Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Mia woke late, the soft morning light spilling across the bed in golden streaks. She groaned, pressing a hand to her temple when she saw the clock. She had overslept again, thanks to Luc and the night they’d shared.
Last night, they had walked barefoot along the shore, the tide brushing their feet as they spoke of everything and nothing—his childhood memories, the absurdity of social media, and the little things that made her laugh.
She had shown him TikTok for the first time, and though he claimed disinterest, he had watched the reels with her, lips quirking at the ridiculous ones.
Later, beneath the stars and the surf’s soft roar, she had straddled him boldly on the lounge chair, the ocean wind tangling her hair as she lost herself to him.
By the time they stumbled back to the house, dawn was already paling the horizon.
Now, her muscles ached pleasantly with memory, warmth blooming low in her belly.
Shaking it off, she pushed from the sheets, took a quick shower, and dressed in a soft summer dress that clung lightly to her figure.
She left her hair loose, the damp waves brushing her shoulders, and slipped her feet into simple, elegant slippers.
The house was quiet—eerily so. No faint hum of conversation, no echo of footsteps. Only the distant whisper of the ocean through open balcony doors. The scent of salt and coffee drifted faintly as she descended the grand staircase.
Her footsteps were soft on the marble floor as she made her way to the kitchen, sunlight filtering through tall windows, casting a hazy glow.
The quiet felt almost intimate, as though the house itself was half-asleep.
She smiled faintly, pressing a hand to her still-sore hip, and went in search of something to eat.
The kitchen smelled of coffee and lemon polish. Carlos, Gabriella’s personal bodyguard, was already there, a mug in one hand, the morning sun glinting off his watch.
“Morning,” he said, tone flat but not unfriendly.
“Morning,” she replied, glancing around instinctively.
No sign of Luc. She’d wanted to talk to him about doing something—anything—beyond just being his wife.
Mia enjoyed this life with Luc, glimpsing the man beneath the ruthless mask, but she wanted more.
At the convent, she’d taught classes, shaping young minds and finding purpose in it.
She missed that sense of meaning. She also used to write stories in secret, scribbling them late at night when the others were asleep.
It had felt almost forbidden, a small rebellion she kept just for herself.
She found herself craving the urge to write, to let her thoughts spill freely onto a page without guilt or secrecy.
Carlos glanced at her. “Mr. Valachi had business. He’ll be back for dinner.”
“Right.” She smiled faintly, hiding a flicker of disappointment.
He handed her a steaming mug; she held it close, savoring the warmth.
Moments later, his phone buzzed. He frowned at the screen. “Guard at the gate,” he muttered, more to himself. “Says there’s a disturbance.”
Mia’s heart jolted. “Is that usual?”
“There is nothing to worry about,” he said, “I’ll go check on it.”
She watched him stride out the back door.
Mia lingered over her coffee, savoring the quiet before deciding to look for Gabriella.
They spent so much of each day together that it felt strange not to see her already.
Mia checked the usual spots—the patio, the library, the lounge—but Gabriella was nowhere inside.
Smiling to herself, she guessed Gabriella had wandered down to the shore again.
Mia headed outside to find her. The air was cool, the garden quiet except for the rhythmic lap of the sea.
Sunlight dappled her shoulders as she followed the path through the trees.
An arm snaked around Mia’s throat, dragging her backward into the shadows.
Shock numbed her, the world narrowing to a single, hollow moment.
Dread rose in her throat, bitter and metallic, coating her tongue like poison.
A sharp sting split her lip when she bit the hand that tried to muffle her scream.
The man cursed, and she twisted, driving her heel hard into his shin.
He grunted, loosening his hold just enough for her to spin free.
Her training kicked in. She struck fast—palm to his nose, knee to his groin.
He doubled over; she pivoted, ready to run, but another man came out of nowhere, slamming her into the wall so hard her breath burst from her lungs.
Mia jerked her knee up to his groin, and he blocked it.
His fist cracked against her cheek, sending pain through her skull.
She struck for his throat, but he twisted just in time, her knuckles barely slamming into his flesh instead of crushing it.
Still, it was enough—he let out a strangled sound and staggered back.
She followed through, driving her foot toward his knee, aiming to shatter the joint.
He moved fast, too fast, dodging and snarling like an animal.
Pain exploded through her ribs as his elbow slammed into her side. She gasped, the air punched out of her lungs. Instinct took over—she swung again, wild and desperate—but his fist caught her mid-motion, slamming into her stomach.
Air whooshed from her in a choked gasp.
Mia clawed for his face, her nails raking skin, but he caught her wrist and twisted until something in her hand snapped. Agony flared—two fingers, maybe broken. She screamed, but the sound barely left her throat before his knee drove into her side.
The first man recovered, blood streaming from his nose, his knife gleaming in the morning light.
“Carlos—” she tried to cry, but her voice barely rose above a whisper.
“Shut up,” one hissed, backhanding her. Stars exploded behind her eyes. The world tilted, her knees buckling.
Through the ringing in her ears, she thought she heard gunfire—distant, closing fast.
Then everything went black.
Mia drifted in and out. Hands lifted her, someone touched her cheek, and then she heard Luc’s voice slicing through the haze like a blade. Voices blurred in the dark.
“—fucking incompetent—”
Luc’s snarl, raw with something she’d never heard before.
Fear. She tried to ask him what was wrong, and then darkness swallowed her again.
When she surfaced, harsh white light met her eyes, and the sharp sting of an IV tugged at her arm.
Mia squinted as her eyes adjusted. Luc stood by the window, his posture a coil of barely restrained violence. He looked like a man on the edge.
She made a sound, and he spun toward her.
Luc stepped forward. His voice was low, rough. “Mia…”
His gaze pinned her—furious, protective. She’d never seen him like this. The doctor glanced between them but said nothing. No one did.
Mia whispered, “What happened?”
Luc didn’t answer right away. His hand hovered near hers but never touched. “I'm sorry,” he said.
She stared at him. That wasn’t an answer. “Tell me, Luc.”
Luc’s jaw flexed. His eyes swept the room. “Out,” he ordered.
The staff cleared out. The door clicked shut.
When he spoke, his voice was low and deliberate. “Somehow, our home was infiltrated. They tried to take you.”
Confusion rushed through Mia. “Me? Why?”
Something cold shifted in his gaze. “Your family tried to take you. First, they would have tortured you and then put a bullet in your head.”
A shock sound burst from Mia. “This… this makes no sense.”
Luc held her gaze. “With you gone, there’s no heir. Without you, the simple takeover I wanted would no longer be possible. Their territory remains open ground, and any takeover would trigger a war that the Commission would have to stop.”
“You said they would have tortured me first. Why?”
“They believe your father left you the intel he had on powerful people. There is enough leverage in what he left behind for the Boninos to rise back to the top. The keys to rebuilding what they lost. ”
Pain tore through Mia, sharp and suffocating.
“I saw my aunts and cousins,” she whispered.
“We laughed, we reconnected… and now—” Her voice broke, and she pressed a trembling hand to her chest as if to hold herself together.
“My own blood wants me dead. My uncles, my cousins, men who used to toss me into the air and kiss my cheeks…
Her throat burned as she forced the words out.
“Before my father sent me to St. Mary’s, they were my world.
My aunts doted on me, and my cousins were like siblings.
And now they want to kill me just to stop me from giving you an heir.
Because our child would secure your claim to the Bonino territory. ”
The truth cut deeper than any blade. She could accept danger from strangers, but not from the faces she once loved and was reconnecting with.
“Yes.”
A shaky laugh escaped her. “And the only reason they didn’t kill me on sight is because they want the information my father left behind.”
The air turned leaden.
Mia’s throat tightened. “How… how did they reach me here?”
A flicker of something dark crossed his face. “That’s what I need to find out. Until then, you trust no one.”
Her stomach twisted into a knot. His hand closed over hers, his thumb tracing the cold band of her wedding ring.
“You’re my wife,” Luc said, the words both a vow and a warning. His eyes held hers, unflinching. “Anyone who touches you dies. ”
Mia’s fingers trembled beneath his. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to feel safe. The desire was a fragile, fleeting thing. Raw emotions she barely understood writhed inside her chest.
“What if I wanted to leave?” she whispered, the words tearing loose from a place of deep fear and pain and uncertainty.
“I don’t want this life. I never wanted it.
I don’t want to question who I can trust in my own home.
I don’t understand how you live like this.
Always on edge, always expecting danger—knowing someone could come for you, or for the people you love, at any moment and kill them.
How do you stand it? How do you want to bring children into a world like that? How?”
He cupped her cheeks, one of his thumbs caressing the corner of her mouth. “One cannot just leave this life, Mia.”
The words landed like a tombstone in her chest. “I… what?”
Something cold and cruel flashed in his gaze, and Mia knew, with a cold certainty that stopped her heart, it wasn’t a threat. It was a law. The brutal, unyielding law of his world. And suddenly, it wasn’t the attack that terrified her—it was him.
“What does that mean, Luc, what does that mean?” She wanted him to say it because she did not want to live with an assumption. “Is this why you want me to fall in love with you?”
He looked at her with dead eyes and said nothing. Mia’s belly cramped, hating him in this moment, hating how much she hungered for him, hating how scared and uncertain she felt.
“I need to be alone. ” The words were a frayed thread of sound.
Luc stilled, the tension in the room sharp enough to cut. He seemed to want to argue, to pull her back from the chasm that had just opened between them. She shook her head. “Please. I need space to think… to… think, okay?”
After a pause that stretched into eternity, he nodded once, his jaw a hard line.
Luc pressed his lips to her forehead and then stepped back.
He turned around and walked away. The door clicked shut, and the silence he left behind was a physical weight.
She sank to the floor as the sobs came—raw, unrestrained.
Was he truly saying that if she ever tried to leave, someone would kill her?
You could still try and run, a voice whispered through her heart. Bide your time as planned, learn, and save money… he would never expect it.
A sharp pain wrenched through her chest, and Mia laughed.
The idea of leaving him and the relationship they had started to build hurt.
Could she live in a world where love bowed to rules, and an attack could come at any time?
She didn't know. The only certainty was the weight of the ring on her finger, and the scars it would brand upon her soul to survive.