All Chapters of His Surrogate Fled, He Never Stopped: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Aria's POVI stood frozen.The sting of Adriana's slap still burned across my cheek, but it was nothing compared to the shock of seeing the kind old man from the café standing in the doorway.Antonio Montrosso—Nonno—stepped into the room with the quiet authority that only came from decades of absolute power. Despite his age and the walking stick he leaned on, there was something undeniably commanding about his presence. The very air seemed to shift around him, and even Signora Russo straightened her already perfect posture."Adriana," his voice carried gentle reproach. "Your behavior is becoming increasingly rude and impulsive.""Nonno, you don't understand," she said, her voice taking on a sweetly pleading quality. "This... this nobody destroyed my dress and then had the audacity to argue with me about it. She needs to learn her place."The word 'nobody' hit me hard. I wrapped my arms around myself, aware of my cheap dress and scuffed shoes. I had no family name, no protection in thi

Damian's POVOf course she'd found another job. The woman seemed to have a talent for appearing wherever I least expected her, like some persistent shadow I couldn't shake. How the hell had someone so clumsy and reckless managed to infiltrate an event of this caliber?I studied her as she stood before me, trembling slightly. The conservative uniform she wore was a stark contrast to the revealing bunny costume from the Moon Bar. The crisp white shirt and black vest suited her far better than those cheap, provocative outfits ever had.Not that the revealing clothes didn't suit her—they did, perfectly, when she was beneath me in my bed. But seeing her exposed like that in public, surrounded by men who looked at her like she was merchandise for sale... that had bothered me more than I cared to admit."I'm so sorry, sir," she stammered, her head bowed in submission. "I didn't see you there. I was just—""Running through a private estate like you're being chased by wolves?" I interrupted, m

Aria's POVMy alcohol tolerance had always been decent—not great, but enough that a single sip of champagne shouldn't have affected me this way. The dizziness and disorientation I was feeling must be from exhaustion. These past few weeks of worrying about Jessica, scrambling to find work, barely sleeping while I tried to earn money for her treatment—it was finally catching up with me.I took a deep breath and forced myself to focus. I still had a job to do, money to earn. Jessica was counting on me.The ballroom buzzed with elegant conversation and the soft clink of crystal glasses. I moved through the crowd with my serving tray, trying to ignore the way the room seemed to tilt slightly with each step. The faces around me blurred at the edges, but I pushed forward, determined to complete my shift.I was concentrating so hard on walking steadily that I didn't see the solid figure in front of me until I bumped directly into him."Well, well," came a familiar voice that made my blood run

Aria's POVThe mirror reflected everything—my naked, trembling body pressed against Damian's fully clothed form, his hand around my throat, the way my eyes had gone wide and desperate as his fingers worked inside me."Clean them," he had commanded, and I'd obeyed without question, my tongue working over his fingers with desperate need.The taste of myself on his skin should have embarrassed me, should have made me pull away in shame. Instead, it only intensified the burning that coursed through my veins. The drug made everything feel heightened, every sensation amplified until I could barely think beyond the desperate need for more.When he lifted me from the shower, water still streaming from my hair and skin, I felt weightless in his arms. The contrast between his expensive suit and my naked, wet body should have reminded me of the vast distance between our worlds. Instead, all I could focus on was the solid warmth of his chest, the way his arms held me so effortlessly.The bedroom

Damian's POVThe expensive Turkish cigarette burned slowly between my fingers as I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the lights of Florence twinkle in the distance. The Montrosso estate's guest room had provided the perfect sanctuary for what had just transpired, far enough from the gala's festivities that no one would think to look for us here.Behind me, Aria lay the silk sheets, her breathing finally steady and deep. The drug had run its course, leaving her exhausted and unconscious.I took another drag from my cigarette, letting the nicotine calm the residual tension in my body. The evening had not gone according to plan—it never did when Adriana Montrosso was involved. But perhaps some good could come from this chaos after all.She's surprisingly compatible, I mused, studying Aria's sleeping form through the reflection in the window. Despite her humble origins, despite the vast gulf between our worlds, there was something about her that complemented me in ways I had