Chapter SIX| Enermies out of Shadows
704 Words
Chapter 6
Zara sat on the edge of the bed, fingers tightening around the hem of her dress. The room was quiet—too quiet. The kind that made her thoughts louder, heavier.
Roberto’s words still lingered in her head.
“I’m not helping them. I’m surviving.”
She had stared at him, not knowing what to say. Not knowing what to feel. And now, back in this gold-trimmed prison, the weight of that sentence pressed on her chest like a stone.
So... was that what life had become?
Survival?
A girl barely seventeen. Taken. Bought. Caged in a mansion with three strangers who called themselves her caretakers—but whose eyes said otherwise.
She stood up and walked slowly to the mirror, her reflection barely recognizable. The girl staring back had sorrow in her eyes. But deeper than the sorrow, something else had started to flicker—defiance.
She wasn’t going to break. Not like that.
There was a soft knock at the door.
Before she could answer, the handle turned. It wasn’t Luca. Not Matteo. Not Adrian.
It was Roberto again.
He stepped inside carefully, as if not wanting to be seen. In his hand, he held a book.
“You left this in the lounge,” he said, holding it out.
Zara didn’t remember picking any book.
“I didn’t—” she began, but stopped. The look in his eyes wasn’t about the book.
He stepped closer and whispered, “Don’t try anything tonight. They’re watching.”
She blinked.
Roberto looked at her with something that almost resembled concern. “They’re not just men. They’re shadows. You don’t run from shadows.”
He turned and left, leaving her confused… and angry.
That night, dinner was quiet.
She sat at the long dining table, surrounded by gold candlesticks and silverware too heavy for comfort.
Luca sat to her left, silent as always. Adrian to her right, watching her like she was a puzzle he hadn't yet figured out. Matteo, at the far end, was eating without speaking.
The silence was uncomfortable, yet no one broke it.
Until Adrian leaned closer and smirked. “You like books?”
Zara looked at him, then looked away.
He chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“I want to go home,” she said suddenly, surprising even herself.
Matteo glanced up. “This is your home.”
“No, it’s not. I had a family. I had a life.”
Luca wiped his mouth calmly and placed his napkin on the table. “You still have a life. It’s just different now.”
Zara stood up. “You think because this place is beautiful, it makes it right? You bought me.”
“You were already bought,” Matteo said without emotion. “We just outbid the others.”
She clenched her fists. “You’re monsters.”
Adrian stood up too, slow and casual. “Careful, princess. This ‘monster’ just saved you from worse.”
Luca gave him a sharp look.
Zara’s voice broke, “I’m not staying here.”
“You are,” Luca replied, calm as ever.
“For your safety. For your future.”
“I don’t want your future.”
“That’s not your choice anymore,”
Matteo said, standing. “Roberto will take you back to your room.”
Zara stormed off before Roberto could arrive.
Back in her room, she paced.
Every fiber in her body screamed for escape. She didn’t know where she’d go or how far she’d get—but anything was better than this.
She opened her window. Two stories high. A garden below.
She hesitated.
Footsteps.
She backed away quickly. The door opened and there he was—Roberto again.
He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. His face was pale. Serious.
“I told you not to try anything tonight.”
“I didn’t—”
“They know. They’re testing you.”
“Testing me?”
“To see if you’ll fight or break.”
Zara’s breath caught.
“What happens if I fight?”
Roberto didn’t answer. He just looked at her, eyes tired. “Don’t make enemies out of shadows.”
And then he left.
- Writer
