Captured by shadows

Alessandra should have left.

The moment Matteo laid that ultimatum in front of her, she should have thrown her drink in his face and stormed out.

But she didn't.

She stood there, heart hammering, breath unsteady, staring at the man who had just turned her world upside down.

"Stay with you?" she repeated, voice barely above a whisper.

Matteo leaned against the bar, watching her with an unreadable expression.

"I know what you want, Alessandra," he murmured. "And it's not Luca."

Her stomach twisted.

She should deny it. She should fight back. But the way Matteo looked at her—as if he could see right through the careful facade she had built—made it impossible to lie.

Still, she forced herself to say, "This isn't just about me. My family—"

"Your family will get over it."

She let out a bitter laugh. "You think it's that simple?"

Matteo pushed off the bar and stepped toward her. Slow. Controlled. A predator closing in on its prey.

"It is," he said. "If you want it to be."

The air between them grew thick, suffocating.

Alessandra knew she was standing on the edge of something dangerous. A single step forward, and she would fall—into what, she wasn't sure.

Her voice was tight when she asked, "Why are you doing this?"

Matteo's jaw ticked.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then—

"I told you," he murmured. "I want you."

A shiver ran down her spine.

Not because his words scared her.

But because of how much they didn't.

Because she believed him.

Because she felt it—deep in her bones, in the way her pulse raced whenever he was near.

But this wasn't just about attraction.

This was a game of power.

She wasn't naive enough to think Matteo was offering this just because he wanted her.

There was something else.

Some deeper, darker reason.

And she needed to find out what it was.

Alessandra exhaled shakily. "And what do you get out of this?"

Matteo's lips curved, but his gaze was sharp. "You."

She swallowed. "You already said that."

He reached out—slow, deliberate—and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

His fingers barely grazed her skin, but it was enough to send a jolt of heat through her.

"I don't repeat myself," he murmured. "So listen carefully."

The next words came soft, lethal—a promise and a warning all at once.

"I will take you from Luca," he said. "And I won't let you go."

Alessandra's breath caught.

Not just at his words, but at the sheer certainty in them.

As if this wasn't just a desire.

As if it was a fact.

A fate already sealed.

And for the first time…

She wondered if she wanted it to be.

Alessandra barely slept that night.

Matteo hadn't pushed her for an answer.

He had simply walked her to the door, handed her a black card, and said, "Call me when you're ready."

Now, hours later, she sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the card in her hands.

She was engaged to Luca.

Matteo was his brother.

And yet—

She felt something with Matteo she had never felt with Luca.

Something real.

Something dangerous.

A knock on her bedroom door snapped her out of her thoughts.

Her mother stepped inside, her heels clicking against the floor. "You're up early."

Alessandra forced a smile. "Couldn't sleep."

Her mother hummed, gaze sharp. "Is something wrong?"

Everything.

But Alessandra shook her head. "No."

Her mother studied her for a moment, then sighed. "You need to stop overthinking things, Alessandra. This marriage is happening."

A lump formed in her throat. "And if I don't want it to?"

Her mother's eyes turned cold. "You don't have a choice."

The words were a slap.

A reminder of exactly what she was up against.

Her fingers curled around the black card in her lap.

She did have a choice.

It just wasn't an easy one.

It took her two days.

Two days of avoiding Luca.

Two days of pretending everything was fine.

Two days of convincing herself this was the right choice.

And then—

She made the call.

The line rang once.

Twice.

Then—

"Alessandra."

Just her name.

Just his voice.

But it was enough to send a shiver down her spine.

She swallowed. "I'm ready."

Silence.

Then—

"Good," Matteo murmured. "Be at the Villa Rosa in an hour."

The line went dead.

Alessandra stared at her phone, pulse pounding.

There was no turning back now.

She had made her choice.

And Matteo was waiting.