Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
ARIA
The book in my lap might as well have been written in French for all I could comprehend was nothing. Words blurred together, meaningless shapes on paper while my mind replayed the scene in Kai's office on an endless loop.
His hands on my skin. His mouth hot against mine. The way he'd looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.
I'd tried to stay away. Really tried. Spent yesterday locked in my room, forcing myself to read, to sleep, to think about anything except him.
Complete failure on all counts.
Footsteps crunched on the garden gravel. My entire body recognized the sound before my mind caught up—the deliberate pace, the confident stride.
Kai. He didn't ask permission. Just dropped onto the bench beside me, close enough that his shoulder pressed against mine. Warm. Solid. Real.
Everything inside me that had been wound tight since yesterday suddenly loosened. The knot in my chest unraveled. My shoulders dropped from where they'd been hunched around my ears. Even the headache that had been building behind my eyes eased.
This made no sense. He was danger personified. The complication that could get me killed. Every rational thought screamed that proximity to him was suicide.
Yet here I sat, feeling safer than I had in months. Like his presence alone could shield me from everything waiting to destroy us.
His fingers found mine, threading through slowly. Deliberately. Like he had all the time in the world and nowhere else he'd rather be.
Then he leaned over. His lips brushed my bare shoulder—just the barest touch of warmth against skin.
Electricity. Pure electricity exploded from that single point of contact, racing through my nervous system like wildfire. Heat bloomed in my stomach, spread outward in waves. My breath caught audibly. Every nerve ending suddenly alive and screaming for more, more, more.
I tried to school my expression. Keep my face neutral. Pretend that casual touch hadn't just set my entire body on fire.
The smile curving his lips told me I'd failed spectacularly.
"We need to be more careful." The words came out breathy. Unsteady. "Luca watches us constantly. Mrs. Rossi caught us red-handed. This is getting dangerous—"
"I know."
"Then you understand we need to stop—"
"I understand that Luca is watching. That we're taking risks." His thumb traced circles on my palm, each rotation sending fresh sparks up my arm. "But stopping? Staying away from you? No. Not happening."
"Kai—"
"What do you want me to say, Aria? That I'll keep my distance? That I'll pretend I don't feel this?" His voice dropped lower. Rougher. "I can't do that. Won't do that."
My throat tightened. "What are we supposed to do? We can't just keep sneaking around hoping we won't get caught. Eventually—"
"I just need time." He shifted, angling toward me. The movement brought our faces close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in his dark eyes. "Time to finish what I started. To build the case against my father. I need you to have faith in me."
Faith. Such a simple word. Such an impossible ask.
I wanted to respond. Wanted to tell him yes, I believed in him. Or maybe no, this was hopeless, we should stop before someone died.
But words stuck in my throat like shards of glass.
Because avoiding him wasn't truly an option anymore. The only real escape would be leaving entirely. And Uncle Vincent controlled every door, every exit, every possible route to freedom. I was trapped here until the wedding.
Unless Kai actually managed to pull off the impossible.
He turned fully now, and something in his expression stole my breath. Vulnerability. Raw and unguarded. Like he was letting me see straight through all his carefully constructed armor.
"I've never felt this way about any woman before."
Despite the gravity of our situation, despite everything, I smiled. Couldn't help it. "That's literally the oldest line in history. You might as well tell me your sign."
"It's not a line." Dead serious now. Intense. "I'm twenty-six. I've been with women—plenty of them. But I've never—" He stopped. Drew breath like the next words cost him something. "I've never fallen in love before. This is new territory for me too."
Love.
The word detonated in my chest like a bomb. Made my heart stutter. Made my lungs forget how to process oxygen.
He'd said it. Actually said the word out loud. Put a name to this terrifying, overwhelming thing between us.
And I knew, knew with absolute certainty that if I acknowledged what he'd just said, everything I'd been desperately holding back would come pouring out.
All the feelings I'd tried to suppress. All the hope I'd tried not to feel.
All the terrifying depth of emotion that kept growing despite every logical reason to shut it down.
I couldn't do that. Wasn't ready for that level of exposure.
I stood abruptly. My book tumbled to the grass. "I need to find Lia. We can—we'll talk about this later."
Then I ran. Literally ran like the coward I was.
Before he could see the tears blurring my vision. Before I could do something catastrophically stupid like tell him I was falling too. That hearing him say he loved me was simultaneously the most terrifying and exhilarating thing I'd ever experienced.******
I found myself in an unused parlor on the second floor, back pressed against the wall, trying to remember how to breathe properly.
He'd never fallen in love before.
Neither had I. Eighteen years on this earth and I'd never even come close. Didn't know what love was supposed to look like beyond what I'd read in novels hidden under my mattress.
But this thing with Kai—this consuming, overwhelming, absolutely terrifying thing—had to be it. Had to be what all those authors were trying to capture with their words.
The way my pulse raced when he entered a room. The way his absence felt like missing a limb. The way I'd started imagining futures that included him instead of accepting the nightmare I'd been resigned to.
Was that love?
It felt like falling off a cliff with no idea where the bottom was. Like drowning and learning to breathe underwater simultaneously. Like burning alive and finally feeling warm for the first time.
And it was going to destroy us both.
Luca appeared in the library doorway hours later after I had decided to spend the rest of my day hiding there like a coward, his presence announced by the particular quality of silence that preceded him. The kind that made prey animals freeze.
"Don Salvatore has scheduled a video call. Everyone in his office. Ten minutes."
The book I'd been pretending to read slipped from my numb fingers.
"A call?" My voice came out thin. Reedy.
"To assess your progress. Ensure things are proceeding appropriately." The way his eyes tracked my face made it clear he suspected things were proceeding very inappropriately indeed. "Don't be late."
My feet felt like lead weights as I made my way to Salvatore's office. Each step brought me closer to reality. To the cold truth behind the fantasy I'd been living.
Lia was already positioned by the window when I entered, perched on the edge of her chair like a bird ready to bolt. She offered me a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Kai stood behind the massive desk, his father's desk—spine rigid, expression carefully blank. But when our gazes connected, I saw everything beneath the surface. The fury. The frustration. The same desperate helplessness clawing at my insides.
Luca claimed his post by the door. Sentinel. Watcher. Judge.
The computer screen flickered. Resolved into Don Salvatore's face—those glacial blue eyes, that calculating expression, that smile devoid of any human warmth.
"Aria. How lovely to see you."
The endearment slithered across my skin like oil. Made me want to shower.
"Hello, Don Salvatore." The lie tasted like copper. "It's good to see you too."
"I trust you're adjusting well? Learning your role?"
"Yes, sir. Mrs. Rossi has been wonderful. She's teaching me household management, event planning, staff coordination. My Italian improves daily."
All I could focus on was Kai. The way he stood utterly motionless. The tension radiating from his shoulders. The muscle jumping in his jaw as he listened to me play the obedient bride-to-be.
"Excellent. You're comfortable? Have everything you need?"
"Everything is perfect. Thank you for your concern."
Perfect. Sure. Everything was perfect except I was in love with your son and we're both probably going to die because of it.
Salvatore's attention shifted like a predator's. "Kai. Any problems? Escape attempts? Issues requiring my attention?"
"None, Father. Everything runs smoothly. Aria has been cooperative and compliant. No escape attempts. No behavioral issues. She's adjusting exactly as anticipated."
So neutral. So professional. Like I was just another asset in his portfolio requiring management.
But I could see his hands. Clenched into white-knuckled fists at his sides. Could see the iron control it took to maintain that neutral facade.
"Excellent. Maintain that standard until my return." Salvatore's eyes narrowed fractionally. "Remember what's at stake should anything go wrong."
"I remember perfectly."
Lia. Always Lia. The leverage Salvatore wielded to keep his son compliant.
"And my daughter? You're well, Lia?"
"Fine, Father. Everything here is fine."
Lia's voice could have been a recording. Carefully modulated. Drained of authentic emotion. Years of practice hiding her truth.
"Good. I'll be home in less than two weeks. We'll begin wedding preparations immediately. Aria, I expect you to be ready."
Ready. To become his possession. To let those cold hands touch me. To spend whatever remained of my probably abbreviated life being owned.
"Of course, Don Salvatore. I'll be ready."
The lie nearly strangled me on the way out.
The screen went dark. Silence rushed in to fill the void—oppressive, suffocating.
Luca straightened. "I'll continue security rounds. Perhaps we can all retire for the evening."
Lia nodded, shot me one sympathetic glance, and fled.
Luca followed, but not before fixing Kai with a stare that communicated volumes. I'm watching. I see everything. You're not as clever as you think.
Then just us. Kai and me. Alone with the ghost of my future husband still lingering in the air.
I stared at the blank screen. At the portal that had just connected me to my nightmare. To reality.
This was my life. Video calls with a man who saw me as property. Answering questions about my behavior like a child under evaluation. Being owned in every way that mattered.
The fantasy with Kai and this supposed love wasn't real. This was real. Salvatore was real. And he was coming back in less than two weeks.
"Aria—"
"That's my future." The words emerged flat. Dead. "Answering to that man. Being his obedient little wife. Performing for his approval like a trained animal."
"No." He crossed the distance in three strides. Grabbed my shoulders. "That's not your future."
"Yes, it is." I turned to face him fully. "We need to stop lying to ourselves, Kai. This thing between us—it can't work. Not without blood. Not without people dying. We're living in a fantasy and that call just dragged me back to reality."
"I'm gathering evidence—"
"Evidence won't save us!" Hysteria built in my chest like pressure. "Your father is one of the most powerful men in this world. He has connections, resources, an army of people who would kill without question. And you think some evidence will make him disappear?"
"The Council has rules—"
"The Council doesn't care about rules!" My voice cracked. "They care about power and money and maintaining order. Your father provides all three. Why would they sanction him?"
"Because what he's done violates their most sacred laws—"
"How long?" I cut through his explanation. Needed the truth. Needed to understand if any hope actually existed. "How much time do you need to finish this case?"
He hesitated. That single beat of silence told me everything.
"Kai. How. Long."
"I don't know." The admission seemed torn from him. "Father Benedetto wants more concrete evidence. Marco says maybe another month. Possibly longer—"
"The wedding is in less than two months." Tears spilled down my face. "We don't have another month. We don't have time."
His hands moved from my shoulders to cup my face. Tilted it up, forcing eye contact.
"I will figure this out. I promise, Aria. I will find a way—"
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Sobs choked me. "Don't promise things that might get us both killed."
"Then what?" His voice cracked too. "Give up? Let him have you? Watch you marry him and pretend I don't feel what I feel?"
"I don't know!" Full breakdown now. Complete collapse. "I just know this—us—it won't end well. It can't. And pretending otherwise will only make it hurt more when everything falls apart."
He pulled me against his chest. Arms wrapped around me—solid, warm, everything I needed despite being the last thing I should want.
"Listen." His voice rumbled against my ear. "I've spent eight years planning this. Eight years gathering evidence, building alliances, waiting for the perfect moment. And I'm close. So fucking close. I just need a little more time."
"We don't have time—"
"Then I'll make time. I'll push harder. Take bigger risks. Whatever it takes." His grip tightened. "But I'm not giving up. And I'm not letting him have you. That's non-negotiable."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to think he could actually pull off the impossible. That somehow we'd find an exit from this nightmare.
But all I could think was how volatile this was. How dangerous. How our love, because it was love, I couldn't deny that anymore would get us both killed.
His promise wouldn't save us. It would destroy us.
And I was too far gone to stop it now.
"Promise me one thing." I pulled back enough to meet his eyes. "If this goes wrong, if your father discovers us, you protect Lia first. Before me. Before yourself. She needs to survive this."
"Aria—"
"Promise me."
He stared at me for a long moment. Then nodded slowly. "I promise."
A lie. I could see it written clearly in his eyes. He'd try to save all of us or die trying.
Which was exactly what I was afraid of.
Our love was volatile. Explosive. The kind that destroyed everything it touched.
And we were both too far gone to walk away.
Less than two weeks until Salvatore returned. Less than two months until the wedding.
The clock was ticking. And I had no idea if Kai could actually pull off the impossible.
Or if we were both just counting down to our own destruction.