All Chapters of BURNING BETRAYAL: My Mafia Professor.: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Darkness didn’t scare me.What scared me was the quiet inside it.I floated somewhere without weight, without pain, without time. My body was gone. My breath was gone. But my mind—my mind refused to rest.It dragged me back.Always back.The first thing I felt was heat.Not warmth. Not comfort.Heat that pressed against my skin and made the air taste wrong.When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t see smoke—but my chest reacted like it was there. My lungs burned. I gasped, my fingers curling into the fabric beneath me.My vision blurred as I tried to sit up, panic slamming into me too fast. My head throbbed. My body felt heavy, weak, like I had been emptied out.“Easy,” a voice said.I froze.A man sat a few steps away, his posture calm but alert. Not threatening. Not gentle either. He looked to be in his late forties, maybe older. His face was tired, lined in a way that spoke of years spent watching things he couldn’t stop. His eyes were sharp, but not cruel.“You’re safe,” he said carefull

He was calm.That was the first thing that made my skin prickle.Zander walked toward me slowly, his hands tucked into his pockets like he had all the time in the world. Each step was measured, unhurried, the kind of walk that said he wasn’t worried about what he’d find—only about how he’d deal with it.Fear slid under my skin, thin and sharp, but I kept my face calm. Neutral. Curious, at most. I refused to give him anything he could pull apart.He moved around the desk, boots quiet against the floor, until he stopped right beside me.Too close.I could smell him now—clean, dark, unmistakable. I didn’t look up at him immediately. I let the silence stretch, let him feel like he was the one waiting.His eyes swept the room before settling on me.“Sneaking around?” he asked.His voice was low. Controlled. Dangerous in a way that didn’t need to be loud.“I—I woke up and couldn’t find you,” I said, letting hesitation soften my tone. “So I decided to look around.”I hated how easy the lie c

The ride back to my house was quiet.The city passed by outside the window, familiar streets blurring together, and for the first time since yesterday, I felt like I was breathing air that belonged to me.We finally reached my house.I walked inside. My life before Zander. The silence inside these walls felt different from the silence in his mansion. I didn’t waste time.I moved straight to what mattered.My laptop came first. I slid it carefully into my bag, fingers lingering on the smooth surface for half a second longer than necessary. That machine held more of me than most people ever had. Next were my books. I didn't grab many. Just the ones I’d reach for without thinking.Clothes were last. I packed all the necessities.When I walked back out, Luca was already standing by the door. We got into the car and he drove off.Zander’s mansion came into view, and the gate slid open without a sound.The car rolled forward, tires crunching softly against gravel, and came to a stop at the

I had just stepped out of the bathroom, steam still clinging to my skin, the robe tied loosely around my body, when the door burst open.The sound made me flinch.Before I could even turn, Zander was already inside.He slammed the door shut behind him with a force that rattled the walls. His presence filled the room instantly—too sharp, too intense, like a storm that had been holding itself back for too long. There was blood just above his eyebrow, an open wound, dark and wet, cutting through his calm like a crack in glass.I barely had time to process it.Before I could speak, before I could step back, he was on me.His hands locked around my body and lifted me clean off the ground. I gasped, instinctively reaching for him, but there was no fighting it. He carried me across the room as if I weighed nothing and dropped me onto the bed.The mattress dipped under me.I scrambled upright immediately, fear and anger tangling tight in my chest.“What the hell are you doing!?” I snapped.My

The next morning didn’t feel normal.Breakfast came and went quietly. I barely tasted anything on my plate. My mind kept drifting back to the event. I expected dresses to arrive. Maybe a rack or two. Something expensive, something picked without my input.I didn’t expect a whole team.They arrived midmorning, filling the hallway with garment bags, measuring tapes, tablets, and fabric samples. Designers. Assistants. Tailors. All of them focused on me as if I were a project, not a person.I stood there while they took my measurements, my arms slightly raised, my back straight, my jaw tight. They talked to each other in low voices, throwing terms around like I wasn’t standing right there.Two styles.They asked what I liked. I hesitated. But in the end, I chose without overthinking it. One soft. One bold. No room for confusion.They worked inside the mansion.They didn't rush it. Fabric cut, pinned, adjusted. Machines moving fast. Quiet concentration. It took hours. Six… maybe seven. Ti