It's been quiet all night. So silent I had fallen asleep at some point. I'm not even sure if Sergio came back yet. Though, as I push myself up from the bed, wiping the sleep from my eyes, I spot a figure sitting down in the shadows. "Sergio?"

"Why did you leave, Aria?" The light flickers on and I blink twice, staring at the man with dark hair and green eyes. Massimo De Luca.

My body temperature drops, shaking as beads of sweat break out on my forehead. "Where's Sergio?"

"He's busy," He grits, standing up from the chair in the corner. "You still have answered my question, Aria. Why did you leave?"

"Where's Ricardo? I'll answer you after you tell me."

"That's not how it works, Aria. You better answer my question."

"I left to protect Riccardo from getting shot. Now, where are Ricardo and Sergio?"

"Your brother is fine. Now we must go back before things get worse."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me where Sergio is."

He stalks over to me, grabbing my arm tightly. "You don't have a say or the right to question here. Let's go."

"You're hurting me," I say as he drags me out of bed and into the cold morning. My gaze drifts around, searching for Sergio but Massion pulls me roughly and throws me into the car. He laughs, slamming the door shut

"Maybe you haven't noticed how hurt I feel. When you decided to play hero for your brother you left me." He walks around the car and gets into the driver's side. "When are you going to start being obedient, Aria?"

He isn't hurt. Maybe his ego... but he isn't hurt by the fact that I was gone. He wouldn't have been so rough with me. "I want to see my brother."

"Where do you think we are going? Your brother couldn't take care of you like I asked. And my dumbass guards had the nerve to shoot at you. So I had to come back sooner than later." He scoffs running his fingers through his hair as he turns on the car. "I must applaud you though, for getting close to Sergio. Brilliant. Made my life easier."

"We aren't close.

He laughs, but reaches over, gripping my neck and squeezing tightly. "Liar. I know exactly what you have done. You spread your legs for him like a filthy little whore." His hand dips between my legs. "That is why you have no underwear and why you tried looking for him."

My eyes widen and I squirm, trying to get out of his hold. I can barely breathe but I manage a few words. "Let go of me."

"Make me." His grip grows tighter as he glances over me, sliding his hand out from between my legs. "You don't understand, Aria. I own you and if you do not start obeying, you will suffer the consequences."

I close my eyes tight, fingers clawing at his hand around my neck as tears start to fall from my eyes. "Please..."

He lets go and laughs. "You're so weak. It's hard to believe you're the daughter of a mafia lord." He wipes his hand on his pants, puts the car in drive, and heads off. "From now on you will live with me. We will get married within the next few days. You and everything tied to your name will belong to me. And if you try to push, I won't hold back. Understood?"

That was him holding back? I sink deeper into the corner of the vehicle.

Tears cloud my sight. I have no idea where Sergio is. He promised to get me somewhere safe and all I did was cause him trouble.

The ride is silent as I keep to the corner of the car. Massimo doesn't seem to care. His eyes are trained on the road ahead. I wrap my arms around myself. The dashboard glows with an incoming call. Massimo is quick to press the button on the screen.

"Is it taken care of?" He asks the person on the other end.

"Funny that you'd think it would be," Sergio's voice fills the car.

"We both know I have no problem blowing her brains out right here and now," He threatens, reaching for the gun in the center of the console. He wraps his fingers around the trigger, cocking it.

"Then do it, but we both know you need her to get everything the Salvatori owns. I, on the other hand, have no use for her."

His words sting, leaving a bitter feeling in my stomach. I'm hoping he doesn't mean it. Not after what we did... not after the way he seemed to care so much. Unless it was all just pretend.

"And that's why you fucked her?" He asks, looking over at me.

"That was just to piss you off." Sergio laughs. "I just needed her to get to you."

"Since you've gone through all this trouble for such a stupid reason, I'll give you one shot. I owe you that much after slaughtering your entire family." Massimo steers the conversation with pride and a satisfied smile.

I swallow down the sudden emotions I feel for Sergio. The cause of all his pain is here, sitting right next to me. And I have a chance to alleviate that pain. But he also doesn't want me. He used me... and I let him.

"Come kill me or hesitate and I'll finish what I started." Massimo clicks the end button on the dashboard and glances over at me. "Or you can kill him. He did toy with your precious emotions."

You really are going to get yourself hurt.

I just didn't think it'd be by him. As he said, I trust people too easily. I let myself be blinded by the exciting new feelings he brought to life within me. And now I'm left with a bag of emotions swirling around my chest. "I'll let you sit on it. We can discuss the matters when we arrive."

And until then, I can think about my next move.

❤︎❤︎❤︎

total ONC word count: 28,062

thank you so much for reading along! ❤︎