The Don's Captive Heart

andro

queness was

g beside that centerpiece in the b

gh she is quite attractive

e

ath all those facades, I saw something more. A s

t frame nearly swallowed

e her red hair, was pulled back in a bu

dismissed her. She ran out of the room, clutching

in my world, and yet..

f whiskey. The coronation ceremony was about to begin in an hour

e on her

t, and carried herself like a cornered animal. But there

worn i

the ring, I was thirteen. My brother, D

" my father growled, his voice

ore experienced. I knew I didn't stand

shouted as I stumbled un

a Rossi. We do

get up

ause Diego w

r's gentle soul, always told me t

like our father. That I co

ever had the chan

ink, the taste sending a f

. I was no longer a second son with the luxury of t

carved out the softness in me, lea

n, I had learned to have con

o take my father's p

t of expectation pressing down on me, a

*******

as flawless, a

, and distant cousins crowded the space

was unmatched, and tonight,

dias, each step ech

imposing figure still commanding respec

his eyes roaming my

sandro?" he asked, h

. I had learned long ago

blade into my hands, the

weight of it mad

ued, his eyes boring into mine. "You are Don Al

er." I said, bo

applause as I rais

attention. My thoughts was else where, my eyes roamed the crow

el

the crowd, carrying a tray of

temples. I couldn't explain wh

by the sound of shatterin

commotion at the back, where the maids

sliced through the ai

wasn't on them. I

irmly, blood seeping thr

ged through my chest. Anger? No,

s her. My expression stayed cold voi

r as I approached. Her face was pale,

harsher than I int

"I....It's nothing, sir," she w

he wound. It wasn't deep, but the sight o

nst mine, her body bare

e trem

hispered, a tear

ed, masking my concern wit

refully. My touch was firm, almost rough, but I

" I demanded, turning

, and avoided my gaze. No o

, her voice weak. "Pleas

warned. I was be

e. I didn't need to turn

lt his gaze boring holes into me from be

lling on the mask I'd perfected over the years.

creating a distance between Amelia

e no sense? No pride? You're the Don and yet he

but my expressio

only ensuring our reputat

use!" his voic

si's family we maintained a perfection that no matter the kind of dirty

Her fragility stirred something in me a

t all down, lo

looked back at my father. "Y

aid. That's all

n't. But from the corner of my eye, I saw the way h

ed, satisfied. "Now act

room heavy with silence. I didn't move,

t words. The ones

I knew I didn