Chapter 3: You Should Have Said Yes
1074 Words
Aria couldn’t think straight.
Even after Dante left the café, it felt like the air around her had changed.
Heavier.
Like something unseen had settled over her life—quiet, suffocating, impossible to ignore.
“Aria?” Mia’s voice cut through her thoughts. “What was that?”
She blinked, forcing herself back to reality.
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “Just… someone I don’t know.”
But even as the words left her mouth, they felt wrong.
Because now she knew exactly who he was.
And that made everything worse.
The rest of her shift passed in a blur.
She dropped a cup.
Mixed up orders.
Burned her fingers on hot coffee.
At one point, a customer had to repeat their order three times before she even realized they were talking to her.
Her mind wasn’t there.
It kept replaying his words over and over again.
You’re in danger.
Marry me.
I won’t be there next time.
The way he said it—calm, certain—made it impossible to dismiss.
By the time her shift ended, her head was pounding.
“This is crazy,” she muttered as she stepped outside.
The sky had darkened, the evening settling in quietly. The streetlights flickered to life one by one, casting long shadows across the pavement.
She wrapped her arms around herself and started walking home.
“I’m not doing this,” she said under her breath. “I don’t care who he is.”
Her voice sounded stronger than she felt.
“No one gets to control my life.”
But deep down… something didn’t sit right.
That feeling from last night hadn’t left.
If anything, it had only grown stronger.
The street was quiet.
Too quiet.
Aria slowed slightly, her eyes scanning her surroundings.
That same uneasy feeling crept back in.
Wrong.
Like she was being watched.
She picked up her pace.
Her footsteps echoed softly against the pavement.
Then—
Another set of footsteps followed.
Her heart skipped.
Slow.
Measured.
Behind her.
She stopped.
The footsteps stopped too.
A cold chill ran down her spine.
Her fingers curled slightly as she forced herself to turn around.
Two men stood a few steps away.
Dressed in black.
Familiar.
Her breath caught instantly.
No.
“No…” she whispered, stepping back.
They didn’t speak.
Didn’t smile.
They just looked at her.
Cold. Focused.
Like they already knew what they were here for.
Fear exploded inside her chest.
She turned and ran.
Her heart pounded wildly as her feet hit the ground, faster and faster.
“Stop!” one of them shouted.
She didn’t listen.
She couldn’t.
Panic took over completely.
Her breathing became uneven as she turned into another street, her shoes slipping slightly against the pavement.
Her chest burned.
Her legs screamed.
But she didn’t stop.
She couldn’t stop.
If she did—
She didn’t even want to imagine what would happen.
The footsteps behind her grew louder.
Closer.
They were catching up.
“Help!” she tried to scream, but her voice came out weak, broken by fear.
No one answered.
The street was empty.
Of course it was.
Tears blurred her vision as panic tightened around her chest.
Her lungs felt like they were collapsing.
Her body was slowing down.
And they were getting closer.
She turned a corner—
And ran straight into someone.
A solid chest.
Strong hands caught her instantly, gripping her arms before she could fall.
Her heart dropped.
Not again—
But then she heard it.
“That was fast.”
That voice.
Low. Calm. Dangerous.
Relief and fear crashed into her at the same time.
She looked up.
Dante.
Of course it was him.
His grip tightened slightly as he steadied her, his presence solid, unshaken.
Behind her, the footsteps stopped.
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Dante didn’t look at her again.
His gaze shifted past her—cold, sharp, deadly.
“Leave.”
The word was quiet.
But powerful.
Aria turned slightly, her breath still uneven.
The two men stood frozen.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then slowly—
They stepped back.
And disappeared into the darkness.
Just like that.
As if they had never been there.
Aria’s legs felt weak.
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to breathe.
“They were really going to…” her voice broke.
“Yes,” Dante said.
No hesitation.
No comfort.
Just truth.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Because now there was no denying it.
This was real.
And it was happening to her.
Tears burned in her eyes as fear settled deep inside her chest.
She wasn’t safe.
Not anywhere.
She pulled slightly away from him, trying to regain some control.
“You followed me?” she asked weakly.
Dante didn’t answer immediately.
“I protect what becomes my responsibility,” he said instead.
Her heart skipped at his words.
“What does that even mean?”
“It means,” he stepped closer, his voice lowering, “you should have said yes.”
Silence stretched between them.
Aria swallowed hard.
Everything felt different now.
The fear.
The danger.
The reality.
“What happens if I say no again?” she asked quietly.
Dante looked at her for a long moment.
His gaze didn’t soften.
Didn’t change.
Then—
“You won’t survive it.”
Her breath caught.
The certainty in his voice left no room for doubt.
No room for argument.
Just truth.
Her hands trembled at her sides as her thoughts spiraled.
Her life.
Her freedom.
Her mother.
Everything was slipping out of her control.
And the only thing left…
Was him.
Dante reached into his pocket and pulled out a card.
He placed it in her hand, his fingers brushing hers briefly.
The contact sent a strange shiver through her.
“Call me when you’re ready to make the right decision,” he said.
Then he stepped back.
Creating distance.
Like he wasn’t forcing her.
Like the choice was hers.
Even though it didn’t feel that way at all.
Aria stared at the card in her hand.
Her grip tightened around it.
When she looked up again—
He was gone.
Just like before.
Leaving her alone in the quiet street.
But this time…
Everything had changed.
Because now she understood the truth.
She wasn’t just caught in something dangerous.
She was already part of it.
And the only way out…
Was through him.
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