don wants you.”I couldn’t keep the frown off my face at his words.Don?Then it clicked. He was talking about Fabiano.But Fabiano had never sent a man to my room. It was always Lina.I shook my head at myself before nodding at him. I stepped past him and out of the confin
ARIA“Just think how appealing would black ink of the tattoo would look against your skin.”He lifted his hands off my neck and stared down at me. I stared at him, horrified and open-mouthed.“You’ve forced my hand—”I interrupted him, “No, I didn’t and I am—”He slammed his fist against the wall near me and I froze mid-sentence.“Don’t fucking interrupt me.”His harsh voice made me afraid. A rush of blood heated my cheeks as I stared at him and tried not to flinch under his cruel gaze. The hatred on his face reminded me of that night.The one on the boat.My stomach turned with unease and I closed my lips, not speaking anymore.Finally, he took his glare off my eyes and pointed it at my neck. My eyes were on him the entire time, hoping that he would change his mind but my helpless gaze had no effect How could he take joy in my suffering? It was a stupid question to ask myself but it was a real question. He had done everything to me no person should go through. He’d made me his …sex
ARIAI believed him. I believed him.My eyes were open but I could see nothing. My ears were working but the only thing I could hear were his threats.My heart was beating but I wasn’t living.My eyes were wet and filled with salty tears but no tears escaped.Yet I was weeping.Pain blossomed over my scalp but I kept silent. I endured it. No! No! I relished it. I felt it and wanted more of it.I wanted something to tell me that I was still living. I needed some proof of my own existence. I wanted something to remind me that my biological machinery was working.I wasn’t dead. I was alive.But I was dying a silent death.“Now lay down.” Like a newly trained puppy, I obeyed him.My master. My husband My tormentor.“Keep your head tilted up and don’t move.”I did as he asked. Tilted my head but closed my eyes, not before a tear rolled down, disappearing into my hairline.“Don’t move. It’ll be over soon.”It will never end, will it?Until the end of time, I was stuck with him.I listened a
ARIAHe took out a white bandage and covered my neck with it. He uttered something that I didn't hear but pretended that I did and nodded my head in agreement even though it hurt me to.“Get out." He ordered after several moments, "I'll be the one to remove the bandage."His voice was deep and cold.I hated it.Why was it like this?I hated the part of me that thought he might feel some remorse, but it was missing. Robotically, I turned my body towards the door. Every step I took away from him, I felt his eyes on it. With my hand on the knob, I stopped for a moment, thinking over the fact that kept nudging me.I grimaced when I swallowed, parted my lips and asked him something.The reason I had slapped him.“How can you talk about someone’s daughter like that when you have a daughter of your own, Fabiano?”For a moment, I thought that he might storm towards me and beat me again but he didn’t. His cold voice washed over me like a freezing wave of air in a chilly night, raising goosebu
ARIAIt was beautiful.And I hated it.The red rose with its bright red petals looked so enchanting.The stem of the flower was wrapped in a coil of sharp thorns. “Isn’t it magnificent?”It was a rhetorical question. And my husband’s tone suggested that he wanted the answer that would please him. Who was I to defy him, eh?“Of course.” I whispered, dragging my eyes to his in the mirror but averted my gaze as soon as our eyes clashed.My hands hung limply at my sides, my fingers trembling and shaking like twigs in a storm. I didn’t hide them. I was done of hiding. I needed to see them.The fear. The shock.My eyes were trailing back to it.Like a moth drawn to the flame, my eyes were drawn to what he had imprinted on me.The tattoo he had branded on my existence.A rose. No. Not just rose. A Rose with thorns.The bright red rose was etched on the side of my neck, just below my ear. The tattoo was beautiful. But the beauty meant nothing to me. It was nothing but a reminder of my suffe
ARIAThis was just some psychological shit, wasn’t it?My mind was playing tricks on me—maybe it still was— and I had fallen prey to those tricks.His touch was burning me now. I wanted to fight him, I wanted to tell him “no” because I easily recognized the glint in his eyes.He wanted me.But did he think that I would fall so easily to my knees?He had manipulated me so skillfully back then and I was the foolish one, trusted someone even Satan wouldn’t trust.Shame filled me, heating up my skin and I watched in the reflection as my pale cheeks colored.Fabiano’s hands trailed down my sunken stomach, over the vertical scar before he began to pull down the zipper of my jeans, the metallic sound flitted through the air.The color that had filled my cheeks seconds ago drained, leaving me ghastly pale.Without thinking, my hand landed on his, stopping him from pulling down the zipper completely. Chilly dread settled over me when he raised those steely orbs at me, arching an inky brow thro
THE LETTER FROM FABIANO;This is where I first met you; in this very room and this is where it will all end.I couldn’t say it to your face so I wrote it down to give it to you.There is a question that we both asked ourselves many times but only I knew the answer to it.‘Why you? Why this woman?’Because you were the lone rose standing fall in the field full of wilted flowers.Injured yet strong, broken yet standing, failing yet surviving.Beautiful and different.Maybe that was your curse.I saw you. I saw your photo in Adriano’s office and I was obsessed with you from the very first moment. You were like a lioness, protecting your sister when you could have lost your life. Like a Queen.I knew that I’d go mad without you so I did what I wanted to.Stole you. Broke you. Tainted you.I gave you pain but you gave me something else.A home. A family.Venus. Massimo. You.You gave me something the little boy in me desired to have. The little boy whose dreams were shattered long ago, bef
ARIA My heart ached for us. “You can’t imagine how much I missed you.” I whispered. My sister whose side I had never left after she was born, was seeing me after two years. “There’s someone we want you to meet.” Adriano spoke up from behind, making us pull apart from each other. I turned and looked at him. My brother-in-law was the definition of tall, dark and handsome. He stepped towards me and patted my head, almost affectionately, making my eyebrows shoot up. We didn’t have the best relationship. “I almost missed you.” He smirked, making me crack a smile, “He’s waiting for you.” My lips dipped at his words. I frowned as he gave me a slow, small, smile. He nodded in my direction and then took a step aside. He jerked his head in the direction. I followed his gaze until I saw a tall figure, standing a few feet away from us. I saw color. Green. My lips formed a trembling smile when the figure’s face came into my view. Damon. “Go on. He is waiting for you.” He urged. I
FABIANO “Venus is alive.” Why did he say that? To punish her? To hurt her for betraying him? To hurt himself? He didn’t know but he saw the disbelief on her face as he continued to speak, “She was never dead. I took her away from here.” Aria’s lips against someone else’s. He changed what he was going to say and swallowed, his demons rattling their cages, wanting to break free and they did. “This is your punishment, Aria.” He sneered at her shock-striken features, “You wanted freedom? You’ll have it but you’ll never see your children again. You’ll die without seeing their faces. Venus is alive but you’ll never see how she grows up. Saint will know that her mother is a whore you left her son for another man. Enjoy your freedom you always begged for.” “I’ll stay. Please.” He didn’t pay her any attention. “I’ll do anything. Fabiano? Don’t do this.” She was in his feet, holding her legs, begging him, “Don’t…Hit me, whip me, do whatever you want but not this punishment. I’ll do wh
ARIA “It’s fine.” He sobered up, “I’ll take you there one day.” I stilled at his words as he smiled at me before I turned my back on him and walked the path that would lead me back to the garden. It took us several minutes to reach the garden. Once we were out, he closed the door and set the hinges before covering it with vines, arranging them in a way that didn’t look suspicious. When we walked a little more, he started to speak. I wanted to cover my ears with my hands. “You are caged here. I never see you with a phone. Do you even have one? When was the last time you talked to your sister?” He paused, staring at the ink on my neck, he glanced up and continued, “Your husband doesn’t love you. He has an unhealthy obsession with you.” My eyes were wild as I stared at him. he was right. I was caged. I didn't know what happened so suddenly but I exploded. The feelings I had bottled up inside me had burst out, overflowed. They trailed over my cheeks in the form of tears and then
ARIA I want you beside me. “There.” I stepped back moments later, thrusting the knife towards him with my shaky hands. “We look good side by side, ocean eyes.” He commented, taking in the names we had just carved and winked at me, making me feel all those things inside me again. “Don’t do it.” He paused, his brows dipping, “What?” “Don’t do this to me.” I whispered, my emotions overflowing as I stared into his eyes. “What are you talking about?” He leaned over, gripping my face in his palms. And I knew it, I was leaning to his touch. His eyes were filled with concern and disbelief as he searched my eyes. “This.” I pointed around, my eyes watering, “You’re making me get used to you. To this light you bring with you. To this freedom you introduce me to.” A tear rolled down. I didn’t know why I was feeling so emotional suddenly. “Did I hurt you, ocean eyes?” He asked, eyes brimming with concern. Concern for me. A woman he barely knew about. A woman who was married to another.
ARIA “Come on, ocean eyes.” I scoffed, “I am not going inside. God knows where it leads to.” He rolled his eyes, “You said it yourself before. I’ve been using it. There’s nothing wrong.” “How did you even know this thing,” I pointed to the door, “was here?” I arched my brow. He smirked, playfulness swimming in his eyes before he stepped out and came close to me. Really, really close. And he leaned down, his face a few inches away from me. I licked my lips, nervously. Playfulness vanished from his eyes as he glanced down at my lips, his eyes darkened before he glanced into my eyes, his lips brushing against my ears, sending shivers of unknown feelings over my skin. “Nothing will harm you, my goddess.” With that, he pulled my arm and pushed me into the darkness, his laugh following my scream. “I thought you were different than other men.” He let out a laugh behind me. I looked over my shoulder, glaring at him but he only poked out his tongue at me. Despite all my attempts, my l
ARIA He didn’t move. One minute passed. Then two… Then three… Hesitantly, I threaded my fingers through his black locks, feeling their softness on my palm and enjoying it. It felt foreign. Fabiano never let me touch him except…on some certain occasions. But with him…this man I knew nothing about, with Damon Xanthos whatever-his-last-name-might-be everything felt new, light and…good. After a few moments, my moves were more confident. My strokes firmer as I ran my fingers through his head, tugging lightly. I felt so…normal. I didn’t know my lips had moved because it was him who informed me about that when he murmured without looking at me; “You have a beautiful smile, my goddess.” **** One night, Fabiano came into my room, covered in blood. His steel eyes were darkened with a maniac energy that made my skin pop with goosebumps. His body, his eyes, everything about him was screaming danger, different than his usual kind. He placed his hands on my face and I flinched when I
FABIANO She was his. She might have jumped from the cliff to escape him but that wouldn’t happen in this life. His wife. The mother of his children. His lioness. His Queen. Fucking his. And he’d fight the fucking Gods to keep her with him. They might be Gods, but he was the one who fucking ruled over Hell. *** The doctor said Aria's condition was critical; he fucking knew that but his lioness hadn't opened her eyes in three days. He stared at her pale figure, silently questioning her. Why? But he knew why. Because of him. He had driven her to a point where she chased death; begged for it and was ready to jump into its arms even if it meant being away from him. Why? To escape the cage he kept her in. To fly even though he had cut her wings. He tortured her. He did. It wasn’t her fault. It was his. He couldn’t rein his demons. He couldn’t control himself. He always gave into their demands. He always let hem control him. They were worse. And they wanted to destro
FABIANOThe rain had slowed down, turned to drizzle but still, the clouds were rumbling and lightening was illuminating the sky when he rushed with an unconscious and bleeding Aria. He and his men had pulled her body out luckily but she was as close to death as one could be.He swore he could feel the Gods above there, partying and laughing down at her, celebrating their victory.But fuck Gods!Fuck them and fuck their plans!He wouldn’t let them take her away.She wasn’t theirs.She was his.She might have jumped from the cliff to escape him but that wouldn’t happen in this life.His wife.The mother of his children.His lioness.His Queen.Fucking his.And he’d fight the fucking Gods to keep her with him.They might be Gods, but he was the one who fucking ruled over Hell.***The doctor said Aria's condition was critical; he fucking knew that but his lioness hadn't opened her eyes in three days. He stared at her pale figure, silently questioning her. Why?But he knew why.Because