FIAMMA
1266 Words
CHAPTER TWO
Luciano>>>
The moment she stepped into my sight, I knew she wasn’t Aurelia.
No soft curves hiding fear. No timid glance darting down. No trembling submission. Serenity Romano walked into that church like she’d been thrown into a battlefield and decided she would not die on her knees.
Even from across the aisle, I could read her,the tightness in her jaw, the controlled fury in her steps, the deliberate way she lifted her chin at the whispers. A wolf dressed in white lace. Beautiful. Dangerous. Unbroken.
The church gasped the moment she appeared, a ripple of confusion and scandal moving like wind through fire. I didn’t need to turn to see the look on her father’s face; I could feel it,the cold, controlled panic beneath his pride. Whatever had happened to Aurelia, he didn’t want anyone asking questions.
But I wasn’t fooled. I’d met Aurelia twice before the engagement. Sweet girl. Too gentle for this world. While this one,this Serenity carried herself like she’d bitten the hand that tried to tame her.
When she reached me at the altar, I extended my hand. She didn’t take it right away. Her hesitation lasted only a second, but I felt it like a blade slipping between my ribs.
The moment our fingers touched, her pulse betrayed her. She was trembling,not from fear, but from fury. I almost smiled.
Her eyes lifted to mine, defiant and sharp. “Let’s get this over with,” she whispered under her breath.
I leaned slightly closer, just enough for only her to hear. “Careful, Fiamma. The ceremony hasn’t even started.”
Her gaze didn’t waver. “Then pray I don’t end it before it does.”
God, she was trouble.
---
The vows passed in a haze of practiced words and meaningless tradition. When it came time for the kiss, I didn’t hesitate.
it wasn’t tender,I claimed her mouth like I was starved
She didn’t freeze. She fought. Her mouth yielded only to push back, and her breath hitched not in submission but challenge. For one wild heartbeat, I thought she’d slap me right there, in front of everyone.
I wouldn't have stopped her
---
In the car, the silence was a blade’s edge.
The city’s glow blurred past the windows, rain, and lightning. Serenity sat beside me, stiff, arms crossed, jaw locked tight enough to crack.
I waited, giving her space to break the silence first. She did.
“You must be disappointed,” she said finally, her tone pure venom. “You expected a lamb. You got a wolf.”
I turned to her, unhurried, letting my gaze travel from her throat to her lips before meeting her eyes. She flinched barely.
“No, Serenity,” I said quietly. “I got exactly what I needed.”
Her smirk was small but sharp. “Be careful what you wish for, husband.”
“I always am.”
The smallest sound escaped her, something between a scoff and a laugh, she turned back to the window pretending indifference, but i could see the pulse at her throat the faint tremor of adrenaline she didn’t want to show. The sound of her defiance was sweeter than most music.
I leaned back against the seat, watching her reflection in the window. She didn’t realize it yet, but every word, every glare, every spark of rebellion was exactly what drew her tighter to me.
---
When the car stopped in front of the mansion, she exhaled, Her eyes swept over the stone and ivy,the iron gates,the weight of generation built into every brick.
The Moretti mansion had been built by men who understood power. The gates stood like sentinels; the air itself tasted of legacy and blood.
I stepped out first. She hesitated a moment before following, her heels clicking on the cobblestone.
She refused to take my hand......Of course she did.
she ignored the butlers greetings and just walked like she knew where the hell she was going.
“Welcome home, Mrs. Moretti,” I said,voice even.
Her glare could’ve melted gold. “You mean my prison?”
“Prisons have locks,” I replied, voice calm. “This place only has boundaries. You’ll learn the difference.”
She said nothing, but the muscle in her jaw ticked. I noticed. I noticed everything.
---
The hall was dim, the flickering light from the fireplace painting her face in shades of amber and shadow.
“Sit,” I ordered, motioning to the velvet chair before the fire.
She didn’t move. “You like giving orders, don’t you?”
I smiled faintly. “Only when I expect them to be followed.”
Her lips curved. “Then you’ll be disappointed often.”
I took a step closer, then another, until she had to tilt her head back to meet my eyes. “You think you’re the first to test me?”
“No,” she said softly, “but maybe I’ll be the last.”
That earned her a low chuckle. “Bold.”
“I learned from the best.”
Her tone dripped sarcasm, but beneath it, there was a flicker of something else hurt. Fear buried under pride.
“You don't like your father very much, do you,” I said suddenly, reading her silence.
Her eyes flashed. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“Not yet,” I admitted. “But I will.”
our eyes held, the air shifted , not heat, not attraction, just awareness, a silent understanding that neither of us would yield.
“There are rules here,” I said, each word measured. “cross them, and you’ll learn quickly how much it costs.”
“I’ve never been good at following rules,” she shot back instantly.
“I noticed.”
She raised a brow. “And what happens when I break one?”
“Depends,” I said, pausing to face her. “On whether I’m feeling merciful.”
She leaned forward slightly, fire burning in her eyes. “And if you’re not?”
My voice dropped. “Then you’ll learn that defiance has its limits ”
She held my gaze for a long, dangerous second before standing. Her chin lifted, daring me.
“Maybe you'll learn i don't have any ”
I smiled—slow, dark, and real. “I don’t doubt that.”
---
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The only sound was the fire crackling and the faint rhythm of her breathing.
Then I said it,the word that came to me without thought, but fit her so perfectly.
“Fiamma.”
Her brow furrowed slightly. “What?”
“It means flame,” I murmured. “Because that’s what you are.”
She looked away, pretending not to care, but I saw the flicker in her eyes, surprise, maybe confusion.
“Remember it,” I continued softly. “Every time you test me, every time you fight, every time you walk into a room like you own it… that's the part of you ill see.”
“And what will you do with it?” she asked, voice steady.
“that depends on you”
Her eyes narrowed slightly,searching mine, I let her look, I had nothing to hide.
“Goodnight, Fiamma.” I said finally.
I turned and left her there, standing alone bathed in firelight and silence, still pretending she didn’t care.
but as I walked away, one truth settled in my mind.
Serenity Romano was chaos wrapped in grace. And for the first time in a long while.... I wasn't bored
- Writer
