2

Chapter 2

MAYA

My chest felt tight as I rushed to my car, and the moment I slammed the door shut, the tears came harder, hot and uncontrollable, blurring my vision as I started the engine and drove out without even thinking straight.

The road ahead looked shaky, almost unreal, and I had to blink again and again just to see, but it didn’t stop the images in my head, Luca tied to that bed, his face twisted in pleasure, and Lucy… my own sister… on top of him like she owned him.

Four years.

Four whole years.

I let out a broken laugh, gripping the steering wheel tighter as my knuckles turned white, because it sounded like a joke now, like I had written some stupid tragic script for myself and then decided to live inside it.

Four years of hiding, waiting, believing every stupid promise he made, and for what? So I could walk in on him screwing my sister on his birthday like some sick surprise gift.

“God, I’m so stupid…” I muttered, my voice shaking as more tears rolled down.

I had given him everything without even thinking twice, not just my body, not just my time, but my mind, my work, my entire life, and I didn’t even realize how deep I was in until it all collapsed in one second.

Luca was my safe place, the only person who ever looked at me like I wasn’t invisible, and I held onto that like it was oxygen because in that house, I didn’t exist.

My mother barely remembered I was there unless she needed something, Lucy got all the attention, all the praise and all the love, and the Rossi family… they didn’t even pretend. To them, I was just… there wasting space.

But Luca saw me.

Or at least… I thought he did.

We were both outsiders in our own way, even though he was the eldest son, he was never treated like one because in the Rossi family, blood didn’t matter as much as value, and value meant power, results adnd contribution.

His younger brothers were already making moves, building influence, earning respect, while he was just… floating, trying to find where he fit.

So we clicked.

Two people who didn’t belong, finding each other in a place that never wanted them.

And I made a promise.

I told him I would help him become the heir, and I meant it, not because I cared about the position, but because I wanted him to stand tall, to finally be seen, and maybe… just maybe… when he got there, he would stand beside me too.

So I worked.

I pushed myself harder than I ever had, building systems, creating tools, giving him everything I made, letting him take the credit without complaining because it was our future, not just his.

Every sleepless night, every headache, every time my hands shook from exhaustion, I told myself it would be worth it, because Luca loved me, because he promised me forever, he said when the time was right, he would announce us to everyone.

I actually believed him.

I shook my head, laughing bitterly through my tears.

“Idiot… you’re such a fucking idiot, Maya.”

I had even noticed things, small things that didn’t feel right, the way Lucy would look at him sometimes, the way he avoided certain questions, the distance that kept growing even when he said nothing had changed.

A part of me knew something was wrong, but I shut it down every time because I didn’t want to lose the only thing I had.

And now… now I had lost it anyway.

“Fuck…” I whispered, my voice breaking as I wiped my face roughly, but the tears didn’t stop.

By the time I got back to the main house, my eyes were swollen and my head was pounding, and I didn’t even remember how I parked or got out of the car, I just moved on instinct, taking the quiet route inside and heading straight to my room like I was running from something chasing me.

The gift was still in the car but I didn’t even look back and he would never get it.

I pushed my door open and stumbled inside, then dropped onto my bed without bothering to change or even take off my shoes, i curled into myself as the pain hit me all over again, stronger this time and deeper, like something inside me was being ripped apart slowly.

“I hate you…” I whispered into the pillow, but I wasn’t sure if I was talking about Luca or myself.

Probably both.

Because he betrayed me… but I was the one who built him.

I cried until my throat hurt, my eyes burned and everything just went numb, and somewhere in between the anger and the heartbreak, I fell asleep.

---

A loud knock dragged me out of that empty, heavy sleep, and I groaned, my head pounding like someone was hitting it with a hammer as I forced myself up and stumbled toward the door.

“Coming…” I muttered, my voice rough.

When I opened it, two guards stood outside, their faces blank as usual, and one of them spoke immediately.

“There is a meeting downstairs.”

I frowned slightly, still half-asleep and fully irritated, because that didn’t make any sense. I was never called for family meetings, not once, not ever, so why now?

“I’ll be there,” I said, already turning back inside to continue my sleep cause with or without me, the meeting will go on

But the second guard stepped forward, his voice colder.

“You will come now. Do not keep the head waiting.”

I paused for a second, then let out a quiet sigh, because arguing with them was pointless, and honestly… I didn’t even care enough to try.

“Fine.”

I followed them down the hall, my head still aching, my body heavy, but my mind was already somewhere else, thinking ahead, thinking about leaving, because I couldn’t stay here anymore. There was nothing left for me in this house, not my mother, sister or Luca… nothing.

The only reason I stayed was gone.

So I would leave.

I had wanted to leave at 18 but mom and her husband won't allow me and I had kept quiet out of respect but I'm 22 now and I'll fight to leave this hell.

I would get a remote job, something simple and far from all this madness, and I would live my life quietly, just me and my work, and maybe someday… if I needed someone, I would adopt, build my own little world where I didn’t have to fight to exist.

That sounded… peaceful and better than this.

We entered the main hall, and I lifted my head slightly, my brows pulling together when I saw how many people were already there. Almost the entire Rossi family had gathered, their presence heavy and serious, which meant something big was happening.

Great.

Just what I needed.

My eyes moved around the room, scanning faces without interest until they landed on Lucy, and I almost laughed when I saw the thick bandage wrapped around her face. For a second, something dark and petty stirred in me, but I pushed it down, because I didn’t have the energy for it.

Then I saw Luca.

And just like that, everything twisted again.

The pain was still there but something colder was growing over it and that thing felt a lot like hate, and I simply looked away like he didn’t exist.

Because right now… he didn’t.

I was about to move toward an empty seat at the corner, planning to sit quietly and disappear like always, but before I could, a deep, commanding voice cut through the hall.

“Maya.”

I froze slightly.

It was the head of the Rossi family and he was looking straight at me.

“Come forward,” he said, his tone calm but heavy with authority, and then his eyes hardened. “And kneel.”

I blinked, my brows lifting in confusion as I looked around, half expecting him to be talking to someone else.

“Excuse me?” I said, my voice flat.

The air shifted instantly and his expression darkened, and his voice dropped, colder this time.

“Kneel.”

I stared at him, not moving, because fear was not something I felt for these people, not anymore, I've really got nothing to lose.

“Why?”

The word slipped out before I could stop it and that was all it took.

My mother rushed toward me like a storm, her hand coming out of nowhere as it slammed across my face once, twice, three times, the force snapping my head to the side as pain exploded across my cheek.

“How dare you talk back!” she snapped, her voice sharp with anger, like I had just committed the worst crime in the world.

Before I could even react, she turned to the guards.

“Make her kneel!”

They didn’t hesitate.

Strong hands grabbed my shoulders and forced me down, my knees hitting the hard floor painfully as I struggled instinctively, anger rising fast in my chest.

“Let go...” I hissed, but they held me firmly in place.

The hall went quiet and then the head of the Rossi family looked down at me, his gaze cold and unreadable.

“Do you know your crime, Maya?”