로그인Alessia’s almost cried out as Rocco let go of her shoulders and clamped his fingers around her wrist, dragging her behind the guard. Every step felt like trudging through quicksand, something heavy and invisible pulling her deeper, all while her arm burned where his nails dug into her skin. Her lip was still bleeding, she tasted the metallic tang and felt her hair, wild and sticky, clinging to her damp, swollen face. She stared at the cold marble floor, bare feet trembling, too scared to look up. Mess up even once, she thought, and Rocco would make good on those threats right here in this corridor.They stepped into the elevator and rode it all the way up. Why was Cassian here? How did he even know where she was? The silence inside was suffocating. The mirrored doors kept sending her battered reflection back at her — no escape. Just a bruised, broken girl standing between two dangerous men who owned everything, her hope included. The chill from the glass walls bit at her skin, bu
Alessia froze. She wasn’t sure she’d really heard him right. “W... what?”The words felt heavy in the air, thick and cold, pressing her down with shame so raw her brain didn’t want to process it. Her hands twitched against the fabric of her gown. Her breath caught, vision swimming with tears she refused to let fall.“You heard me, mi belleza.” Rocco’s grin widened as he licked his lower lip.His eyes drank her in possesively, landing on her trembling hands, her fear-stricken face. He clearly enjoyed it — watching her panic, knowing she was trapped here with him, far from the rest of the world.“No.” The word was barely audible, a tiny, desperate whisper, but it felt loud in the silent room. “No. I won’t do that.”All amusement vanished from Rocco’s face. He stood up so fast the chair barely had time to scrape. Before she could bolt, he crossed the room in three long strides and caught her at the waist, yanking her flush against him.The air whooshed out of her too fast. His fingers
The drive to the boutique dragged on for two hours. Alessia sat pressed up against the car door, desperate for as much space as possible from Rocco sitting beside her. He hadn’t said a word since she got in — not one — but his eyes never left her. She could feel him watching every anxious swallow, every twitch in her hands. Even the sound of his slow, deliberate puffs on a cigar seemed loud in the silence. Honestly, she would’ve preferred shouting. This quiet, smothering tension was worse than any threat he could make.Every mile away from the De Rossi estate felt like she was walking toward her own destruction. Rocco leaned back, legs crossed, mouth set in a hard line, just waiting. Alessia’s skin crawled he was biding his time until no one else was around.When they finally reached the boutique, Alessia barely had time to take in the building — a huge place of glass and dark marble, tucked behind security gates and as intimidating as any fortress. It belonged to someone mysteriou
The summons came early two days later. Rocco had arrived, and he was taking her to the boutique to buy the engagement party dress. Alone.The thought of being alone with him in a private dressing room made a shiver run down her spine.It had been three days since her escape attempt. Despite giving her a new room, her mother had worked her almost to death. Her hands were bruised, and her legs wobbled from weakness.Every part of her small body hurt. Elena had made sure every waking hour since the failed escape was spent working. Alessia had spent the last three days scrubbing marble floors on her knees, carrying heavy laundry crates up and down three flights of stairs, and taking slaps whenever she slowed down. It was punishment. Her mother wanted to break whatever courage Alessia still had before handing her over to the Prieto syndicate.There were dark circles under her eyes, and her lip was cracked. She stared at herself in the mirror, and a sob escaped her.The girl staring back
Alessia froze in terror. “What? You… you told Rocco?”The words barely left her mouth. All the color drained from her face, and her hands became damp against the Persian rug. She remembered Rocco’s fingers around her throat, squeezing until she could barely breathe. The memory made her stomach twist.If he knew she had tried to escape — if he knew she had run from the marriage he had forced on her — she knew he would make her pay for it.“I did.” Bianca straightened. “Madre didn’t punish you enough to my satisfaction, so I thought maybe Rocco would do a better job.”She calmly smoothed her silk blouse and glanced at her nails as though they were far more interesting than the girl sitting on the floor in front of her. There was a small smile on her lips.Alessia stared at her. To Bianca, this was a game. She had found out about Marta helping Alessia and had used it against her. Then she had made sure Aunt Rosa’s attempt to get her out of the estate failed too.“Why?” Alessia asked, he
Alessia woke up on a soft Persian rug. At first, it didn’t feel real. Her neck ached badly from the force of the guard’s strike.She lay perfectly still for several moments, trying to push through the fog clouding her mind. The fabric beneath her face was soft and thick, nothing like the hard, freezing floorboards of her little room in the servants’ quarters. Every pulse sent a dull ache from the base of her skull down her spine, right where the guard’s palm had struck her outside the estate perimeter.Her eyes fluttered open. Her vision was white at first, but it slowly cleared. She was in a room. Not her room in the servants’ quarters. This one was bigger and fully furnished.The high vaulted ceiling was framed with elegant crown molding, and soft afternoon light came through the tall, curtained windows. A massive canopy bed covered in rich fabrics stood on one side of the room, while polished mahogany furniture lined the walls. Everything was spotless, luxurious, and completely







