Chapter Ten: Torn Between Worlds
886 Words
“Aria!”
The voice echoed again through the mansion’s marble halls—laced with panic and desperate love.
She turned, heart thundering, and saw her mother first. Evelyn Vale. Pale-faced and teary-eyed, she rushed through the door in her blazer and boots, eyes locked on Aria like she was water in a desert.
Then her father. Strong, grim-faced, fire in his stride. Behind them, FBI agents fanned through the foyer with drawn weapons, sweeping corners and shouting orders.
Aria’s feet froze. Her voice caught in her throat.
She hadn’t seen them in nearly a month. And yet it felt like years.
Lucien moved in front of her instinctively, a shield.
“Get back,” he said coolly, voice like steel. “She’s not hurt. She's not a hostage.”
“She’s our daughter,” Evelyn snapped. “And you’re a criminal.”
“Mother?” Aria stepped forward, slipping around Lucien, pulse racing.
Her parents rushed to her. Her mother enveloped her in trembling arms while her father cupped her face, eyes flicking over her to check for bruises, damage, pain.
“You’re okay,” her father whispered. “Thank God. We thought—Jesus, we thought you were—”
“Dead,” her mother breathed. “Or worse.”
Aria swallowed hard, her eyes flicking to Lucien, who stood tense, unreadable, as agents closed in around him.
“He didn’t hurt me,” she said quickly. “He didn’t force me. I’m—I'm not what you think I am.”
Her mother blinked. “What… are you saying?”
“I came here to expose him,” Aria said, voice cracking. “But I stayed because it wasn’t that simple. He saved me. From his enemies. From a man who tried to kill me. You don’t understand—”
Lucien raised a hand. “Stop.”
One word. Soft, but sharp.
He turned to the agents.
“I’ll come quietly.”
“Lucien—” Aria started.
But his eyes—dark and resigned—held hers.
“They’ve come for you. Your world is calling you back. Don’t fight it, mi flor. Not for me.”
As the agents moved in, Rafael appeared, throwing up his hands in annoyance. “Well, this just got dramatic.”
“Shut up,” Lucien snapped.
But Aria stepped in between them all, defiant.
“No one is arresting him. Not like this.”
The lead agent—a hard-eyed woman with a badge clipped to her belt—raised an eyebrow. “You’re in no position to make demands.”
“Then let me make a statement,” Aria said. “Lucien Rivas kidn*pped me, yes. But he also protected me. No bruises. No threats. I stayed of my own free will after the first week. I want a lawyer before you lay a hand on him.”
Lucien blinked at her—like she’d spoken a language he’d never heard before.
“You’re defending me,” he murmured.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she whispered. “But I know I’m not done with you.”
The room went still.
Then Evelyn’s voice cut through the silence.
“Aria. We didn’t raise you to fall for the first devil who held you captive.”
“I didn’t fall,” Aria said. “I dove.”
Rafael coughed behind her. “So... anyone want tea?”
An hour later, the situation was under tense negotiation.
Lucien was not arrested—at least not immediately. His lawyers arrived within the hour. Rafael, in all his charm, stalled agents with drinks and irrelevant chatter.
Aria sat in her room while her mother paced.
“You’re not thinking straight,” Evelyn said. “This man—he took your freedom. You’re suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.”
“No,” Aria said. “I know what that is. I know what this is. And it’s not that.”
Her father sat across from her, silent. His eyes held more understanding than she expected.
“You care about him,” he said finally.
Aria nodded.
“But is it love?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “It’s like… gravity. He pulls me in. And when he’s near, I can’t tell what’s right or wrong anymore.”
Her mother rubbed her temples. “Then we need to get you far away from him. Somewhere quiet. You need space.”
And for the first time, Aria wasn’t sure she agreed.
Later that night, after the house settled and the agents withdrew, Lucien came to her room. He didn’t knock.
He just stood there in the doorway, shadows cutting across his face.
“You stood up for me,” he said quietly. “Why?”
“Because you’re not the monster they think you are.”
He stepped inside. Closed the door. Walked to her slowly.
“I’m not a hero, Aria. I’ve done terrible things. I’ve bled this world dry.”
“And yet you let me walk into your heart anyway.”
He stopped inches from her.
“This can’t last,” he said. “Sooner or later, your family will drag you away.”
“Then let’s make it matter while it does.”
She reached for him.
And this time, he didn’t hesitate.
- Writer
