22. Lelia
Chapter 22
Lelia
A s the night wears on, the storm finally breaks. Rain pounds the roof like fists. The wind howls against the glass, and thunder rolls low and deep, like a threat whispered in the dark.
I should sleep. But instead, I pace.
I keep thinking about Nico. About the way he looked at me. About how this house has eyes in every wall and how Nico is only one misstep away from being discovered.
I leave my bedroom and head down the hall to see my father. When I reach the bedroom door, I knock. I can feel the guards watching me, but I no longer care. It’s time to end this.
My mother opens the door and smiles. “Darling.”
“Mom,” I say as she embraces me.
“Come in.” When I do enter the room, I find my father at the desk, working. I knew he would be. The man never sleeps.
“Lelia,” he says as he stops looking at the computer screen and turns to me. “What are you doing here?”
“Dad,” I say, my heart thudding in my chest. “If I told you I didn’t want to get married, what would you say?”
“Oh, darling,” Mom pipes up. “You’re just getting cold feet. Ignacio is a lovely man, and he’s got so many connections. Anything you want to do in life he’ll be able to help with.”
“It’s not about that, Mother. I want to love the man I marry, not live a life alone and be kept like an owned pet.”
“Sweetheart,” my dad says then. “You’re acting like a child. This is your destiny.” The words sting because I know it’s a lie. Nico is my fate, not Ignacio. There’s no getting through to them, so I nod. Playing the role.
“Sorry to have bothered you.” I turn and stop at the threshold of their room. “See you tomorrow.”
When I shut the door behind me, I feel alone.
“My cousin,” Cassio’s voice carries from down the hall and my stomach once again drops to my feet. He’s the last person I wanted to be alone with. But I have no choice but to be the perfectly poised woman.
“Cassio.”
“What are you doing out here all alone?” He stops right in front of me, leaning in so I have to step back. My body hits the wall, and I have no escape.
“I wanted to talk to my parents. Is that okay with you?” I snap back. I’m tired, and I don’t feel the need to talk to him.
“No need to be rude.” He chuckles. “Come, I’ll walk you back to your bedroom.”
I want to refuse him, but if I do, he’ll get suspicious.
“Soon you’ll be a married woman. I bet he’ll fuck you endlessly until you’re carrying his child.” My cousin has always been vulgar, but he’s taking this to another level. “Thankfully, you never ran off with a Montesano,” he says as he stops short, gripping my arm so I’m turned to face him. “Right?”
Fear twists in my stomach. He knows something. “Of course.”
Cassio leans in close, his eyes locked on mine. “Don’t fuck with me, cousin,” he says in a dangerous tone. “If you’re spreading your legs for filth, I’ll know. I’ll kill all the Montesanos.”
His words are a sword straight to my heart. Cassio knows. I have no doubt about it. The question is—why hasn’t he told Ignacio? Unless he already has.
“Get some beauty rest. You’ll need it for tomorrow.”
I don’t reply because he’ll hear the fear in my voice. Instead, I turn and rush into my bedroom, then lock the door from inside. I lean against it, needing support. My eyes close as I try to make sense of what the hell just happened.
It’s then I hear the tap at my window before I see the shadow. I move to the curtains slowly, unsure of who the hell is out there in the rain. My heart thuds against my ribs as I tug the curtain aside.
And there he is. Soaked, reckless, beautiful. I pull the window open and he climbs through without a word.
“Are you insane?” I whisper.
His jaw is tight. “I had to see you.” He’s dripping wet, shirt clinging to him, hair slicked back with rain.
I close the window, then grab a towel from the bathroom and throw it at him. He catches it but doesn’t thank me. Just starts drying off, his eyes never leaving mine.
“What happened?” I ask.
“Marco cornered me.”
Fear coils in my stomach. “What did he say?”
“Asked questions. Too many.” He shakes his head as he stands before me, and I know something is wrong. So very fucking wrong.
I press a hand to my mouth. “You need to leave. Tonight. Before he tells my father and Ignacio.”
But Nico shakes his head.
“I’m not leaving.”
“You have to,” I insist urgently, taking steps toward him. I need to be close. I want to feel him. “You’re in danger?—”
“So are you,” he throws back. “I called reinforcements yesterday. They’re already on a flight. I didn’t think I’d need them, but my cousins are arriving soon. I thought if they were close, and we were overpowered, we can use their strength.”
We stare at each other.
Then his voice softens. “Lia… I came here with a plan. A mission. It was always to save you, to take you as mine, and spend my life with you.”
My heart stutters.
He steps closer, his hands finding my hips and pulling me against his warmth. “I need you to know something. If I die tomorrow, tonight, whenever the reaper comes for me, it will be you who has my heart and you I think of in my final moments.”
He cups my face, eyes blazing. “I love you.”
I close my eyes, swallowing the lump in my throat. “I love you too, Nico. I just don’t want to lose you,” I whisper. “I need you alive.”
The storm outside howls louder, but we stay still.
He leans in and presses his forehead to mine. “I am yours, Lia.”
I breathe him in. The spicy fragrance of his cologne. The feel of his body is rigid, but there is a softness to his touch.
He’s closer now. Unsteady. Barely breathing.
“You and me… we may not get forever,” he says. “We barely get now . But if you help me—if you trust me—I’ll get us both out of this.”
I can feel the storm moving through him. All the pressure. All the fear.
But I also see the truth.
He’s not just here to hurt them. He’s here to protect me, even if it kills him.
I think of my future husband. Of the way he controls everything. Of the man I’m supposed to marry tomorrow. And of the way Cassio looked at me like he already saw the noose tightening around my neck.
And then I think of the way Nico touches me like I’m something precious.
The way he listens. The way he sees me.
I take a deep breath.
“I do trust you,” I say. “But on one condition.”
“What?”
“You don’t leave me behind.”
His hands tighten on my waist. “Never.”
And just like that, the last thread snaps.
I pull him to me.
And we fall into something dangerous. Something real. The kiss is warm, hungry, and as his tongue delves into my mouth, I enjoy his flavor. His hands grip my ass and he lifts me against him. “Nico, I want this.” My whisper is breathy, light, filled with desire.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I tell him as I reach for the button of his pants. It may be my first time, and it may not be rose petals and candlelight, but it’s us.
Nico doesn’t waste any time as his fingers find my core wet and ready. He teases me with two digits, and I almost come undone for him.
“So fucking wet,” he moans into my mouth and turns to walk us to the bed. I flop onto it with a soft bounce, and before I have time to think, Nico is on his knees between my thighs. His tongue, wet and warm against my core, has me biting my lip. We have to be quiet, or we will be found out.
“Please just do it,” I beg him once more and Nico moves, standing at the edge of the bed.
“You taste like heaven and sin.” His words are heavy with lust as he unzips his pants, then pushes them to his thighs. That’s when I get my first glimpse of his cock. Hard, thick, and dripping wet.
With slow movements, he leans over, hovering over me on the mattress, and I feel him at my pussy, the tip of his erection probing gently.
“I need you.” Is all I manage when he thrusts in one movement, knocking the breath from my lungs. “Tomorrow morning, we will be free.” It’s a promise I gift him as he moves inside me. We’re connected, together.
“We will.” As pleasure takes a hold of us, we lose ourselves in each other. I claw at his back as he stretches and fills me deep. Every movement, every thrust, sends me over the edge. “It’s us against the world.” Nico’s voice is ragged as he speaks, and I know it won’t be long now.
But this time, it’s no longer just want.
It’s war.
The house beckons.
I stand outside the prison I’ve lived in for the past year and I know there’s no longer a way out. My choice is made. I can’t do this anymore, so I need to end everything. I need to make sure nobody will come for me.
Nico steps up beside me, and Gillie stands on the other side, both men flanking me. My decision to do this wasn’t easy. I’m not a violent person, but the heartache that lives within these walls can never escape.
“All the staff are clear. My cousins will help get them to safety,” Nico tells me.
I’m still surprised the Montesanos were willing to help, but when he told his cousins about his love for me, they accepted it. Not without argument. But he didn’t give them a choice. They were to fall in line, or they’d be banished from the family.
“Thank you,” I say to Domenico as I step forward. They follow me as I make my way into the house, which has a stench of fuel. The curtains, which cost more than most of the household staff who works here makes, the rugs and fabrics, everything is soaked, ready to go up in flames.
“Are you ready?” Domenico’s voice comes from my left, and I nod. He hands me the lighter, and I know I need to be quick. Once the curtain is aflame, the rest of the house will go up quickly. Flicking the flint, I lean in and allow the dancing flame to lick at the fabric, and like I imagined, it’s not long before the fire engulfs the whole window.
Domenico grabs me and we head out with Gillie following close behind. Outside, I stop and glance over my shoulder, watching as the destructive force takes a hold. And that’s when I see him. The man I was meant to marry. He can’t leave his wing of the house. With the help of Domenico and Gillie, we ensured that every window was secure. It wasn’t easy, but we did it. The guards who stand outside his bedroom door are at the hallway windows, banging on them. The glass, which is unable to be smashed, doesn’t allow them to escape either.
I raise a hand and give my betrothed a wave.
There is no escape, darling, because I’ve ensured you pay for your sins.
“Let’s go,” I say as we walk away from the burning building. The rest of the Mosca organization will fall. There will no longer be any threat to me and my family, and I know the Montesanos are safe too.
I slip into the back seat of the car, while Nico joins me and Gillie takes the wheel. It’s time to fly home and face the consequences of my actions. My father knows I planned something. He just doesn’t know what.
“It’s over,” he tells me.
“Not just yet,” I reply as I glance at him. “My father may not be happy about this. And knowing him, I’m pretty sure he’ll disown me.”
Nico cups my cheek gently and whispers, “You have a new family now. It’s me, and I’m never letting you go. No matter what.”
“I hate that we had to go through that,” I tell him then. The calmness slowly washes over me, but so does the realization that the past few months have been brutal on us both.
He shakes his head, and the dark waves of his chocolate brown hair fall over his eyes. “We all have to be destroyed to find out who we really are, Princess,” he says gently before pressing his lips to mine.
The kiss is gentle, and it reminds me that all the violence, every harsh word and action I’ve endured, has brought me here. Not many people get to live the rest of their lives with their soul mate, but I will.
When we break the kiss, I blink back the tears. I almost lost the man I love. He stole my heart in the blink of an eye, and his life almost ended in the same amount of time.
But here we are.
I may be apprehensive about talking to my parents, but I can get through this with Nico by my side.