I slammed the bedroom door shut, my pulse hammering like I’d just outrun a wildfire.
He followed, of course. He always did.
"Aria." Luca’s voice cut through the air, sharp as a blade, the kind that made men knee. "Don’t walk away from me."
"I didn’t walk," I hissed, whipping around to face him, fists clenched. "I ran. Get the difference straight."
He closed the door with a slow, deliberate click, a predator locking us in. "Running? You think that saves you? They would have torn you apart tonight without me."
"Don’t lecture me!" My arms wrapped tight around my chest, holding myself together. "I felt their eyes, every single one, reducing me to nothing but a bargaining chip. A prize. And then you..." My voice cracked, raw. "You branded me as yours in front of them all."
His steel-gray eyes bored into me, unyielding. "It was the only way to keep you alive."
"Alive?" I spat, stepping toward him, defiance burning through my fear. "That wasn’t protection, Luca. That was possession."
He closed the gap in one stride, the air between us electric, suffocating. "You think I don’t know the difference? You think I don’t feel the weight of every word I said?"
"Then why say them?" My chest heaved. "Why claim me like some... trophy?"
"Because you are not a trophy." His hand slammed against the wall near my head, caging me in, his voice dropping to a growl. "You’re mine in ways I can’t even put into words. Mine to fight for. Mine to protect. Mine to keep breathing."
My breath stuttered. "That’s not love. That’s obsession."
His lips curved into something dangerous. "Maybe it’s both."
I shoved at his chest, but he didn’t move. "You don’t get to decide what I am."
"Then tell me." His face lowered, eyes burning into mine. "What are you, Aria?"
"I..." The words choked in my throat. "I’m me! Not your wife, not your enemy, not your damn property. Just me!"
He tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "Yet here you are. In my house. Wearing my ring. Breathing because I said so."
The truth of it stung. "Do you hear yourself? You sound like a tyrant."
"Then why aren’t you afraid right now?" His whisper brushed against my cheek, intimate and terrifying.
"I am afraid." My voice cracked. "Afraid of what you make me feel."
His eyes flickered, a crack in his iron facade. "Good. Because it’s tearing me apart too."
The silence was deafening, the walls pulsing with the weight of our words. My heart was a war drum in my chest.
"Prove it," I said, my voice low, daring. "If I’m yours, like you screamed to the world, prove it. Not with your threats or your power. With something real."
His jaw locked, a muscle ticking as he fought some inner beast. For the first time, I saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes.
"What do you want from me?" His voice was quieter, but no less intense, like a storm held at bay.
"Truth!" I snapped, stepping into his space, our breaths colliding. "No games. No walls. Just you."
He exhaled, sharp and ragged, his hand dropping from the wall. "Truth? I didn’t want you, Aria. I fought you. But now I can’t breathe without you."
The words hit like a punch, stealing my air. My lips parted, but nothing came out.
"I fought it," he continued, voice rough. "Fought every pull toward you, told myself it was control, circumstance, lust. But it’s not. It’s you, Aria. Only you."
Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, unwanted and unstoppable. "Why does that sound like both a promise and a prison?"
His hand rose, hesitated, then finally cupped my cheek, gentle in a way that broke me. "Because loving me is both."
I should’ve shoved him away. Instead, I leaned into his hand, helpless."Say it again," I whispered.
"That you can’t breathe without me."
His lips hovered a breath away from mine, his eyes locked on me like I was both salvation and sin. "I can’t breathe without you."
And then, before I could second-guess it, I surged forward. Our mouths crashed together, desperate, messy, real.
His groan rumbled deep in his chest as his arms wrapped around me, pulling me against him like he’d been waiting his entire life for this moment. My fingers tangled in his hair, yanking, demanding, losing myself in the heat.
It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet. It was a war, a surrender, a thousand unsaid words spilling into the space between us.
When we finally broke apart, gasping, his forehead pressed to mine. "You’ll be the death of me," he whispered.
"Then we’re even," I panted, lips swollen, heart wild.
His chuckle was dark, broken, beautiful. "Aria Valencia. You are going to ruin me."
"Good," I whispered back. "Because you’ve already ruined me.""Good," I panted, lips bruised, heart wild. "You’ve already destroyed me."
The silence wasn’t empty, it was alive, electric, and terrifying. We weren’t enemies anymore. Not allies. We were something far more dangerous, two souls falling, recklessly and unstoppable.
The air grew heavier, as if our clash had summoned a storm ready to break. Luca’s hands gripped my waist, anchoring me to him. I wanted to pull away, to reclaim myself, but my body betrayed me, drawn to his heat.
"You don’t get it," I said, voice low, trembling with fury. "You’ve dragged me into your chaos, and I’m drowning."
His grip tightened, possessive, unyielding. "You were born in this chaos, Aria. You just didn’t know it until I claimed you."
I shook my head, his words a weight crushing my chest. "I didn’t ask for this! I didn’t ask for you!"
His eyes flashed, raw and dangerous. "And I didn’t ask for you! But we’re here, and there’s no escaping it." Thıs text ıs hosted at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚫𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚫𝕟𝕖𝕥
I tore myself from his grasp, needing air, needing space. The room felt like a cage. "What happens when your world crashes down?" I demanded, pointing at the door, at his empire of blood and power. "When your enemies see me as your weakness?"
"They’ll die before they touch you," he snarled, voice like steel. "I’ll burn this city to the ground first."
"That’s what I’m afraid of!" I shouted, my voice cracking. "You’d raze everything for me, but what about what I want?"
He went still, his eyes unreadable. Then, quieter, almost broken, he said, "Tell me what you want, Aria. I’ll bleed for it."
I laughed, bitter and sharp. "You can’t give me freedom. Not when I’m bound to you."
His jaw clenched, but he didn’t flinch. "Freedom? You’d be dead in a week without me. You know that."
The truth was a blade, twisting deep. I hated him for it. I hated myself more for knowing he was right.
"Then what?" I yelled, voice raw. "We keep this up? You cage me, I fight you, we burn each other alive?"
He closed the distance, his voice a low, fierce promise. "We live, Aria. We fight, we bleed, we burn, but we live. Together."
I wanted to scream, to rip the world apart for trapping me with him. Instead, my fingers grazed his jaw, tracing its sharp edge. His breath hitched, and for a moment, he was just a man, not a monster.
"I don’t know how to be with you," I whispered, voice breaking. "Not without losing myself."
His hand caught mine, pressing it to his face, his voice raw. "Then we’ll figure it out. Even if it kills us."
I closed my eyes, his warmth sinking into me, anchoring the chaos. "No more lies," I said, my eyes snapping open, locking on his. "No games. Swear it."
"I swear," he said, his voice steady, fierce. "Just us."
I believed him, not because I trusted him completely, but because I needed to. Because maybe, just maybe, we could forge something real in this madness. My fingers tightened on his skin, and I leaned closer, our breaths tangling.
"You terrify me," I whispered, lips brushing his. "But I terrify myself more."
His hands slid to my hips, pulling me flush against him. "Good. That means we’re both doomed."
The storm in my chest didn’t fade, but it became something I could face. With him. For now, that was enough.