Chapter 10
1711 Words
SOPHIA
I stared at Luca.
For a few seconds, I genuinely couldn't process what I'd just heard.
“Marry you?”
“Yes.”
He said it so calmly, as though he had just asked me whether I wanted breakfast.
I blinked.
“You're serious?”
“Completely.”
I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
“This has to be a joke.”
“It isn't.”
I stood up from the chair.
“Luca, we've barely known each other.”
“I know.”
“And you're asking me to marry you?”
“Yes.”
“Because some men in your organization think it's immoral for me to live here?”
“That's part of it.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
His expression hardened slightly.
“No?”
“No.”
I took a breath.
“I can't marry you.”
He didn't say anything.
I expected him to argue.
Instead, he simply watched me.
That somehow made it worse.
“I'm sorry,” I continued. “But I can't make a decision this huge because people are pressuring you.”
“I'm not asking because they're pressuring me.”
“Then why?”
He looked at me.
For a moment, I couldn't read his expression.
“Because I want you here.”
My heart gave a strange little beat.
I ignored it.
“That's not enough.”
“I know.”
“And I don't want to wake up one day and realize I agreed to marry someone because I was afraid of what would happen if I said no.”
His jaw tightened.
“I would never force you.”
“Then let me leave.”
The words came out before I could stop them.
Silence.
Luca's expression changed.
“No.”
I stared at him.
“You just said you wouldn't force me.”
“I said I wouldn't force you to marry me.”
“Then what's the difference?”
“You're in danger.”
“So I'm supposed to stay here forever?”
“Until I know you're safe.”
“That isn't a life.”
His eyes narrowed.
“It's better than being dead.”
I flinched.
“Don't say that.”
“It's the truth.”
“No. It's your truth.”
I picked up my handbag.
“I want to go home.”
“Sophia.”
“I need my own life.”
“You don't have one to go back to.”
The words hurt.
I stared at him.
“My father is gone, Luca. I know that.”
My voice became quieter.
“But that doesn't mean I have to lose everything else too.”
He looked away.
I could tell he was angry.
So was I.
“I need space.”
“You can have space here.”
“That's not what I mean.”
I walked toward the door.
He didn't stop me.
I paused.
Maybe I expected him to.
Maybe part of me wanted him to.
But he didn't.
I left.
---
The following morning, I woke up with the same thought I'd gone to sleep with.
I needed to leave.
I couldn't spend the rest of my life hiding inside someone else's estate.
I couldn't marry Luca simply because it was convenient.
And I couldn't keep pretending that I understood his world.
I decided to go out.
Dante was assigned to accompany me.
He waited outside while I got into the car.
“Where are we going?”
“To get a few things.”
He nodded.
“Alright.”
The drive was quiet.
I watched the streets through the window.
Everything looked normal.
People were walking.
Cars were moving.
Shops were opening.
For a moment, I almost convinced myself that my life was normal too.
Then I remembered everything that had happened.
The kidnapping.
The people after me.
Luca's warning.
I sighed.
When we arrived, Dante parked.
“I'll wait here.”
“Okay.”
I walked into the shop.
I bought a few things.
Then I stepped outside.
Dante was still beside the car.
I looked around.
A strange thought crossed my mind.
I could leave.
Just for a little while.
I could walk.
I could think.
I didn't need anyone watching me every second.
I started walking.
At first, I told myself I'd only go around the corner.
Then another street.
Then another.
By the time I realized how far I'd gone, I no longer knew exactly where I was.
I stopped.
My heart sank.
“This is stupid.”
I turned around.
That's when I noticed the men.
There were three of them.
They were standing farther down the street.
One looked at me.
Then another.
I immediately started walking in the opposite direction.
A man stepped into my path.
“Excuse me.”
I stopped.
“Can I help you?”
He smiled.
It wasn't a friendly smile.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“Which home?”
I didn't answer.
He moved closer.
I stepped backward.
“Please move.”
Another man appeared behind me.
My heart started pounding.
I turned to run.
A hand grabbed my arm.
“Let me go!”
I struggled.
“Let me go!”
He tightened his grip.
Fear rushed through me.
I tried to pull away again.
Then I heard a car screech to a stop.
A familiar voice rang through the street.
“Take your hands off her.”
I froze.
Luca.
I turned.
He was standing several feet away.
I'd never seen him look like that.
His face was completely expressionless.
But his eyes—
They were furious.
Dante was already moving toward me.
“Miss Romano!”
I pulled away from the man and ran toward him.
Dante immediately positioned himself between me and the strangers.
Luca's men surrounded them.
Everything happened quickly after that.
I barely understood what was being said.
All I knew was that I was safe.
Again.
Because of him.
When everything was under control, Luca came toward me.
“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He looked at me carefully.
Then his expression changed.
“You left.”
I lowered my eyes.
“I know.”
“You disappeared.”
“I just wanted some time alone.”
“Alone?”
His voice rose slightly.
“You were supposed to stay with Dante.”
“I know.”
“I couldn't find you.”
I looked at him.
His anger was obvious.
But there was something else underneath it.
Fear.
“You have no idea what went through my head.”
He took a breath.
“I thought they'd taken you again.”
“I didn't mean to scare you.”
“You disappeared without telling anyone.”
“I was angry.”
“At me?”
“Yes.”
“Then you could have told me.”
I had no answer.
He looked away and ran a hand through his hair.
“I spent hours looking for you.”
My chest tightened.
“I didn't know.”
“Exactly.”
He looked back at me.
“You didn't know.”
His voice was quieter now.
“You didn't know what could have happened.”
I swallowed.
“I know now.”
He stared at me.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he said,
“Come home.”
Those two words affected me more than they should have.
Home.
I didn't know when the Moretti estate had started sounding like that.
But it did.
I nodded.
“Okay.”
---
The drive back was quiet.
I sat beside Luca, staring through the window.
My mind wouldn't stop replaying what had happened.
If Luca hadn't found me—
I didn't want to finish that thought.
I looked at him.
He was staring straight ahead.
“Luca?”
“Yes?”
“I'm sorry.”
He didn't respond immediately.
“I know.”
“I really am.”
He nodded.
After a moment, I spoke again.
“I don't want to run away anymore.”
His eyes moved toward me.
“I still don't know if I'm ready to marry you.”
“I won't pressure you.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
I looked down at my hands.
“But…”
He waited.
“I think I understand why you asked.”
He remained silent.
“You're trying to protect me.”
“Yes.”
“And you believe being your wife would make it easier for you to protect me.”
“Yes.”
I took a breath.
“But that's not the only reason.”
His expression changed slightly.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“You want me here.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He was quiet.
Then he answered simply.
“Because I care about you.”
I looked away.
My heart was beating faster.
I didn't know when that had become important to me.
But it had.
I looked out the window again.
Then I made my decision.
“Okay.”
Luca looked at me.
“Okay?”
I nodded.
“I'll marry you.”
He stared at me.
For the first time since I'd met him, Luca Moretti looked completely caught off guard.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
He frowned.
I laughed nervously.
“I'm terrified.”
He remained silent.
“But I'm more afraid of what will happen if I keep trying to face everything alone.”
I looked at him.
“So yes.”
I took a breath.
“I'll marry you.”
He didn't say anything for several seconds.
Then he reached for my hand.
I let him take it.
I stared down at our hands.
I still didn't know what I had just agreed to.
I was going to marry Luca Moretti.
The head of the Italian mafia.
The man whose world I barely understood.
The man I had once been terrified of.
And somehow, against all logic, the man I had begun to trust.
Maybe this was the beginning of something.
Or maybe it was the biggest mistake of my life.
Only time would tell.
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