Chapter 5

The estate’s grand hall was filled with echoes of clinking glasses and laughter, as the night was fast approaching. Inside, women adorned in diamonds whispered secrets behind painted lips, while the men bartered over power with fine wine. Wealth, blood, and control were the foundations of this world.

Everything was different, as the dim light shone over the balcony.

Elena's gown was shimmering under the soft glow of the garden lights as she stood before Dino.Her voice remained steady as her chest rose and fell with quiet fury.

"I need your help."

Dino, expecting this, had seen the desperation in her eyes back in the hall, with her hands trembling against her dress when she realized the truth. Before she could speak, she had already been sold.

Tightening his jaw "It's not as easy as you think."

Elena chuckled. “It has never been, has it?”

Dino's gaze shifted past her, beyond the balcony, where the city stretched in the distance. Out there, people lived free. He always dreamt about that kind of life.

Before they made him what he is not.

He turned back to her. “ There is no escaping from them; they will always find you."

Elena clenches her fists. “Then what? I just can't accept this kind of life.”

I didn’t say that ..he exhaled, rubbing his palms.

Her sharp eyes caught the flicker of something in his expression.Its not a refusal but hesitation.

Stepping closer she said. “I don't want this anymore for me just as you don't want it either.”

He should send her back inside before Alejandro noticed she was gone.He shouldn't be entertaining her outside right now.Dino sighs.

But he couldn’t.

She was right that's all his instincts all over his body keeps telling him.

He has surely been waiting for a moment like this.

That he had been waiting for her.

—--

The pressure of the night fell heavier on him as he acknowledged the weight he carried on his mind over the years.

Dino feeling restless ran a hand over the back of his head.

“I have always dreamt of getting out”He finally admitted with a quiet tone

Elena frowned. “Getting out?”

He let out a soft chuckle “yes before all this I had always dreamt of been someone else - doing something different.”

Elena slightly tilts her head waiting.

It has been years he spoke about this.Dino drums his finger against the rails of the balcony.

He finally spoke “I was an actor.”

Elena’s smiled cheerfully, with a bit of surprise flickering across her face.

“You?”

He smirked. “Yeah. It's shocking,right?.”

She shook her head in realization but not in disbelief.“No... it makes sense.”

Dino surprised. “How so?”

She crossed her arms, “You truly hide things well. I saw you stay silent in a room full of men, while you read them like a script, making them feel they are in control .You have been performing all this while”

Dino’s smirk faded.

Elena saw too much.

She always had.

He admitted with a softer tone “ I was good at what I did”. “The stage gave me freedom. I could be anyone, anywhere. I could escape.” He exhaled. “But then Sanchez had a different plan for me. He told me I had different role to play.”

Elena didn’t care to know what role that was. She saw it for herself. The enforcer. The protector. The shadow living in Alejandro’s wake.

She stepped closer to him, her voice gentle. “Do you miss it?”

Dino met her gaze, his answer slip through his walls for the first time in years he harboured this truth.

“Yes.”

The answer brought a weighty and unspoken confession between them.

Elena whispering after studying him for long “Then why are you still here?”

Dino swallowed, the words striked deeper and sharper than a sword.

Because leaving wasn't an easy option.

Because second chances are not meant for men like him.

Because—

A slow clap interrupted them.

They both turned sharply.

Alejandro with a glass still in hand, standing at the door way watching them with amusement.

“Well, isn’t this interesting?”

Dino straightened his posture with his face smoothing into calm indifference. Elena didn't bulge.

Alejandro stepping into the night air, took a sip of whiskey “You know, I am always suspicious of you two,” he mused. “The way you look at each other. The way keep you hovering around her like a knight.”

“But I suppose it makes sense. Our dear Dino is quite the actor,can you beat that.”His gaze flickering between both of them.

Elena tensed beside him.

Dino didn’t flinch. He wouldn’t give Alejandro the satisfaction.

Alejandro’s smirk widened. “You belong to Hollywood, hermano. But , you rather chose to play the role of a dog.” He took another sip, eyes gleaming with malice. “So watch as I take everything.”

Dino swiftly moved before Alejandro could blink.

He gripped Alejandro’s wrist with bone-crushing force.

Alejandro winced, surprised. “Take it easy, Dino,” he warned. But there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Dino stepped closer, his voice dangerously low. “You’re mistaken about one thing, Alejandro.”

Alejandro tried to yank his arm away, but Dino only tightened his grip.

“You will never have her.”

Silence.

Then, slowly, Dino let go, shoving Alejandro back.

Alejandro's amusement was gone as his face darkened.

Adjusting his cuff.”this isn't over” he said coldly.

Elena finally spoke. “No, it isn’t.”

Alejandro walked back inside hastingly without another word.

Elena let out a slow breath.

Staring at his hands Dino saw they were still shaking.

Something indeed had changed.

Tonight, Dino had drawn a line.Alejandro had always been in control while Sanchez dictated the pace of his life.

He looked at Elena.

In a quiet voice he said, “If we do this there’s no turning back.”

Elena looked at him confidently . “This cage was never meant for me.”

Nodding.Dino exhaled slowly.The decision had been made.

Still not tonight. Not yet.

But the moment would definitely come.

He would be ready when it comes.