Luciano's Obsession

picture of elegance, but irreparably cracked. The woman who'd taken root i

word since after t

my halls like a ghost, her silence louder than screams. I watched her on the security feed as she star

ilk dresses I had custom-made for her. The ones in soft blues and creams I imagined would bring out the warmth in her skin, the spark in he

ro had w

no," he'd said yesterday, pouring himse

t change the fact that she was mine now, her father signed the contract willingly. She would be my wife a

hoes clicked softly against the marble floor. As I approached her do

d once.

the doo

t, chin resting on them. She didn't look at me, she just kept st

," I

le

of gardenia drifted from the vase of fresh flowers I had delive

eed to

yes. Her gaze was blistering, empty and full at onc

softly, voice hoarse like

ean your body i

e graceful, controlled, as if she didn't want to show weak

can own me? L

you from a life of drowning in your

Trapping me here like a prisoner in some palace? You didn

kind of fire that made a

us. "You want to hate me, I understand that. But

lready

t harder tha

and forced the mask of c

ally. "But not forever because t

uld shield herself from my presence. But I saw the

shutting the door behind m

her story. But Villains always go

*

myself in this sprawling estate. Aria might be protesting right now, but she

the quiet, sha

id, already kno

out announcing herself, even if silently. Dressed in sleek black slacks and a fitted blouse, she was every inc

s the first sign she wa

s. "You brought a girl into this house l

r. I won a debt. Her father was the one who

justification? You think t

. "Since when did you start having mor

voice lowering. "Since it start

e," I said, my tone sharpening. "Not you or

he others, Luciano. I saw her. She looked like a frightened rabbit. This isn't some

e i

above a whisper, "you can't make someo

s under a slow strain. "I don't nee

. Enough for me to see the

losing yourself, Luc. This

geance or even lust. It was about something deeper. That night six months ago when I saw Aria, something shifted in m

ou like," I said at l

ong, silent beat. Then s

ol everything around you, but you can't control what a person carries inside

icked softl

t this time it wasn't peaceful

e, she

love to wa