Chapter 7: Dangerous Lines
710 Words
The next morning, everything felt different.
Dominic hadn’t told anyone about Aria’s late-night secret mission. He could have. He should have. But he didn’t.
Instead, he spent the whole night thinking about what she had signed to him.
Her father was killed.
She was here for answers.
And now... she didn’t want to run.
Dominic understood more than she knew.
His world was full of shadows. His family had made enemies in every direction. Maybe one of them had taken her father. Maybe it was even someone in his own bloodline.
He didn’t want to believe that.
But deep down, he knew it was possible.
---
Aria sat on the edge of her bed, her fingers shaking slightly as she tied her hair back.
Last night had changed everything. Dominic knew the truth now. And he didn’t walk away.
She should have felt exposed. Weak.
But she didn’t.
She felt... understood.
And that made her heart ache.
---
Dominic knocked on her door mid-morning.
When she opened it, he held out a single white flower.
Just one.
Her favorite.
She took it gently, her fingers brushing his. Her eyes met his.
He smiled and signed:
[Truce?]
She nodded.
But it wasn’t just a truce.
It was a promise.
---
They spent the day together again — but not like before.
They didn’t play pretend.
They were real now.
Real truths. Real tension. Real feelings.
Dominic brought her to a hidden room in the Romano estate — one she had never seen.
“This used to be my mother’s library,” he said softly. “No one comes in here anymore.”
The room smelled like old paper and roses. The windows were dusty, but the sunlight streamed through in soft gold lines.
Aria ran her fingers over the books.
She turned to him and signed:
[Why are you showing me this?]
Dominic sat on the couch across from her. His green eyes locked with hers.
“Because if I’m going to trust you,” he said, “you need to know who I really am.”
---
He told her about his mother — how she died when he was fifteen.
She wasn’t part of the mafia world. She wanted out. But no one leaves the family without a cost.
“They said it was an accident,” Dominic whispered. “But I never believed that.”
Aria watched him closely. She could see the pain in his eyes — the same pain she carried.
She reached for her notebook and wrote something down.
Then passed it to him.
> “I don’t have a voice. But I still want to hear your truth.”
Dominic swallowed hard.
“I never thought anyone would care,” he said.
She took his hand.
And held it tightly.
---
That evening, things changed again.
Dominic got a call from his uncle Marco — the same one who had harassed Aria in the hallway days ago.
“We have a problem,” Marco said coldly. “The DeLucas are moving.”
The DeLucas.
Aria’s family.
Dominic kept his voice calm. “What kind of move?”
Marco sounded suspicious. “They’re asking questions. Looking for something.”
Dominic’s heart pounded. If they were getting close to the truth, that meant danger was coming fast.
He couldn’t let Aria get caught in the middle.
He wouldn’t.
---
Later that night, Aria stood on the rooftop balcony alone, looking at the stars.
Dominic joined her in silence.
She turned when she heard his footsteps, her expression calm but curious.
He handed her a small device — a burner phone.
“If things go bad,” he said, “you take this and run.”
She stared at it.
Then signed:
[And you?]
Dominic looked down.
“I’ll handle it.”
[I’m not leaving without you.]
He blinked.
Her hands moved again.
[Don’t ask me to run if you’re planning to stay behind.]
A long pause.
Then Dominic nodded.
“No one runs,” he said. “Not this time.”
---
They stood there in silence, side by side.
Enemies once.
Now something more.
But the danger wasn’t over.
It was just getting closer.
And the more they cared, the more they had to lose.
- Writer
