Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
ARIA
That had been my first real date.
At eighteen years old, with everything I'd been through, all the training in etiquette and social graces, all the formal dinners and charity galas I'd attended, I'd never actually been on a date. Not a real one. Not one where someone looked at me like Kai had looked at me across that table.
Like I was the only person in the world who mattered.
The feeling that had bloomed in my chest during dinner, sitting in that cozy restaurant with checkered tablecloths and the smell of garlic bread, it was something I couldn't quite name. Warmth. Safety. Belonging.
Love.
I loved him. I knew that now with absolute certainty. Had probably loved him since that night in the club when he'd been gentle with me, when he'd made me feel wanted instead of like a transaction.
But admitting it out loud would make this real. Would shatter the dream-like quality of these stolen moments and force me to confront the impossibility of our situation.
Because this felt like a dream. Like something too good to be true. And any moment I'd wake up and it would all disappear. Kai would disappear. The future we'd talked about would evaporate like morning mist.
So I kept the words locked inside where they were safe. Where reality couldn't touch them.
I drifted to sleep with the memory of his hands in my hair, his mouth on mine, his voice telling me I was worth waiting for.
Morning shattered the dream with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
My laptop chimed at 8am. Incoming video call. Don Salvatore's name flashed on the screen.
"You've got to be kidding me." I stared at the notification like it was a snake. "This is exactly why this feels like a dream. Because reality keeps interrupting with his cold, dead face."
But ignoring it wasn't an option. I threw on a robe, ran fingers through my tangled hair, tried to make myself look presentable instead of like I'd spent half the night fantasizing about his son.
I clicked accept.
Salvatore's face filled the screen. Those glacial blue eyes. That calculating expression. The smile that never reached his eyes.
"Aria. Good morning. I hope I didn't wake you."
Liar. He absolutely hoped he'd woken me. Wanted me off-balance and scrambling.
"Not at all. I was just getting ready for the day. It's good to see you, Don Salvatore."
The lie tasted like ash.
"I wanted to check in. See how you're doing. Are you excited about the wedding? It's coming up so quickly now."
Excited. Right. Excited was definitely the word for the dread pooling in my stomach.
I forced my face into what I hoped looked like a smile. "Yes, of course. I've been preparing. Mrs. Rossi has been wonderful about teaching me everything I need to know."
"Good. Good." He leaned back in his chair. "I'll be home in four days. We'll have a proper dinner together. Just the two of us. Discuss the final arrangements. I'm very much looking forward to seeing you in person again."
Four days.
The words hit like physical blows. Four days until he returned. Four days until this fragile bubble of stolen time with Kai burst completely.
Four days until my nightmare became reality.
"That sounds lovely. I look forward to it as well."
My voice sounded steady. Calm. Completely at odds with the panic clawing up my throat.
"Excellent. I'll see you soon, my dear. Make sure you're ready."
The call ended. His face disappeared.
I sat there, staring at the blank screen, trying to remember how to breathe.
Four days. We had four days left.
Four days of freedom before Salvatore came back and we had to go back to hiding. To pretending. To playing roles that were slowly suffocating us both.
Four days before I had to sit across from him at dinner and pretend I wasn't in love with his son. Pretend I didn't know exactly what Kai's hands felt like on my skin. Pretend I wanted any part of the future Salvatore had planned.
I felt sick. Actually physically sick.
This was why I couldn't say the words out loud. Why admitting I loved Kai felt like tempting fate. Because every time I let myself believe this could work, reality came crashing back in with video calls and wedding dates and cold blue eyes studying me like I was livestock being evaluated.
I showered mechanically. Got dressed in jeans and a sweater. Braided my hair with shaking hands.
Then I went to find Kai.
He was in his office, standing by the window, shoulders tense. He turned when I walked in, and I saw my own anxiety reflected in his eyes.
"He called you too?"
"This morning. Wanted to check in." I couldn't stand still.
Started pacing. "Four days, Kai. He's coming back in four days and we're running out of time.
You said you needed more evidence but he's already on his way and I don't know how we're supposed to hide this when he's here watching everything and Luca is already suspicious and. .."
I was spiraling. Could feel it happening. Couldn't stop it.
Kai crossed to me in three strides. His hands found my shoulders, grounding me. "Breathe. Just breathe for a second."
"I can't. I can't breathe when he's coming back and everything is falling apart."
He pulled me against his chest. His arms wrapped around me, solid and warm. One hand stroked my hair while the other pressed against the small of my back.
"When he returns, we'll be more careful. Go back to playing our roles like we were before. You'll be the obedient bride-to-be. I'll be the dutiful son watching over you. We'll maintain distance in public, be cautious about when and where we meet. But I'm not giving you up."
I pressed my face into his shirt, breathing in his scent. Trying to absorb some of his certainty.
"What if we can't hide it? What if he sees? What if Luca finally gets his proof?"
"Then we deal with it. Together." His grip tightened. "I'll find a way, Aria. I promise you."
"I'm afraid." The admission came out muffled against his chest. "I feel like I'm going crazy. Like this is all some elaborate dream and I'm going to wake up and you'll be gone and I'll be alone again."
"You're not alone. You're never going to be alone again.
" He pulled back just enough to cup my face, tilt it up so I had to look at him.
"I'm terrified too. Terrified I won't be fast enough.
That my father will take you before I can stop it.
That I'll fail to protect the one person who matters most to me in this entire fucked up world. "
The honesty in his eyes made my throat tight.
"Whatever happens," I forced the words out, "I'm not letting him touch me. I'll find a way to resist. Even if it means consequences. Even if it means he hurts me. I can't... I won't..."
"If he hurts you, I'll kill him." Kai's voice went flat. Deadly. "Evidence or not. Council or not. I will put a bullet in his head and burn everything down. Do you understand me? Everything."
He pulled me back against him. Held me like I was something precious. Something worth protecting.
And standing there in his arms, feeling his heart beat steady under my ear, I realized something.
I did understand him now. Finally understood the violence, the brutality, the ease with which he could hurt people. It wasn't because he was cruel or heartless. It was because this world had taught him that hesitation got you killed. That showing weakness meant losing everything.
He'd learned to separate emotion from action because it was the only way to survive.
But with me, he didn't separate. With me, he let himself feel. Let himself be vulnerable in a way that probably terrified him as much as it terrified me.
That was love. Real, complicated, messy love. Not the fairy tale version I'd read about in books. The real thing that existed in the spaces between violence and tenderness.
Two days before Salvatore's return, everything got worse.
Kai had to oversee a drug shipment. Routine business, he'd explained, but he needed to be there personally. And he didn't trust leaving me at the estate without him.
So I went.
The warehouse was in the industrial district, surrounded by chain-link fence and security cameras. Kai's men moved with practiced efficiency, checking packages, counting product, making sure everything matched the manifest.
I stood off to the side, trying to be invisible. Trying not to think about what was in those packages. What they'd be used for. The lives they'd destroy.
Don't think about it. Just observe. Just survive.
Then Kai's posture changed. Went rigid. Dangerous.
"Who packed this shipment?"
One of the men stepped forward. "Danny's crew, boss. Why? Something wrong?"
Kai held up a package. The wrapping had been re-sealed. Poorly. "This has been tampered with. Someone skimmed product. Find out who."
The men scattered. Thirty seconds later they returned, dragging a young guy. Couldn't have been more than twenty. Baby-faced. Terrified.
A corner drug boy. The lowest level in the operation. Practically disposable.
"Please, Mr. Accardi, I can explain. I just needed money for my sister. She's sick, the medical bills are insane, and I thought just a little wouldn't matter. Please, I'll pay it back, I swear..."
He was crying. Actually crying. Snot running down his face, hands shaking, words tumbling over each other.
Kai listened. Face completely blank. Expression giving away nothing.
Then he nodded to Marco.
What happened next was systematic. Brutal. Marco's fists connected with the boy's face, his ribs, his stomach. The sound of bone breaking echoed through the warehouse. Blood spattered on concrete.
I wanted to look away. Couldn't. Something kept my eyes locked on the scene.
The boy collapsed. Unconscious. Maybe dead. I couldn't tell.
"Take him to the hospital." Kai's voice was flat. Emotionless. "Leave him outside the emergency room with a note. Next time there won't be a next time."
The men dragged the unconscious body out. Left a trail of blood across the floor.
Kai turned to the others. "Anyone else thinking about skimming? Anyone else think they can steal from this family and get away with it?"
Silence. Everyone stared at the ground.
"Good. Clean this up. Finish the count. Report to me when it's done."
In the car ride back, I stared out the window. Processing. Trying to reconcile what I'd seen with what I knew about Kai.
Finally, I spoke. "I understand now. Why you want out. Why you're gathering evidence and planning escapes and dreaming of different lives. This is brutal. This is soul-destroying. And I understand why you need to escape before it destroys what's left of you."
Kai's hands tightened on the steering wheel.
"If word gets out that I spared someone without real consequences, they'll all come for me.
Every dealer, every runner, every person in this organization will think they can get away with stealing.
And that means chaos. Which means I can't protect Lia.
Can't protect you. The violence serves a purpose, even when it's ugly. "
I reached over. Placed my hand on his thigh. Felt the muscle tense under my palm.
"I get it now. I really do. You're not cruel for the sake of it.
You're trying to survive. Trying to keep the people you care about safe in a world that doesn't allow for weakness.
" I squeezed gently. "That's why you need me.
I remind you there's something beyond this violence.
Something worth fighting for. A future that doesn't involve breaking bones and spilling blood. "
His hand covered mine. Squeezed back.
"You're the only thing keeping me human. The only thing reminding me I'm more than what my father made me."
We drove the rest of the way in silence. But it was a comfortable silence. An understanding.
Back at the estate, I headed toward my room. Needed to process everything. Needed to think.
Lia appeared out of nowhere, making me jump.
"Jesus, Lia. You scared me."
"Sorry." She held out a phone. Small, nondescript. "You're going to need this."
I looked at it, confused. "I already have a phone."
"That one is monitored. Hacked. Every call, every text, every website you visit gets logged and reviewed."
Ice flooded my veins. "What? By who?"
Lia hesitated. Looked genuinely uncomfortable.
"Lia. Who's monitoring my phone?"
She bit her lip. "Kai."
The word hit like a slap. "What?"
"He has access to everything on your phone.
Has since the day you arrived. Standard security protocol for anyone living in the estate.
My father requires it for everyone except himself.
" She pushed the phone into my hands. "But this one is clean.
Encrypted. Untraceable. You'll need it now that my father is coming back.
To communicate with Kai without leaving digital evidence. "
I stared at the phone in my hands. Then back at Lia.
"Kai has been monitoring my phone this entire time?"
"I probably shouldn't have told you. He's going to kill me.
But I thought you should know. Especially now.
" Lia's expression was apologetic. "He's not doing it to invade your privacy.
It's protection. Making sure you're not trying to contact your uncle or plan an escape or anything that would put you in danger. "
"He's been reading my messages. Seeing every search. Every..."
Every late-night Google search about how to tell if you're falling in love. Every article I'd read about surviving arranged marriages. Every desperate search for escape routes and safe houses and ways to disappear.
He'd seen all of it.
"I need to go." I clutched the new phone. "Thanks for this. And for telling me."
"Aria, don't be mad at him. He's just trying to protect you in the only way he knows how."
I didn't respond. Just walked away on autopilot.
The old one that Kai had been monitoring. The new one that was supposed to be safe.
Part of me was furious. He'd been invading my privacy. Watching me. Monitoring everything I did without my knowledge or consent.
But another part, a bigger part if I was being honest, understood.
Still didn't make it okay. Still made my stomach twist knowing he'd probably seen those late-night searches. The articles about falling in love. The symptoms I'd been Googling like some lovesick teenager.
This was my life now. Video calls with the man I was supposed to marry. Secret dates with the man I actually loved. Violence and tenderness existing side by side. Monitored phones and encrypted backups.
Romance novels never mentioned this part. The complicated reality of loving someone in a world built on violence and control. The way your heart could break and heal in the same moment. The way you could be furious and understanding simultaneously.
God, he probably knew I loved him before I'd fully admitted it to myself.