Chapter 6 : The things I can't control
1033 Words
Dante’s POV
I knew I was becoming a problem the moment I started memorizing the sound of her footsteps.
It was ridiculous.
Dangerous.
And completely out of control.
I leaned against the balcony railing outside my room, staring into the rain-soaked city below while trying not to think about Ava downstairs. Trying and failing.
Every conversation with her left me worse than before.
The way she looked at me when she was nervous.
The way her voice softened when she was trying not to argue.
Even the silence around her affected me now.
I hated it.
Because I wasn’t built for soft things.
And Ava was the softest thing I’d ever touched.
I dragged a hand down my face and exhaled sharply. This was exactly why I’d tried to stay away from her at first. My father had warned me before she arrived.
Don’t drag her into your mess.
Too late.
The problem was, Ava made me feel things I’d spent years burying under anger and control. Around everyone else, keeping control was easy. Natural.
Around her?
It felt impossible.
Every time that i***t Jay called her, something ugly twisted inside my chest. Jealousy wasn’t a feeling I was used to. Neither was fear.
But Ava somehow managed to create both.
I heard footsteps behind me and turned slightly.
My father stood in the doorway, watching me carefully.
“You look miserable,” he said dryly.
I laughed once under my breath. “Thanks.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “It’s the girl.”
Not even a question.
I stayed silent, which was answer enough.
He walked farther onto the balcony, resting his arms against the railing beside me. “You need to be careful, Dante.”
“There it is.”
“I’m serious.” His voice hardened. “You get attached to things too easily when they matter to you.”
I looked away toward the city lights. “She’s not a thing.”
“That’s exactly why I’m worried.”
The words sat heavily between us.
Because he was right.
This wasn’t some passing attraction anymore. It had become something darker. Deeper. The kind of feeling that crawled under your skin and stayed there.
And the worst part?
I didn’t think Ava understood how much power she already had over me.
I closed my eyes briefly, remembering the look on her face earlier when I stepped away from her in the kitchen.
Disappointment.
She’d tried to hide it, but I saw it.
And God, that nearly destroyed what little self-control I had left.
“You should send her away,” my father said quietly.
My jaw tightened instantly.
“No.”
The answer came too fast.
Too possessive.
My father noticed.
“She’s getting too close to you.”
I let out a cold laugh and stared back out at the rain. “That stopped being avoidable the second she walked into this house.”
And somewhere deep down, beneath all the obsession and tension and growing darkness between us…
I knew I was already doomed.I stayed on the balcony long after my father walked away.
Rain soaked the city in silver below me, the streets glowing under blurred lights, but none of it cleared my head. Ava was still there. Everywhere.
It was getting bad.
Worse than bad.
I’d spent years building control so carefully that people feared me for it. Nothing rattled me anymore. Not business. Not threats. Not violence.
Then she arrived, and suddenly I was losing sleep because another man made her laugh over the phone.
Pathetic.
I shoved away from the railing and headed downstairs, needing something stronger than coffee to quiet my thoughts.
The mansion was silent except for the distant ticking of the grandfather clock near the main hall. Most of the lights were off now, leaving only soft shadows stretching across the marble floors.
As I passed the library, I stopped.
Ava was inside.
Curled into the corner of the couch with a book resting in her lap, though she clearly wasn’t reading anymore. Her eyes looked tired, distant, lost in thought.
For a moment, I just stood there unnoticed, watching her.
That dangerous feeling in my chest tightened again.
Mine.
The thought came so naturally now it should’ve concerned me more than it did.
Ava finally glanced up and froze slightly when she saw me standing in the doorway.
“You scared me,” she murmured.
I leaned against the frame, crossing my arms. “You should be asleep.”
A faint smile touched her face. “You sound old.”
The sound of her teasing me so casually did something strange to my chest.
I walked farther into the room before I could stop myself. “What are you doing down here alone?”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Why?”
She looked at me for a second too long.
“You already know why.”
The honesty in her voice hit harder than I expected.
I looked away briefly, jaw tightening, because if she kept looking at me like that, I was eventually going to forget every reason I had for staying away from her.
Ava closed the book slowly and stood from the couch. “Can I ask you something?”
“Depends.”
“Why do you look at me like that?”
I frowned slightly. “Like what?”
“Like you’re trying to decide whether to protect me or ruin me.”
The words settled heavily between us.
Because the truth was, I didn’t know the answer anymore.
I stepped closer before thinking better of it. Ava stayed perfectly still, watching me carefully, her pulse visible in the delicate line of her throat.
“You make me feel things I don’t know how to handle,” I admitted quietly.
Something vulnerable flickered across her expression.
And that almost undid me completely.
The room suddenly felt too warm, too quiet. I could hear both of us breathing now. The distance between us disappeared slowly, naturally, like neither of us wanted to stop it.
Then Ava whispered my name.
Just my name.
But the sound of it nearly shattered the last bit of restraint I had left.
- Writer
