Chapter 5
Maria
This college has rules, the ones written in handbooks and the ones carved into the walls by the families who truly run things. And one of those families is his. I know the Messina family has been attending this college for generations.
If the rumors are true, they’re the first mafia family to attend, with the longest history here. And if the stories hold up, they even helped start the college.
“Are you even listening to me?” Jo’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts as we walk through the courtyard, the fresh spring air, and beautiful flowers adorn the stone pathway. Jo’s hair is in a messy bun, blazer slung over her shoulder.
Out of all the girls here, Jo’s the one they envy. She’s beautiful, and her family makes plenty of money through their work as the Messina’s’ lawyers. She’s studying law too. Once, she told me she needed to learn to shoot—because you never know when a gunfight will break out.
“I’m listening,” I lie.
“No, you’re not.” She narrows her eyes, spinning to walk backwards so she can study my face. “You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”
I swallow. “No.”
“Liar.” Jo smirks, linking her arm through mine as we walk toward the student lounge. “Massimo Messina is in your head, and it’s driving you insane. Admit it.”
I sigh, rubbing my forehead. “I barely know him.”
Jo scoffs. “You barely know him, but he sure as hell knows you.”
I frown, stopping just outside the student lounge doors. A group of students passes by, all wearing their perfectly tailored uniforms, their laughter echoing against the stone walls. This campus is a chessboard, and Massimo Messina is always ten moves ahead of everyone else.
“He’s dangerous, Jo.” My voice is quiet now, as if saying it too loud will summon him. “I don’t need to get mixed up with someone like him.”
Jo tilts her head. “Are you sure about that?”
I shoot her a look. “Of course, I’m sure.”
She frowns, raising her brow, stepping closer. “Then why do you look so flustered every time his name comes up? Why did you stare at him all through church like he was some kind of forbidden fruit?”
Heat crawls up my neck. “I did not.” First, she tells me to stay away, now she’s pushing me toward him.
“Maria, please. You’re a terrible liar.” Jo laughs, pushing open the student lounge doors and dragging me inside. “I know him well enough to know, if he wants something, there is no stopping him.”
The lounge is buzzing with life; students sprawling across velvet couches, some playing pool, others deep in hushed conversations regarding things normal students probably shouldn’t even know about.
This isn’t just a college; it was a breeding ground for the future rulers of the world, maybe even the next worldwide scandal.
Jo pulls me toward the coffee bar in the corner, ordering us both drinks before turning back to me.
“Look, I get it. You were kept away from all of this for most of your life. Your uncle wanted to protect you, but you’re here now, and trust me, guys like Massimo, they don’t chase after just anyone. ”
I bite my lip. “I don’t want to be chased.”
Jo raises an eyebrow. “Don’t you?”
Before I can answer, the air in the room shifts. It’s almost like a physical thing, a ripple of awareness, a silent acknowledgment that someone important had entered space.
I don’t have to turn around to know who it is. Massimo. His presence is impossible to ignore. His eyes find me, and my body betrays me with a shiver.
Jo’s eyes flicker over my shoulder, and she grins. “Well, well. Looks like your favorite devil is here.”
I swallow hard, forcing myself to stay calm as I finally turn around.
Massimo stands a few feet away, posture loose like he owns the room. His uniform is slightly lax, tie loose, top button undone, like rules don’t apply to him.
I watch him laughing with his friend, and Jo informs me it's his soon to be right hand man, Sebastian. They’re laughing about something, but it’s short lived when he locks eyes with someone. I glance over to see who’s caught his attention. Liam O’Brien.
Jo told me one of the main rules for attending here: there is no fighting on the grounds, and if anyone were to fight, they would be expelled and never return. All families agreed to it, and I have no idea how the hell they didn't kill each other.
The tension in the room thickens, and my pulse quickens. Because, if Massimo Messina is a devil, Liam O’Brien is the storm that threatens to burn the whole world down.
And somehow, I’m caught in between them.
I can see their mouths moving but can’t hear what they’re saying. Liam laughs, walks away from him. Massimo looks over at me, and the coldest of cold shivers runs through me.
Dinner is always the same, Uncle Dominic sits at the head of the table, his posture straight, his expression unreadable as he cuts into his steak.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about one man: Massimo Messina.
Every time I say his name it feels like a warning, almost as if my surroundings know better than me, and yet whenever I walk into a room, I feel him before I even see him, like a possession.
Taking a deep breath, I ask my uncle the question I’ve been thinking about.
“Uncle Dominic?”
“Yes, Maria?” He looks up from his food with a smile. I know he's happy I’m back home, but I also know it upsets him to know I will be married soon.
I hesitate for a moment, playing with the napkin in my lap.
“When will I meet the man you have agreed for me to marry?” I thought he would have told me when I returned but he’s said nothing, so I have to ask him myself.
“I mean, I think I should get to know him.” My voice is steady, even though my heart is hammering in my chest. “If this marriage is supposed to last, shouldn’t I know what kind of man he is? ”
He smiles and shakes his head a little. “What’s brought on this sudden interest?” He asks with a humor to his tone.
I swallow, not sure why I’m so nervous to have this conversation with him. I can’t tell him the truth. Can’t tell him that the devil himself looked me in the eyes in church and made me feel like I was standing at the edge of something I can't escape.
“I just… I don’t want to be blind to the life I’m being given, maybe we can start talking to each other and, you know, get to know each other.”
“You’ve already met him, sweetheart.”
A small part of me is happy, as the name whispers from my lips. “Massimo.”
He looks at me in shock, shaking his head.
“Sweetheart, no. Liam, Liam O'Brien.” My world drops out from under me. That name doesn’t belong in my story.
“Your engagement has been arranged with Liam O'Brien, before you were even born. Your grandmother and his grandmother were best friends, and made the promise, once they knew you were a girl, you would be married.”
I break eye contact with him, and there is nothing I can say. No wonder Liam has been around me since I got here. But he’s not Massimo.
No, this couldn’t be right. The way Massimo watched me, it was as if I belonged to him. As if he knew I was going to be his, so this doesn’t make sense.
“There is something I need to tell you.” He stops and I see the scared look in his eyes.
“We never told you. Your mother wanted to protect you, but her family is involved in the same life as the Messina and O’Brien families in another city far from here.
” My uncle’s words hang in the air. My chair scrapes back across the wooden floor, the sound too loud, too sharp.
My pulse hammers in my ears. Did he just say what I think he said?
“Your grandmother gave your hand away before you were even born. There was nothing we could do.” He reaches for me, closes his hand around mine, squeezes like that will hold me steady.
I stare at him, my throat tight, the room tilting.
“Your mother and I left that town, not telling anyone where we went. We ran away because we wanted nothing to do with it. We thought we’d buried it for good, but the O’Brien’s found us.
They’ve given me no choice. I agree, or they take you. ”
I sit frozen, not knowing what to say, everything I was told about my mother’s family was a lie, and I understand why, but I never thought it would have been this.
How do I marry the man I want now, knowing I not only put my life in danger but my uncle’s too?