CHAPTER TWO

Hip hop music echoed around the small portable club. The sound of laughter, yelling, and occasional moans could be heard from different sides of the club.

She stared at the people dancing at the club and sighed... Then her eyes moved to the people making out in the open, and she screwed up her face in disgust... But then she frowned, almost immediately realising she wasn't a saint.

"Here's your drink, baby girl." The male flashed her a smile and placed the glass of wine in front of her.

Alessia was beyond restless...

Right now... She wished she was just dreaming; either way, it was not a good sign, but it's better.

Her heart thumped violently against her chest, and her hands trembled as she clutched the drink, all because of one man.

Dante Moretti.

Just his name made her knees weak. Just seeing him today had stirred up something. Feelings she never thought existed – but the way he looked at her in the meeting and the words he said to her, like he owned her, felt like it wasn't just a fling.

Like he never wanted her to go. Did he even let her go in the first place?

"I am making you mine. Sunshine" His words still make her shiver, still run through her head – like a haunted melody – and she couldn't breathe.

She sighed and dived her fingers through her hair. Her heart was pounding wildly as she thought of the situation she was in. At this point, she doesn't even feel safe anymore as she looks around the hall trying to see if that one person is staring at her.

Just the sight of his dark grey eyes meeting hers could subdue her and bring her to his feet.

She won't be surprised if she sees him staring at her right now.

“Spill it out, sweetheart. What’s wrong? You’ve been off all evening,” Elena said, sipping from her wine glass, her brows knitting together as she studied Alessia’s pale face.

The club’s lights flickered like heartbeats. Alessia sat stiffly beside her, barely hearing the music or the laughter around them. She hated clubs, hated crowds—but tonight she came willingly because she needed to escape her thoughts, even if it's just for a few hours.

She took a sip of her drink and muttered, “It’s nothing.”

“That’s not nothing,” Leo piped in from behind the bar, flashing his signature grin. “That’s the kind of silence that says someone’s getting murdered in your thoughts.”

Alessia rolled her eyes but didn’t answer. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone. Not here. Not yet.

Leo—Elena’s fiancé—was always too observant. Too intuitive.

“I’m fine,” she lied, forcing a weak smile.

Neither of them bought it, but they didn’t push. For that, she was thankful.

Still, she could feel their eyes on her. Watching and Wondering.

“Is it about Damon?” Leo finally asked, drying a glass with exaggerated nonchalance.

Elena slapped his arm and gave him an angry look. “Don’t start.”

Alessia winced at the name. Her stomach twisted.

Damon.

Her fiancé.

The man her parents were forcing her to marry for business convenience. The man who had been caught red-handed with her best friend—and yet still wore a diamond-cold smile like nothing happened.

The same man who expects her to walk down the aisle in three weeks and smile like he hadn’t shattered her.

“No,” she murmured, barely convincing even herself.

Rhea, seated on the other side, said nothing but watched her intently.

“We’ll be right back,” Rhea said suddenly, grabbing Alessia’s hand and pulling her away from the table.

They weaved through the crowd until they found a quiet spot near the back wall. Some guys hooted as they passed.

“Hey, ladies! Are you looking for trouble tonight?”

“We already have enough of that,” Rhea snapped without turning around.

Once they reached the corner, Rhea let go and crossed her arms. Her voice softened.

“Talk to me, Alessia. What’s going on? I know something is eating you up. And it’s more than Damon.”

"And don't tell me it's nothing. I did not want you to feel uncomfortable talking about whatever it is in front of them.

so you can tell me what it is that's killing you."

Alessia’s hands trembled slightly. Her lips parted—but she didn’t know where to start.

It wasn’t just Damon.

It was the man she had a one-night stand with a few weeks ago—an intoxicating stranger with sin in his smile and danger in his eyes.

It was she walking into the conference hall and finding out her one-night stranger was now her business partner, and to make matters worse, she was pregnant for him.

She looked up at Rhea, eyes glassy.

Alessia exhaled shakily. “I am pregnant…”

Rhea blinked. “Wait. for real?”

Rhea smiled with excitement. You should be happy. Why the sadness

Alessia nodded, throat tightening.

“It doesn't belong to Damon."

Rhea’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was,” Alessia whispered, her voice trembling. “It was supposed to be one night. I never knew I would be pregnant. And now I don't know what to do…

Rhea’s eyes widened further. “Holy. Shit.”

Silence.

The music from the club seemed dull in the background, like her confession had swallowed the whole room.

“Alessia…” Rhea breathed.

“I found out this morning,” she admitted. “Twice, the hospital messaged me.”

Rhea’s eyes softened with concern. “Does he know?”

Alessia shook her head. “No. And I can’t tell anybody. Not when Damon and my parents are already on my neck.”

“But Alessia,” Rhea said, almost in disbelief.

“I know,” Alessia said, hugging herself. “That’s what terrifies me.”

Alessia nodded slowly. “At the meeting today... I saw him, but I was scared to tell him.”

Rhea's face twisted in alarm. “Are you serious?”

“He was intense. Kinda possessive. Like he was about to get down with me right after the meeting.”

Rhea exhaled sharply. “You’re not just tangled in a mess, girl. You’re standing in a minefield.”

“What if your parent finds out?

I know they still want you to marry Damon, right?”

“Yes,” Alessia replied.

“They don’t care about his cheating habit. They only care about the merger. They want the wedding for power and money.”

Rhea’s eyes filled with rage. “You don’t owe them this.

“I don’t even know what I’m going to do anymore,” Alessia whispered, her eyes glistening.

“I’m pregnant, and I’m being forced to marry someone I don’t love.

She paused; the memory of his hand on her waist and his voice flooded her mind.

“Dante won’t stop until I’m his.”

Rhea grabbed her shoulders gently. “Then you have to decide who you are, because right now—you’re letting everyone make decisions for you.”

Alessia swallowed the lump in her throat. just then her phone buzzed. It was Damon.

She sighed.

“I need to go,” she muttered, brushing away a stray tear. “He’s expecting me to show up at that stupid dinner with his parents.”

Rhea didn’t say anything at first. Then she leaned in and whispered, “Don’t let him take more from you than he already has.”

Alessia nodded, clutching her purse.

“Thanks, Rhea. For being here.”

“You know I always will be.

”

As Alessia walked back toward the exit, she glanced once more over her shoulder—thinking of Dante and the way he said, “You’re mine.”

She swallowed hard.

Because deep down, she feared he was right.