chapter 3

Selene pov

The heavy oak doors boomed shut behind us, the sound echoing through the vast entrance hall like a death sentence. The interior was even more intimidating than the outside—marble floors that shone like mirrors, high ceilings with crystal chandeliers that cast cold, glittering light, and walls lined with expensive paintings that seemed to watch my every move. It was beautiful, yes, but it was the beauty of a cage built for a bird that was meant to fly.

Don Lorenzo didn't let go of my arm. His grip was firm, unyielding, making sure I knew exactly who was in control. He led me forward as if I was nothing more than a piece of luggage he had just brought home from a trip.

"Look around you, Selene," he said, his voice calm and arrogant, bouncing off the high walls. "This is where you will live now. This is where you will learn what it truly means to belong to a Moretti. You had a taste of luxury with my son, yes? But that was nothing. Adrian lives like a spoiled child. I live like a King. And you... you will live exactly how I tell you to."

I yanked my arm away from him with all my strength, stepping back and glaring at him, my chest heaving with rage and fear.

"I don't want your luxury! I don't want your gold or your diamonds! I want my freedom! I want my life back! You stole everything from me, and now you dare to show me this house like it is some kind of reward? It is nothing but a prison!"

He turned to face me slowly, his hands clasped behind his back, looking down at me with that maddening, superior smirk.

"You call it a prison? Interesting. Most women would kill to be where you are right now. To be under my protection, under my care, provided with everything they could ever dream of. But you... you spit on it. You have spirit, I'll give you that. It makes this game much more entertaining."

"Game?!" I shouted, my voice cracking. "Is this all just a game to you? My feelings, my dignity, my life... are they just toys for you to play with until you get bored?"

"Everything is a game, my dear," he replied coolly, starting to walk slowly around me, circling me like a predator studying its prey. "Business. Power. Love. War. Life itself. The difference between you and me is that I know the rules, and I always win. You? You are just a pawn that accidentally stepped onto the board. But don't worry... I am going to teach you how to play. Or rather, I am going to teach you how to serve."

"Serve you? Over my dead body!"

"Don't tempt me," he shot back instantly, his tone dropping several degrees, turning icy cold. "I told you before, death is too good for you. And besides... you have something I want. That fire in your eyes. That hatred. It’s raw. It’s real. Adrian never had that. Elara never had that. They are fake, empty people. But you... you are full of emotion. And I intend to squeeze every single drop out of you."

He stopped circling and stood right in front of me again, invading my personal space, forcing me to look up at him.

"You hate me now, don't you? You despise me. You want to kill me."

"Yes!" I screamed, tears finally spilling over again. "Yes, I hate you! I hate you more than I have ever hated anyone in my life! You ruined me! You and your son! Adrian broke my heart and threw me away like trash, and you... you took advantage of my pain! You are the vilest creature walking on this earth!"

Instead of getting angry or hitting me as I expected, Don Lorenzo smiled. It wasn't a kind smile. It was a smile of satisfaction.

"Good," he whispered, reaching out to trace the line of my jaw with his rough thumb. "Let it burn. Keep that hatred alive. Because that is exactly what will keep you alive in this house. But remember this, little girl... hate me all you want. Scream, curse, plot your revenge... but at the end of every single day, you will still be standing here. You will still be mine. And no matter how much you hate it, your body, your time, and your existence belong entirely to me."

"I will never accept it! I will fight you every single second! I will find a way out! I will tell the world what kind of monster you are!"

"Tell them what?" He laughed mockingly, stepping away and gesturing grandly to the empty hall. "That I kidnapped you? That I forced you? Look at you, Selene. You are wearing expensive clothes. You are standing in my house. You have no marks, no bruises. If you walked out there and screamed those things, who would believe you? I am Don Lorenzo Moretti. I am a philanthropist. I am a respected businessman. I am the man who pays their wages, who builds their hospitals, who funds their schools. And you? You are just a girl who was dumped by my son, a girl with a broken heart making up stories to get attention. Who do you think they will believe? The King... or the beggar?"

His words hit me like a physical blow. He was right. He had prepared everything. He had the power, the money, the influence. I had nothing but the truth, and in this world, truth was the cheapest thing you could buy.

"Why?" I asked, my voice breaking, all the fight draining out of me replaced by pure exhaustion. "Why do this to me? Why go through all this trouble just to keep a girl your son didn't even want? What is the point? You have everything. You have the whole city in your pocket. Why me?"

He walked closer again, this time his expression turning darker, more intense. He leaned down until his lips were right next to my ear, sending shivers of revulsion down my spine.

"Because you looked at him with so much love," he murmured, his voice low and dangerous. "For two years, you looked at Adrian like he was your God. You gave him everything. You suffered for him. You cried for him. And he... he treated you like dirt. He didn't even realize what a treasure he had. I watched you, Selene. Long before that night in the car. I watched how you loved him blindly. And it made me sick. Sick that my foolish, weak son had something so precious and didn't know its value."

He pulled back slightly, looking deep into my eyes.

"If you are going to worship a man... if you are going to give your entire soul to someone... it will be me. Not him. Adrian is a boy. I am the man. I am the head of the family. I am the one who holds the power. And I decided that the devotion you wasted on him... belongs to me now."

"You are insane. You are absolutely crazy."

"I am a Moretti. We take what we want, and we keep what belongs to us. And you, my dear... became mine the moment you stepped foot into this family’s circle. Adrian threw you away, yes. But I picked you up. I claimed you. And I never share what is mine."

He turned away and signaled to the end of the hall. A middle-aged woman in a maid’s uniform appeared, bowing her head respectfully.

"Maria," Don Lorenzo called out sternly. "Take her to the East Wing. The room next to mine. Make sure she is washed, dressed properly, and ready for dinner. No rags, no tears. She is not a guest. She is... my companion. And she will be treated as such."

The maid, Maria, nodded but didn't look at me directly, her eyes filled with fear and pity. "Yes, Don Lorenzo. Right away, Sir."

He turned back to me one last time before walking towards the grand staircase, looking at me over his shoulder with that arrogant, victorious look.

"Think about everything I said, Selene. Cry, scream, hate me... do whatever you need to do. But remember one thing: The door is locked. The gates are guarded. There is no way out. And tonight, at dinner... you will sit across from me, you will speak when spoken to, and you will realize that your old life... the life with Adrian, the life of freedom... is dead and buried. You are mine now. Body and soul."

He began to climb the stairs, leaving me standing there trembling, filled with a mix of despair and a growing, dangerous resolve.

Maria approached me slowly, carefully, as if I was a wild animal that might bite. She spoke softly, almost a whisper.

"Come with me, Miss. Please... do not make him angry. It is better to obey for now. You don't know what he is capable of when he is truly enraged."

I looked at her, then at the retreating figure of Don Lorenzo, then at the cold, beautiful prison surrounding me.

He thinks he has broken me. He thinks that by locking me up, by stripping me of my name and my freedom, he has won.

I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand, my eyes hardening.

But he forgot one thing. He forgot that fire burns everything it touches... even the hands that try to hold it.

"Lead the way," I said to Maria, my voice surprisingly steady and cold. "I will go. I will play his game for now. But tell your master... tell him that while he may own my body... he will never, ever own my soul. And one day... the King will fall."

Maria looked shocked by my bold words, fear flashing in her eyes, but she simply nodded and led me down the long corridor, deeper into the heart of the lion’s den.

The war had officially begun. And this time, I wasn't just fighting for love. I was fighting for my life.

TO BE CONTINUED...