Bound By Invisible Chains

Chapter 4

Lucy left Matteo's office with her heart still beating too fast.

Rosa was already waiting in the hallway. Without a word, the older woman began leading her through the mansion.

They walked past rooms Lucy had no desire to see - a large formal dining room with a table long enough for twenty, a dim study filled with heavy furniture and the faint smell of cigar smoke, a sunroom that opened onto a perfectly manicured garden. Each new space sparked a small, unwanted flicker of curiosity in her chest. She quickly buried it. Curiosity was dangerous. Wanting things was dangerous.

Rosa finally stopped in front of a pair of tall double doors and pushed them open.

The library.

Tall shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, filled with more books than Lucy had ever seen in one place. Soft light filtered through high windows. The quiet felt different here - almost gentle.

"You may take a few if you wish," Rosa said.

Lucy hesitated, then carefully selected three books and held them close to her chest as she was led back upstairs.

For the next few hours she sat on the edge of her bed reading in silence. The words helped quiet the noise in her head, but only a little. Every time she shifted she felt the faint pull of the bandages and remembered the way

Matteo's thumb had brushed near the birthmark on her neck.

A soft knock interrupted the quiet.

Rosa opened the door. "Mr. Moretti is asking for you."

Lucy's stomach tightened. She followed Rosa downstairs once more.

Matteo was still in his office. When she entered he looked up immediately.

"Sit."

She obeyed.

They sat in silence for a short while before Ryan entered with a tablet. He glanced at Lucy once, then focused on Matteo.

"The businesses are already shut down," Ryan reported carefully. "Accounts frozen. They won't be able to touch anything by the end of the day."

Lucy's breath caught. She kept her eyes on her hands, but she understood every word. Her aunt. Her stepfather. Everything they had was being taken away.

Ryan finished and left.

Matteo's dark eyes settled on her.

"Does that bother you?"

Lucy's voice came out soft and uncertain. "I... I don't know how to feel."

"Good. You don't have to protect people who never protected you."

He leaned back. "Come here."

She hesitated.

"Come here," he repeated, firmer.

She walked slowly around the desk. Matteo remained seated and reached out, taking her wrist with careful fingers.

His thumb brushed over her pulse, slow and deliberate. The air grew thick. Lucy's heart pounded so loudly she was certain he could hear it.

After a moment he released her.

"From now on you will also join me for dinner."

She nodded once.

"You may go."

It was early afternoon when she returned to her room. She lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, the three books waiting on the nightstand, her thoughts drifting without direction.

Evening settled over the mansion.

Lucy was halfway through the second book when the door opened without a knock. She sat up quickly, blue eyes wide.

Matteo stood in the doorway, dressed in a black button-down with the sleeves rolled to his forearms. He walked past her and sat on the couch near the window, one ankle resting over the opposite knee.

"M-Mr. Matteo?" she asked softly. "Is there anything you need?"

He looked at her for a moment. "Get dressed. You're coming out with me."

Confusion flickered across her face. She wanted to ask where, but the question died on her tongue. She already knew he probably wouldn't answer.

As she turned toward the walk-in closet, his deep voice followed her.

"We're going to eat dinner."

Surprise tightened her chest. She had expected chores. Rosa had never once let her touch a broom since she arrived, but dinner outside the house felt like something else entirely.

She nodded quietly and stepped into the closet.

Rows of soft, well-cut dresses stared back at her. After a long moment of hesitation she chose a blue knee-length dress. The fabric was smooth and slightly stretchy, the color a deep, soft navy that made her light skin look warmer. It had a gentle U-neckline that framed her collarbones without dipping too low, short sleeves that rested just off the shoulders, and a fitted waist that followed the natural curve of her body before falling cleanly to her knees. Simple. Elegant. Nothing vulgar - yet it still showed the shape she usually tried to hide.

When she stepped out, her hands were clasped behind her back and her eyes were fixed on the floor.

Matteo looked up from his phone. A slow smile curved his lips as he took her in.

"Come."

She walked toward him, still not looking up.

"Closer."

Her heart stuttered. She lifted her gaze to his. He reached out, took her hand, and pulled her forward. She landed on his lap with a soft gasp. His arm slid around her waist, firm and warm.

Lucy stiffened immediately. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had held her this close. The heat of his body, the solid strength of his arm, the scent of his cologne - everything felt too much.

"Look at me."

She raised her head. His dark eyes were steady, unreadable, and far too close.

"How do you see the set of clothes in the closet?" he asked. "Are they to your liking?"

She stayed silent for a second, then nodded.

"Good. So what made you pick this specific one?" A cocky smile played on his lips.

"...Nothing. I just... picked any one."

"Oh really?" He pulled her a fraction closer. "Or you wanted to impress me and show me how good you look?"

Heat flooded her face. She shook her head quickly and tried to stand, but his arm held her in place.

"N-no. Not anything like... like that."

His smile widened at her flustered reaction. He simply stared at her, dark eyes moving slowly over her face until she felt like she might disappear under the weight of it. She couldn't think straight. Couldn't breathe properly.

Then, just as suddenly, he released his grip.

She stood almost immediately, head down.

Matteo chuckled low in his throat, rose from the couch, and walked out of the room without another word.

Lucy stood frozen for a second.

I think I'm supposed to follow him.

She hurried after him, trying to match his longer strides.

Why is my heart beating like this? This man knows exactly what he's doing. Accusing me of trying to seduce him... I would never...

The black car was already waiting. She slid into the back seat and stared out the window, lost in the storm of her own thoughts.

For the rest of the ride her mind spun around him - the way he had pulled her onto his lap, the heat of his arm, the way he looked at her like he already owned every quiet thought in her head. She didn't notice when he took out his phone and began scrolling. She only noticed the city lights sliding past the window until the car finally slowed and stopped.

Matteo stepped out first, then held the door for her. His hand closed around hers as he led her toward a quiet, elegant restaurant with soft golden lighting and no visible sign on the door. Private. Exclusive. The kind of place that didn't need a name.

Lucy's eyes moved everywhere - the dark wood, the low candles, the way the staff greeted Matteo with quiet respect and didn't look at her twice. She didn't understand any of it, and she said nothing.

They were seated at a corner table. Menus appeared and disappeared. Food arrived. Only after they had begun eating did Matteo set his fork down and look at her directly.

"Tell me about yourself."

The command in his voice was soft but unmistakable.

Lucy's fingers tightened around her napkin. "I... there's not much to tell."

"Start with your mother."

The question landed like a stone. She looked down at her plate.

"I don't remember her well," she said quietly after a long pause. "She died when I was seven. After that I was sent to live with my aunt and... my stepfather."

Matteo's eyes didn't leave her face. "Why did they treat you the way they did?"

She swallowed. "I don't know. My aunt always said I was a burden. That my mother left her with nothing but me. My stepfather never stopped her. He just... watched."

"Did they ever hit you before the night I took you?"p

Lucy's throat tightened. She didn't want to answer this one. The words felt too heavy, too exposing. But the way he was looking at her left no room for refusal.

"...Yes," she whispered. "For a long time."

Something dark flickered behind Matteo's eyes, but his voice stayed controlled. "And you never tried to leave?"

"Where would I have gone?" The question came out softer than she intended. "I had no money. No friends. Nowhere else."

He asked more - about school, about whether she had ever had anyone she trusted, about the books she liked, about what she did when the house was quiet and no one was yelling.

One by one she answered, each reply pulled from her like a thread she couldn't stop from unraveling.

By the time she finished, she felt stripped bare. He knew everything now. The years of quiet suffering. The bruises.

The loneliness. The small, stubborn hope she had kept hidden even from herself.

She hated that he had made her say it out loud.

Matteo watched the way her shoulders curved inward, the way she stared at her plate as if the food could hide her. Satisfaction settled low in his chest - not because of her pain, but because she had given him the truth herself. He could have sent Ryan to the aunt's house and learned every detail in an hour. He hadn't. He had wanted the words from her mouth. He had wanted her to hand him the pieces of her past like an offering.

"What do you like to do when you're bored?" he asked after a stretch of silence.

Lucy's voice was almost inaudible. "I... like to read."

He nodded once, as if filing the information away permanently.

When the meal ended he paid without looking at the bill and led her back to the car, her hand once again in his.

The next stop was a quiet, high-end mall that stayed open late. Matteo walked her through a few stores with the same calm authority he used everywhere else. He bought her a new phone - sleek, expensive, already activated - and a small collection of snacks she had glanced at for half a second too long. At a low table near the phone counter he helped her set the device up, his larger hands occasionally brushing hers as he showed her the basic functions.

When everything was finished he locked eyes with her.

"No man's number enters this phone without my permission. Do you understand?"

Lucy nodded quickly. "Okay."

The warning was soft. Absolute. And somehow more intimate than anything he had said all evening.

By the time they returned to the mansion, the night was deep and quiet. Matteo walked her to her door but didn't follow her inside. He simply looked at her for a long moment - the blue dress, the faint flush still on her cheeks, the way she hovered in the doorway as if unsure whether she was allowed to close it.

"Good night, Luciana."

Then he turned and walked away, leaving her standing there with a new phone in her hand, a head full of questions, and the ghost of his arm still wrapped around her waist.

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