The Devil’s Patience
1409 Words
Luca’s POV
Morning light spilled through the tall windows of the mansion, pale and quiet against the dark wood floors. The house was silent at this hour. Most of the men were outside changing shifts. The city beyond the walls was just beginning to wake.
But I had already been awake for hours.
Sleep had never been something I relied on.
Not since the night my wife died.
Water rolled slowly down my chest as I stood beneath the shower in my private bathroom. Steam filled the room, curling against the glass walls.
Yet even under the heat, my mind was not here.
It was upstairs.
In that room.
With her.
Bella Romano.
The daughter of the man who destroyed my life.
My fingers curled slowly against the cold marble wall as the memory pushed into my mind again.
Blood on the floor.
My wife lying there.
Her eyes already empty.
Romano standing across the room with that gun in his hand.
I closed my eyes.
For years I had imagined the moment I would take revenge.
Years.
And last night, in a dark alley soaked with rain, I finally watched Romano fall to the ground with a bullet in his chest.
Dead.
Gone.
Justice served.
But the strange thing was…
It didn’t feel like enough.
Because while he had taken the love of my life…
I had taken something much more precious from him.
His daughter.
A slow smile formed on my lips as I turned the water off.
Bella Romano.
The treasure he had hidden from the world.
The one thing he had kept untouched by his dirty empire.
He had hidden her well.
Very well.
Most men in the mafia world didn’t even know she existed.
But I knew.
I always knew.
And now she was here.
Inside my house.
Under my control.
Wrapped in fear.
And the thought alone made something dark inside me feel satisfied.
I dried off slowly, pulling on a black shirt and dark trousers before leaving the bathroom.
The hallway outside my room was quiet.
Shadow stood near the staircase like he always did in the mornings.
He looked up when he saw me.
“Morning, boss.”
I nodded once.
“How is she?”
Shadow already knew who I meant.
“She barely slept,” he said. “She cried most of the night.”
Something strange flickered in my chest.
I ignored it.
“Did she eat?”
“No.”
Of course she didn’t.
Fear had a way of stealing hunger.
I walked toward the stairs calmly.
“Anyone try to contact her?” I asked.
“No. Phones are blocked.”
Good.
Bella was completely cut off from the outside world now.
Exactly how I wanted it.
I climbed the staircase slowly.
Every step echoed softly in the quiet mansion.
The hallway upstairs stretched long and silent.
Her room was the last door on the right.
When I reached it, I stopped.
For a moment, I simply stood there.
Then I opened the door.
Slowly.
The room was dim.
The curtains were still closed.
Bella stood near the large window, staring out through a small space she had pulled open between the heavy curtains.
Her hair fell down her back in dark waves.
She had changed into the sweater Shadow gave her.
It was too big for her.
The sleeves covered most of her hands.
She looked smaller than I remembered from the alley.
Fragile.
But the moment she heard the door open, her body went stiff.
She turned quickly.
And when her eyes met mine…
The fear returned immediately.
Good.
Fear meant control.
“Did you sleep well?” I asked calmly.
Her eyes flashed with anger.
“You killed my father.”
Straight to the point.
I stepped inside the room and closed the door behind me.
“Yes,” I said simply.
She looked like she wanted to hit me.
“I hope it was worth it,” she said through clenched teeth.
“It was.”
The words came out colder than the morning air.
Her chest rose and fell quickly as she fought her emotions.
“You're a monster,” she whispered.
I leaned casually against the wall.
“Maybe.”
Her eyes moved around the room again.
Looking for exits.
Looking for weapons.
Looking for hope.
There was none.
“You can stop searching,” I said quietly.
“There is nowhere for you to run.”
Her jaw tightened.
“I will find a way.”
I pushed away from the wall slowly.
“Will you?”
Each step I took toward her made her take one back.
Until her back touched the window.
She had nowhere else to go.
The air between us suddenly felt heavy.
Tense.
Her breathing grew faster as I stopped only inches away from her.
Up close, I could see everything.
The red marks under her eyes from crying.
The way her lips trembled slightly.
The way her pulse moved in her throat.
Beautiful.
Far more beautiful than I expected.
And that was dangerous.
My hand lifted slowly.
She flinched.
But I didn’t touch her face.
Instead, my fingers wrapped gently around her wrist.
Her skin was warm.
Soft.
Delicate.
She tried to pull away.
I tightened my grip slightly.
Not enough to hurt her.
Just enough to remind her who was in control.
“You hate me,” I said quietly.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Her brows furrowed.
“Why?”
Because hatred was powerful.
Because hatred kept her thinking about me.
Because hatred was only a few steps away from something much more dangerous.
Desire.
My thumb slowly brushed against the inside of her wrist.
I felt the moment her breathing changed.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Interesting.
She noticed it too.
The small reaction.
Her pulse suddenly racing beneath my fingers.
“You should be careful, Bella,” I murmured.
Her voice shook slightly. “Careful of what?”
I leaned closer.
Close enough that she could feel my breath against her cheek.
“Your body.”
Her brows tightened.
“What?”
“It reacts,” I said softly.
Her face turned red immediately.
“I hate you.”
“Your body disagrees.”
Her eyes flashed.
“You're disgusting.”
Maybe.
But the way her breath caught when I moved closer told me something she didn’t want to admit.
I released her wrist slowly.
But instead of stepping back…
I lifted my hand and gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
Her body froze.
Completely still.
Like a deer standing in front of a predator.
“Your father protected you from this world,” I said quietly.
“From men like me.”
Her eyes burned with anger.
“You didn’t deserve my father.”
I smiled slightly.
“No.”
My hand moved down slowly.
My fingers tilted her chin upward.
“Which is exactly why he shouldn’t have taken my wife from me.”
The words hung heavy in the air.
Her eyes widened.
For the first time…
I saw something new in them.
Confusion.
“You… what?”
I stepped back.
Just enough space to breathe again.
Then I walked toward the table near the bed.
A single black folder rested there.
I picked it up slowly.
Bella watched every movement carefully.
“What is that?” she asked.
I turned back toward her.
“This,” I said calmly, placing the folder on the bed,
“is your future.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I don’t want anything from you.”
I opened the folder.
Inside were several pages.
A pen rested neatly beside them.
I looked up at her again.
“You will.”
She didn’t move.
So I spoke the words slowly.
Clearly.
“Sign this contract, Bella Romano.”
Her stomach visibly tightened.
“And what happens if I don’t?”
I smiled.
Not kindly.
“Then I stop protecting you.”
Her face paled.
“There are men in this city far worse than me.”
I stepped closer again.
Slow.
Controlled.
“And right now…”
I placed the pen gently in front of her.
“You belong to the only one who is willing to keep you alive.”
Her eyes moved from the pen…
To the contract…
Then back to me.
And the room fell completely silent.
Because the real game had just begun.
- Writer
