A loud crash made me snap my eyes open from my sleep. I was leaning uncomfortably against the wall, my neck sore and tight. The unmistakable sound of bullets echoed through my ears and I tugged on my chains, peeking out the window, seeing nothing. I sat back down but didn't allow myself to relax in case something were to happen.

    Shouts and screams. Someone was coming to save me, it had to have been. But who? I wished it was the police but I knew it would be Ales, who I didn't know I wanted to see after everything. But it didn't matter. I'd take whoever's help if it meant being free.

    "I'm down here! Help!" I screamed, but my voice was hoarse and dry from overuse. "Help!" I croaked again. Another gunshot, louder and much closer than before. I pressed myself against the wall, unable to do more to protect myself. Footsteps, loud and several of them. I held my breath as a group of people came into the light.

    "Rosa!" Ales shouted, running to the bars. Behind him was a group of what I assumed were his soldiers. My mouth tasted bitter.

    I tugged against the chains, showing him that I couldn't move.

    "Okay, okay, we'll get you out, where are the keys?"

    "Do you mean these?" Victor asked, jingling keys in his hand. Immediately, the men behind Ales raised their guns, pointing it at the Russian. Victor had a gun of his own, pointed directly at me, finger on the trigger. "Tell your men to back off, or your little flower is dead."

    Ales raised his hand and the men lowered their guns, taking a step back. "Give me the keys, Volkov."

    Victor hummed, then shrugged. "Let me go safely and I'll let you have them."

    "Deal," Ales said immediately, waving his hand again. The men parted, letting a path out for Victor. "We don't break our word."

    Victor cackled, "I don't care much about your territory war. The real fun is toying with the relationship you and little Rosaline have." He lowered the gun, tossed Ales the keys and walked up the stairs. "Not that there's going to be any relationship left." I watched him leave, breathing heavily.

    As soon as he was gone, Ales ran over, unlocking the shackles. "Are you hurt? What did they do to you?" He cupped my cheeks but I flinched away from his touch. "Rosa?"

    "Home," I said, bracing my hands on the floor and trying to stand. As soon as I did, a sudden rush of dizziness washed over me and I stumbled. Ales caught me easily but I weakly pushed him away.  "Don't touch me," I whispered, squeezing my eyes closed. Victor had to have hit my head too hard, I thought, losing consciousness.

***

    I woke up alone in Ales' bed, the covers pulled up to my chin. I quickly sat up, feeling dizzy again. I stood, noticing how I was wearing his clothes. I opened his nightstand, knowing I had left some clothes there before, but the drawer was empty. Except for one thing lying at the bottom.

    I lifted the gun and found it fully loaded. I closed the drawer when I heard the door open. I immediately brought the gun up, aiming it at the intruder. Except when I saw it was only Ales, carrying a tray, I didn't lower it and instead tightened my grip. His eyes fell on me and there was a flash of something crossing his face before he smiled softly. He set the tray down on the dresser, facing me.

    "Are you still feeling dizzy?"

    I stared at him, my hands trembling.

    He took a step closer to me. "You should rest some more."

    "Why?" I asked. "Why would you do this?"

    "Rosa-"

    "Why did you ruin my life?" I screamed. "What did I do to deserve this?"

    Ales lowered his head, swallowing hard. "I'm sorry."

    "Sorry? What is sorry going to do? Is sorry going to give me my job back? Is sorry going to give me my baby back? Is sorry going to give me Blake back?" When he didn't answer, I took more steps towards him, until the barrel of the gun was inches away from his chest. "Why did you do this to me?"

    He raised his head, his eyes red. "I-I didn't mean to..."

    "Was everything a lie?" I cried. My body felt weak, my knees were shaking like they were about to give out.

    "Not everything!" he said, shaking his head. "I love you. I never lied about that."

    "You lied to me about who you are! I don't even know you," I sobbed, gritting my teeth.

    "Rosa, you know me enough to love me. I know you love me," he said.

    "I could never love someone like you," I spat, pressing the barrel to his body. "You disgust me."

    "Please don't say that," Ales whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek.

    "I fucking hate you," I seethed, sliding the gun up so it was just under his chin.

    "Do it," he said. "Kill me."

    "You ruined my life," I said.

    "And you should kill me for that," he yelled. "Shoot me."

    I used all my strength and shoved him back, letting him stumble into the wall. "I'm not a murderer like you." I threw the gun on the floor, pointing my finger at him. "Stay the fuck away from me and my family. Don't contact me ever again."

    "Rosa," he started.

    "Don't!" I snapped, hurrying out of the room. My vision blurred as I walked out of the house into the freezing cold, in nothing but threadbare pajamas. But I couldn't care less, feeling numb to everything. I could barely process the thoughts flying through my head. The hundreds of questions bouncing around my mind. What was going to happen now?

    Only one thing was clear to me.

    I never wanted to lay eyes on Alessandro Genovese again.

Ales' POV

    I stared at the place Rosaline Acanti was standing, feeling empty. There was no one to blame but myself. Everything that had happened was my fault and I knew that. I stumbled to my office, opening a cupboard. Hidden in the back was the one thing I needed right now. I unscrewed the cap and brought the bottle of scotch to my lips, chugging it down. Those words she said kept replaying in my head. I couldn't handle it anymore.

    I let out a cry of pure anguish, sliding down to the floor. I let my head hand, sobbing into my hands. I wanted to turn back time and redo everything. I wanted to make sure I never got involved with her. At least she would've been happy.

    I took another gulp of the burning alcohol, salty tears mixing in.

What have I done?