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SLOW BURN CONTINUES

Author: Adeyiga Adejoke
last update Last Updated: 2025-12-22 18:48:12

Sienna took another drink, needing the burn to ground her. "This is dangerous territory."

"I know," Luca said. "But we're already in it, have been for weeks now.

Every conversation that goes deeper, every moment of genuine connection.

We're building something neither of us intended, something that doesn't fit comfortable categories."

"It doesn't change what you did," Sienna said firmly. "Understanding you, recognizing your damage, it doesn't excuse kidnapping me, doesn't make captivity acceptable."

"I know that too," Luca said. "I'm not asking for forgiveness or absolution. I'm just acknowledging what's developing between us—something that exists despite the circumstances, maybe even because of them."

He moved closer still, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from him, could smell the whiskey on his breath mixed with something else cologne, maybe, or just him.

"Tell me you don't feel it," he said quietly. "Tell me I'm alone in noticing how the air changes when we
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  • STOLEN BY THE DON   SLOW BURN CONTINUES

    Sienna took another drink, needing the burn to ground her. "This is dangerous territory." "I know," Luca said. "But we're already in it, have been for weeks now. Every conversation that goes deeper, every moment of genuine connection.We're building something neither of us intended, something that doesn't fit comfortable categories." "It doesn't change what you did," Sienna said firmly. "Understanding you, recognizing your damage, it doesn't excuse kidnapping me, doesn't make captivity acceptable." "I know that too," Luca said. "I'm not asking for forgiveness or absolution. I'm just acknowledging what's developing between us—something that exists despite the circumstances, maybe even because of them." He moved closer still, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from him, could smell the whiskey on his breath mixed with something else cologne, maybe, or just him. "Tell me you don't feel it," he said quietly. "Tell me I'm alone in noticing how the air changes when we

  • STOLEN BY THE DON   SLOW BURN

    "I wanted to say...." Sienna paused, struggling with words. "These changes, the freedoms you've given - they matter. I don't want to give you absolution, don't want you to think this erases everything but I also don't want to pretend they're meaningless when they're not." "Thank you for telling me," Luca said quietly. "That means more than you might think." "Don't," Sienna warned. "Don't take this as encouragement or validation. I'm just being honest, acknowledging reality. The reality is that being able to walk freely through the estate makes captivity slightly more bearable, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest." "Understood," Luca said. "No expectations, no misinterpretation, just acknowledgment that small changes have small impacts." Sienna moved into the study, examining the bookshelves that lined one wall. "When we meet the Marchesis tomorrow, when I finally see Serena. What happens if she rejects me? What if she doesn't want a sister who represents everything he

  • STOLEN BY THE DON   IT'S STILL A CAGE

    The morning after their three AM conversation, Sienna woke to find something unexpected, an envelope slipped under her door with her name written in Luca's precise handwriting.She picked it up warily, half-expecting another ultimatum or confession. Instead, she found a simple note and a key.The library, the gardens, the music room, the terrace, all unlocked. The key opens the art supply closet in your studio.I've stocked it with everything you requested months ago and more. These aren't freedom, but they're movement in that direction. –LSienna stared at the note for several minutes, trying to determine the catch, the hidden price for these concessions but the key felt solid in her palm, real in a way promises rarely were.She tested it immediately, walking through the estate without guards following, without locked doors stopping her progress. The library doors opened easily, the terrace was accessible, the gardens spread before her without barriers except the high walls that sur

  • STOLEN BY THE DON   THE GUILT

    I took someone who'd earned their freedom and imprisoned them again, and I don't know how to live with that knowledge." "Welcome to consequences," Sienna said. "This is what it feels like to actually confront what you've done rather than justifying it as love or fate or destiny." "I deserve worse than guilt," Luca said. "I deserve to lose everything, to have my empire crumble, to die alone knowing I destroyed the one thing that mattered but none of those consequences seem to be coming. Instead, I just have to live with knowing I'm a monster while continuing to act like one." Permission to feel bad without actually changing anything? Some kind of redemption that lets you keep me while feeling less guilty about it?" "I don't know," Luca admitted. "Maybe I just need to say it out loud, need someone to witness that I understand how unforgivable this is. I can't seem to confess to anyone else, can't show this vulnerability to Matteo or my men but with you, I can't hide behind j

  • STOLEN BY THE DON   THE FIRST CRACK

    "Resourcefulness," Sienna said. "I'd do odd jobs for cash. Washing car windows, running errands for shop owners who took pity on me. There was a shelter that fed homeless kids, no questions asked, and I went there most evenings. For sleeping, I found an abandoned building with a space I could make relatively secure." She paused. "And I drew even then, even living rough, I'd find scraps of paper, bits of charcoal, anything I could use to create, it kept me sane, gave me purpose beyond just surviving. I'd sit in that abandoned building drawing pictures of imaginary futures, worlds where I had a home and family and safety." "That's when you discovered art could save you," Luca observed. "That's when I discovered art was the only thing that could save me," Sienna corrected. "Everything else, food, shelter, safety was temporary, could be taken away at any moment; but the ability to create, to transform suffering into something beautiful - that was mine, couldn't be stolen or

  • STOLEN BY THE DON   THE PROMISE

    "I understand," Luca said. "And I'm sorry, sorry that happened to you, sorry the system failed you so completely, sorry you had to learn survival skills no child should need." "Don't apologize for things you didn't do," Sienna said. "Save your apologies for the things you are responsible for. Like kidnapping me, like holding me here against my will, like creating a situation where I have to decide whether to fight or retreat again." "You're right," Luca acknowledged. "How did you escape from the Morettis?" "I ran," Sienna said simply. "I was thirteen, had tried twice before and been brought back; but the third time, I learned to stay hidden, learned how to disappear into the streets where they couldn't track me.I lived rough for three years, shelters when I could, abandoned buildings when I couldn't, stealing food when necessary." "At thirteen years old," Luca said, horror clear in his voice. "You were living on the streets at thirteen." "Better than staying at the Morettis',"

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