Chapter Thirteen: Boundaries

Aria’s POV

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was smiling, the second is that I know is that I’m smiling because of Romano, which was annoying, very very annoying.

I stared at the ceiling for several seconds before groaning and burying my face in a pillow, this was exactly why contract marriages were terrible ideas. One almost-kiss and suddenly my brain had forgotten how to function.

The worst part was that Romano hadn’t even brought it up afterward, not once, not a single comment about it as if he hadn’t nearly kissed me in the middle of a garden; as if my heart hadn’t spent the entire evening behaving like a complete idiot; he’s such a hard boiled egg.

A knock sounded on the door.

“Come in.”

One of the staff stepped inside.

“Miss Vale, someone delivered this for you.”

My brows furrowed.

“For me?”

The woman nodded and handed over a small envelope before leaving, I stared at it suspiciously, then opened it. Inside it was a handwritten note.

Lunch?

No lawyers, no contracts, no council members, just lunch.

– Thomas.

I read it again and again and again. A small escaped me, this man was so funny and ridiculous, unfortunately he was so impossible to dislike.

Twenty minutes later I found myself standing outside a small café near the city center. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going, not because I was hiding it but because I genuinely hadn’t thought it mattered.

Thomas was waiting inside of the café when I arrived. He saw me and stood up immediately.

“You’re late.”

I looked at my watch.

“I am not.”

“Three minutes.”

“That’s not late.”

“It is in some countries.”

I laughed a little and sat down

“You are exhausting.”

His grin widened.

“I’ve missed you too.”

I rolled my eyes. The next hour passed surprisingly quickly, for the first time in weeks, nobody asked me about Luca, about the wedding, Romano or scandals; I felt at peace.

We talked about movies, books, traveling, normal things, things I hadn’t realized I missed. At one point I laughed so hard I nearly spilled my drink, I felt at peace and Thomas looked entirely too pleased with himself.

“There she is.”

“What?”

“That smile.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You sound like an old grandmother.”

“I sound observant.”

His expression softened slightly.

“You deserve to smile more, Aria.”

Something about the sincerity caught me off guard; I was shocked but before I could answer, his phone buzzed.

Thomas glanced at the screen and his smile disappeared immediately but only for a second.

“Everything okay?”

“Perfect.”

His answer was too quick, I studied him for a second and he smiled again, the charming and effortless version but something felt different, like he was hiding something, I wonder what was on the phone, it reminded me of the times I’d recieve threatening texts too, I brushed it off immediately.

“You’re doing that thing.”

“What thing?”

“Overthinking.”

I frowned, he laughed.

“You have the exact same expression every time.”

“Apparently everyone enjoys analyzing me.”

“Only because you’re interesting.”

I shook my head.

“That’s debatable.”

“No.”

His gaze held mine.

“It’s really not.”

For some reason, that made me uncomfortable, not in a bad way, just different. The lunch eventually ended. Thomas offered to take me back to the hotel but I declined because I was going to the house, I didn’t want any trouble with Romano. He walked me outside to wait for a taxi to take me back.

“I had fun.”

“So did I.”

His smile returned.

“Good.”

Then he hesitated, only briefly.

“Would you like to do it again sometime?”

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed.

Romano, his name appeared boldly on my screen; Thomas noticed and the atmosphere shifted instantly, not dramatically but just enough to make things uncomfortable.

“Your fiancé.”

I hated the way he said it, he knows his name.

“I should answer.”

Thomas nodded.

“Probably.”

I stepped aside, the moment I accepted the call, Romano spoke.

“Where are you?”

No greetings, no hello, just that. I frowned

“Good afternoon to you too.”

Silence.

Then:

“Where are you?”

The question came sharper this time.

“I’m having lunch.”

“With who?”

I looked over at Thomas, he was pretending not to listen but failing miserably.

“Thomas.”

The silence that followed felt dangerous.

“Romano?”

“Come home.”

My brows furrowed.

“What?”

“Now.”

The line went dead, I stared at my phone shocked, Thomas noticed immediately.

“That sounds healthy.”

I laughed despite him throwing shades at myself.

“No.”

“It really doesn’t.”

Unfortunately, he had a point.

By the time I returned to the mansion, I was irritated, very irritated. Romano was. Romano was waiting in the library. The moment I walked inside, I knew this wasn’t going to go well, his expression alone told me that.

“You left without security.”

No greeting, again. I wasn’t ready for this.

“I went to lunch.”

“You left without telling anyone.”

I folded my arms.

“Am I being grounded?”

His jaw tightened.

“This isn’t a joke.”

“No.”

I nodded.

“Apparently not.”

The tension in the room increased immediately, Romano stood, slowly and dangerously.

“You don’t know Thomas.”

“And?”

“And that’s a problem.”

I stared, then laughed, which with the way Romano looked afterwards showed that it was a mistake.

“You think this is funny?”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“I think you’re overreacting.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

His eyes darkened, the warning was obvious but unfortunately I was already annoyed.

“I had lunch.”

“With a man neither of us knows.”

“You don’t know him.”

The correction came instantly as I watched Romano’s expression harden.

“Exactly.”

I blinked twice, the logic made no sense to me.

“You realize that sounds ridiculous.”

“I don’t care.”

That stopped me, because he genuinely didn’t and he’s acting this way.

Romano stepped closer.

“You’re not being careful.”

“I’m not a child.”

“I never said you were.”

“You act like it.”

The words hung between us, for the first time since meeting him, I saw genuine anger in his eyes, not irritation or frustration just pure anger.

Something inside me snapped, maybe the wedding, betrayal or pressure, or the constant feeling that my life no longer belonged to me, whatever it was, I knew I was done with being patient.

“You know what your problem is?”

The question surprised him, I saw it in his face.

“Excuse me?”

“You decide things.”

I pointed at him.

“For everyone.”

His expression darkened.

“Aria.”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“You don’t get to tell me where I can go.”

“I never—”

“You don’t get to tell me who I can talk to.”

“That’s not what—”

“And you definitely don’t get to call me like I’m some employee reporting to work.”

The silence that followed was immediate, I knew I should stop but I didn’t, because for the first time since I’ve known him he looked affected, genuinely affected.

“This is exactly why the contract has conditions.”

His face became unreadable.

“You don’t own me, Romano.”

The words landed hard, I saw his expression shift, I could see hurt hidden beneath the anger but I was too upset, frustrated and exhausted to stop. Then I made a big mistake, a really big one.

“At least Thomas treats me like a person.”

Complete silence followed what I said. The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

Romano didn’t react immediately and that somehow made it worse. He simply stared at me, long enough for my anger to cool off, for realization to arrive and for guilt to appear. Then finally he spoke.

“Fine.”

His voice was calm, cold, colder than I had ever heard it.

“If that’s what you think.”

My stomach dropped, because suddenly I wanted him angry again, not this, anything but this.

Romano looked away first, a small movement, barely noticeable yet somehow it felt like a door slamming into place.

“Go to him.”

The words hit harder than shouting would have, I opened my mouth, nothing came out. Romano turned towards the door.

“Romano.”

He didn’t stop.

“Wait.”

Still nothing, for the first time since meeting him, he didn’t look back, he didn’t argue, tease me or stay, he simply walked away.

The door slammed behind him, the sound echoed through the room and for the first time since meeting Romano Ciel, I wasn’t angry, I was terrified and I hated it.