Chapter 6: The Judas Kiss

POV: Leona

The knock echoed again, like a cruel reminder that reality still existed outside this room.

I should’ve pulled away.

Should’ve straightened my robe. Stepped back. Breathed.

But Dante’s grip on my chin was firm, his thumb brushing the corner of my mouth like he owned it.

“Leona,” the voice outside called. Male. Familiar. Calm. Too calm.

My stomach twisted.

Luca.

Dante’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he leaned in, his lips ghosting over mine. “Tell him to go.”

I tried. I really did. But my voice was caught somewhere between defiance and desire, tangled up in the heat still lingering between us.

“He’ll know,” I whispered. “He always knows.”

Dante’s expression darkened. “Then let him know. Let him see that his leash never reached this far.”

Another knock...more urgent this time.

“Leona, I need to speak with you. Alone.”

Dante’s laugh was low, feral. “Funny. So do I.”

“Dante...” I hissed, trying to shove him off me, but he didn’t budge. Instead, his mouth dipped to my throat, teeth grazing the sensitive skin just above my pulse.

“You can open that door,” he murmured, his voice a wicked promise, “but I’ll still be inside you before morning.”

Heat flooded my core, shamefully fast.

I hated him. I shouldn't be feeling this way.

But gods, I wanted him.

“Luca can’t see you here.” I whispered to him.

Dante finally stepped back, just a hair, but his eyes never left mine. “Then make a choice, Leona. Me or him. Truth or performance.”

The knock came one last time.

“I’m coming in.”

Shit.

I bolted toward the door, fingers fumbling with the lock. Dante had already melted into the shadows of the room, his smirk the last thing I saw before I cracked the door open.

Luca stood there, dressed too clean for someone that dangerous.

His eyes swept over me, pausing at the disheveled silk, the flushed skin, the swollen lips.

His jaw ticked. “Am I interrupting?”

Yes.

“No,” I lied, voice shaky.

But Luca wasn’t looking at me anymore. His gaze shifted past my shoulder, into the room.

To the darkness.

To the man he couldn’t see, but absolutely knew was there.

Dante's POV:

“This conversation,” Luca said slowly, “can’t wait.”

Neither could the chaos I’d just unleashed.

Leona swallowed, gaze flickering toward the shadows.

“Leona. Talk to me."

She stiffened.

 “I heard what happened tonight. Can we talk?”

I felt her hesitation like a pulse. She didn’t move. Didn’t say anything.

“Luca,” she said, voice low and steady.

Luca exhaled sharply, as if he’d been holding his breath. “You didn’t return my calls. I was worried.”

“I didn’t feel like talking.”

“I figured.” A pause. “He embarrassed you. In front of everyone. I saw the whole thing.”

She didn’t reply.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Luca continued, his voice soft, careful. “You don’t deserve that. You never did.”

From the shadows, I could see the curve of her spine, the way her fingers tightened around the edge of the door. She was listening too closely. He knew just how to sound sincere, how to sound like comfort. But I knew the man. Luca didn’t come without reason.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“Leona…” He stepped closer, trying to see around the door. “You don’t have to pretend. I remember how you used to smile. You don’t anymore.”

Manipulative little bastard.

He was tugging at threads, hoping something would unravel.

And for a moment, I saw it. The way her jaw tensed. Her silence.

He sensed the opening.

“You don’t have to keep living like this,” Luca pressed, his voice low. “You used to dream, remember? About helping people, about having your own family… That woman, the real Leona, I miss her. She used to light up every room she walked into. Now?”

Now she’s mine, I thought darkly.

But I said nothing.

She didn’t open the door any further. Just enough for the words to slide through and twist the air.

“Don’t let him destroy you,” Luca said. “You’re worth more than this cage he’s built.”

A long pause.

Then her voice, steady but colder now.

“You don’t know anything about what he’s built.”

I wasn't expecting her to defend me.

Luca tried again. “I know he doesn’t love you.” 

"He's just using you as a way to hurt me"

Wrong move.

Leona’s eyes flickered. And behind that flicker was fire.

“You think love is gentle,” she said, voice low. “Soft words and dinner dates and poetry. That’s not the kind of love I was made for or wanted, Luca.”

He faltered. “Then what kind were you made for?”

The corner of her lip curled, almost a smirk.

“The kind that burns.”

She closed the door.

Click.

She didn’t move for a moment, back pressed against it. Breathing heavy.

I stepped from the shadows.

She didn’t flinch.

“You didn’t correct him,” I said, voice like smoke.

“Correct him?”

“He said I don’t love you.”

Her eyes met mine, unreadable. “Well..Do you?”

I closed the distance between us in two strides.

One hand pressed against the door behind her head, the other sliding around her hip.

“I don’t need to explain myself to men like him.”

She held her ground. “And to me?”

I dipped my head, lips brushing her jaw. “You already know.”

And just like that..her defenses wavered again.

Her breath stuttered.

But she didn’t fall.

Not yet.

Leona's POV:

I stood by the window, fingers curled around the velvet curtain. I hadn’t moved since Dante left. His scent still lingered in the room, leather, smoke, and something deeper, like sin wrapped in silk. But it was the knock from earlier, the one that shattered the moment, that refused to leave my mind.

Iwasn’t sure why, but something in Luca’s eyes tonight felt… wrong. Too soft. Too timed.

A strange chill swept down my spine.

Then, the door creaked open again.

"Leo?"

My brother’s voice. Cautious. Guilt-laced.

I turned slowly, her expression unreadable. “You’re back?”

“I thought we could talk.”

My arms crossed, protectively. “About?”

Luca stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He didn’t meet my eyes at first. “I… I wanted to explain things. The way they’ve been lately. Us being here. The Don.”

I watched him, silent.

He hesitated, then reached into his coat pocket and tossed a folded paper onto the desk beside me.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Just read it.”

My fingers trembled as i unfolded the paper. The room felt colder now, though no windows were open. I scanned the letter. A contract. Transfer of guardianship. A personal agreement.

A name stood out at the top.

Don Dante Rizzo.

My eye scanned the content of the contract.

My throat went dry.

“Fifteen million dollars?” I whispered.

Luca looked away.

“I don’t understand.” My voice cracked. “This is some business deal… between you and him? What does it have to do with me?”

I was confused.

He swallowed. Hard. “It was for us, Leo. For your future. I... I was drowning. You know I’ve had debts since Dad...”

“You sold me,” i said, barely above a whisper. Reality dawning on me.

“No,” he said quickly. “It’s not like that..."

My eyes snapped up, burning. “Then what is it like, Luca? What else do you call exchanging your sister’s life for fifteen million and a fake guardianship stamp?!”

His shoulders slumped. “I had no choice.”

“No choice?” My voice was louder now, shaky. “You dragged me here without telling me why. You let me believe this was what I had to do to save your life. I trusted you!”

“It was and I also did this to protect you.”

“No,” i snapped. “You did this to save yourself. Don’t dress up your betrayal in the costume of love.”

Silence fell, sharp and cruel.

Then, I laughed. Bitterly.

“All those warnings you gave me about Dante,” I said, the realization crashing in like a wave. “You made him into the villain so I’d never suspect you. So I’d never question the strings wrapped around my ankles.”

“Leona…”

I backed away. “Do you know what it felt like to trust the last person you have in this world, only to find out he auctioned your freedom for a dollar sign?”

“I thought you’d be safer with him than with the people after me!”

“You should have given them you, Luca. Not me.”

Tears blurred my vision, but I didn’t let them fall. Not yet. Not while he watched.

“Leave,” I said coldly. “Don’t come to me. Don’t speak to me. You’ve made your choice, and I’ll make mine.”

“But Leo...”

“Don’t,” I warned, voice cutting like glass.

And just like that, I turned away, slamming the door in his face, heart shattered, trust burnt to ash, and something colder rising inside me.

I didn’t know where to go. Or how far I could run.

But one thing was certain.

I was done being traded.

Dante's POV:

The voice carried through the thin walls. Not a shout. Not even loud. But it hit like a bullet to the sternum.

“…Fifteen million, Leona. You think I would’ve gotten that kind of money from anyone else?” Luca shouted after Leona slammed the door.

My spine straightened.

Every breath she took after that sounded like betrayal given form.

“You...” Her voice had cracked. “You sold me?”

There was a beat of silence, the kind that didn’t echo, didn’t move. It just hung.

“You’ll be taken care of. You’ll have everything. Power, money, protection...” He had said.

“You SOLD me, Luca.”

Something inside me tilted.

I should’ve walked away. I meant to.

Instead, I leaned closer, a shadow against the doorway, unseen but listening.

She wasn’t crying. Not yet. But I heard the storm gather in her breath.

He didn’t even deny it. Didn’t stutter.

“That money saved our family,” he said coldly. The bastard was still talking. “It saved you. You think you’d have this life if I hadn’t handed you over?”

Handed you over.

Like she was a briefcase. A bargaining chip.

My fists curled.

She was quiet for a long time. Long enough I thought she might have fallen apart. But then she said, “Does he know?”. She asked through the door.

“Dante?” Luca scoffed. “Please. He doesn’t care. You’re just another pretty thing in his collection.”

I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.

If I stepped in now, I’d kill him. And that wasn’t what she needed.

Not yet.

I watched. Her breathing sounded like she was physically holding herself together with the last threads of pride.

I imagined Her eyes breaking.

I still didn't say or do anything.

And I let them.

I let her realize it.

Let her feel the truth.

Because when I came for her, when I burned every lie down to ashes, I wanted her to know why.

And who was worth burning for.