Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
KAI
I felt like I was drowning with the shore just barely out of reach.
One more day. One fucking day before my father returned and this fragile thing with Aria had to go into hiding. One day before we had to become actors playing roles that were slowly killing us both.
The clock was ticking. Loud. Relentless. Mocking.
I'd spent the morning in my office trying to finalize plans with Father Benedetto. The priest was almost convinced. Almost ready to bring the evidence to the Council. But almost wasn't good enough. Almost didn't save Aria from marrying my father.
I needed more time. Time I didn't have.
The office door slammed open hard enough to rattle the frame. Aria stormed in, her face flushed, eyes blazing with fury.
Beautiful. Even pissed off, she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
"Is it true?" Her voice shook with barely controlled rage. "Have you been monitoring my phone? Reading my messages? Listening to my calls?"
Fuck. Lia must have told her about the security protocols.
I stood slowly, keeping my expression neutral even though my mind was racing. "Of course I have. It's my job to watch you. To keep you safe."
"Safe?" She moved closer, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "You've been reading my private conversations with Lia. With Mrs. Rossi. That's not keeping me safe, Kai. That's controlling me. That's treating me like I'm some prisoner who can't be trusted."
"You are a prisoner here. We both are. And yes, I monitor your communications because I need to know if anyone suspects us. If you're in danger. If someone is planning something that could get you hurt." I came around the desk. "This isn't about control. It's about protection."
Her laugh was harsh. Bitter. "You sound just like your father. He probably tells himself the same thing. That monitoring everyone, controlling everything, it's all for protection. For the good of the family."
The comparison hit like a physical blow. Made something ugly twist in my gut.
"I am nothing like my father." The words came out harder than I intended. Angrier. "Everything I do is to protect you. To save us both. If you can't see the difference between me gathering intelligence to keep you safe and him using control to own you, then you're fucking blind."
"Am I?" She stepped even closer, chin tilted up defiantly. "Because from where I'm standing, you're both trying to own me. He just does it with a wedding ring while you do it with surveillance and excuses."
"That's bullshit and you know it."
"Is it? You monitor my phone without telling me. You follow me. You decide when I can leave, where I can go, who I can talk to. How is that different from what he'll do?"
"Because I love you!" The words exploded out of me. "Because every fucking thing I do is about keeping you alive and safe. Not about owning you or controlling you. About protecting the one person in this world who actually matters to me."
"Then maybe you should try trusting me instead of spying on me!"
"I do trust you! I don't trust everyone else.
I don't trust Luca not to manipulate you.
I don't trust my father not to plant someone close to you to gather information.
I don't trust this world not to use you against me.
" My hands clenched into fists. "The monitoring isn't about you. It's about everyone else."
"That's a convenient excuse."
Her words stung. Made the anger in my chest flare hotter.
"You want to talk about trust? Let's talk about trust. I've shared everything with you.
My plans, my evidence, my vulnerabilities.
I've told you things I've never told anyone.
And you still won't say you love me back.
Still hold those words like they're some kind of weapon you're not sure you want to use. "
Her face went pale. "That's not fair."
"Isn't it? I'm risking everything for you. My position. My life. Lia's safety. And you can't even give me three fucking words."
"Maybe because I'm smart enough to see this is insane! Maybe because I know that us being together is going to get people killed and I'm trying not to make it worse by admitting feelings that will only complicate everything!"
We were both breathing hard now. Standing too close. The air between us crackling with anger and something else. Something desperate.
"You think I don't know it's insane?" My voice dropped.
Got quieter. More dangerous. "You think I don't know every moment we spend together is another risk?
Another chance to get caught? But I can't stop.
I physically cannot make myself stay away from you even when every logical part of my brain is screaming that I should. "
"Then maybe we should listen to logic instead of..." She gestured between us. "Whatever this is."
"This is love. This is the only real thing in my life. And if you can't handle that, if you can't handle me doing whatever it takes to protect you, then maybe you're right. Maybe this is a mistake."
The words came out before I could stop them. Came out angry and hurt and completely wrong.
Her eyes went bright with unshed tears. "Maybe it is. Maybe we should stop this before someone gets killed. Before your father finds out and destroys everyone we care about."
She turned toward the door.
Every instinct screamed at me to stop her. To grab her. To take back the words.
But my pride wouldn't let me. My anger wouldn't let me.
She walked out. The door slammed behind her hard enough to make the windows rattle.
I stood there, hands clenched, jaw tight, trying to breathe through the rage and fear tangling in my chest.
We'd just had our first real fight. Said things we didn't mean. Hurt each other deliberately.
And I'd let her walk away.
Fuck.
I wanted to go after her. Wanted to kick down her door and make her listen. Make her understand that the monitoring wasn't about control. That everything I did was to keep her safe.
But forcing the conversation wouldn't help. She needed time to cool down. To think.
We both did.
I'd talk to her tonight. Explain properly. Make her see reason.
The day dragged. Every hour felt like ten. I threw myself into work, into finalizing security protocols for my father's return, into anything that would distract me from the sick feeling in my gut.
By nightfall, I was exhausted. Emotionally wrung out. Ready to apologize, to fix whatever I'd broken with my stupid pride.
I expected Aria to show up at my room. It's what she'd done the past few nights. Slipped in around midnight, climbed into my bed, let me hold her until morning.
But midnight came and went. No Aria.
At 12:30, I checked my watch for the hundredth time. Told myself she just needed more time. That she'd come eventually.
1am. Still nothing.
By 1:30, concern was morphing into worry. I walked to her room, knocked gently on the door.
"Aria? Can we talk?"
Silence.
I knocked again. Harder. "Aria. I know you're angry but we need to discuss this. Please open the door."
Nothing.
The sick feeling in my gut intensified. I tried the handle. Locked.
She was probably asleep. Or still too pissed to talk to me. That was fine. We'd deal with it in the morning.
I went back to my room. Lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Sleep was impossible.
Something felt wrong. I couldn't name it, couldn't explain it. Just a cold certainty settling in my bones that something was off.
At 2am, I gave up. Got dressed. Went back to her room.
Knocked again. "Aria. I'm coming in. We're talking about this whether you want to or not."
Still no response. I pulled out the lockpick I always carried. Had the door open in fifteen seconds.
The room was empty. The bed was made. Untouched. Her closet door hung open, hangers askew like she'd grabbed things quickly.
And the window was open. Curtains fluttering in the night breeze.
My heart stopped. Literally stopped for one terrible second before kicking back in double-time.
No. No no no no.
I crossed to the window. Looked out. Saw scuff marks on the ledge where she'd climbed out. Saw disturbed gravel below where she'd landed.
She'd run. Actually fucking run.
Terror and fury warred in my chest. Terror won.
What if something happened to her out there? What if someone found her first? What if my father's enemies grabbed her? What if she got hurt?
I pulled out my phone, called Marco. He answered on the first ring, voice groggy.
"This better be good."
"Aria's gone. Check the security footage. Find out when she left and which direction she went."
"What? Kai, it's two in the fucking morning. Can't this wait until—"
"Now, Marco. Check it now."
He must have heard something in my voice. "On it. Give me two minutes."
I paced her room. Looked for clues. Saw that the bag she usually kept by her closet was gone. Some clothes were missing. She'd planned this. Actually packed and planned to leave.
Because of me. Because I'd pushed too hard about the phone monitoring. Because I'd been an ass during our fight.
Because she was terrified and I'd made it worse instead of better.
My phone rang. Marco.
"She left through the gardens twenty minutes ago. Wearing dark clothes, carrying a bag. Headed for the back gate. Kai, it looks like she's running. Like actually trying to escape."
Fury exploded in my chest. Hot and consuming.
She'd run. From me. From us. She'd chosen running over trusting me to handle this.
"Get a car. We're going after her."
"Maybe we should let her cool off. Give her some space—"
"She's walking alone on dark roads in the middle of the night with enemies of this family everywhere. We're going after her. Now."
Ten minutes later, we were in separate cars covering different routes. Marco took the main road. I took the back roads that led toward the city.
My hands gripped the steering wheel hard enough to hurt. My mind spinning through every terrible possibility.