Chapter 3 — Terms and Conditions
1261 Words
Sofia woke to sunlight she hadn’t asked for.
And a dress laid neatly across the foot of her bed that she definitely hadn’t asked for either.
For a few seconds, she didn’t move.
Then the ache in her shoulders reminded her.
The church.
The gunshot.
Marco.
Luca.
The locked door.
Sofia sat up slowly. She had fallen asleep against the headboard, still half-dressed in the ruins of a wedding gown that would never be worn again.
Her eyes returned to the dress.
Someone had come into her room during the night and left it there.
She hadn’t heard a thing.
That unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.
She showered in water that was almost too hot to stand beneath.
Still, Sofia didn’t turn it down.
She scrubbed at her skin as though she could wash the last twelve hours away. The dried blood at her knees. The smell of the church. The memory of Marco collapsing.
None of it disappeared.
Some things didn’t rinse off that easily.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, the dress was still waiting for her.
Simple.
Elegant.
And exactly her size.
Someone had done their homework.
Sofia stared at it for a moment before putting it on.
The alternative was staying trapped in yesterday’s nightmare.
And right now, even a borrowed life feels better than that.
She found Luca downstairs.
The room he occupied felt like both an office and a throne room.
Dark wood. Tall windows. A desk large enough to seat six people.
Luca sat behind it, already working.
His sleeves were rolled up, and a laptop sat open beside a stack of papers Sofia suspected she wasn’t meant to see.
He looked up when she entered.
Something in his expression shifted.
Not softened.
Recalibrated.
As if he was reassessing her now that she wasn’t covered in someone else’s blood.
“Sit.”
Sofia stopped in front of his desk.
“I’m not a dog.”
“No,” Luca agreed, completely unbothered. “Dogs listen better.”
Her jaw tightened.
Sofia sat anyway, mostly because her legs were still unsteady, and she refused to give him the satisfaction of watching her sway.
She perched on the edge of the chair, spine straight and chin raised.
Every inch the woman her mother had raised her to be.
“I assume this is where you explain the rules.”
“It is.”
Luca closed his laptop and folded his hands over it, giving her his full attention.
Somehow, that felt more dangerous than when he’d ignored her.
“The wedding happens tomorrow. Small. Private. A handful of witnesses and a priest who knows better than to ask questions.”
“And after that?”
“You live here.”
Sofia held his gaze.
“As your wife.”
“As my wife.”
The words settled heavily between them.
“In public, you’ll play the part well. Warmth. Loyalty. The occasional smile that suggests you tolerate me, at minimum.”
He paused.
“You’re capable of that much, I assume.”
Sofia folded her arms.
“I’m capable of a great many things you’re about to find out about the hard way.”
Something almost like amusement crossed Luca’s face.
“I look forward to it.”
She ignored the unwanted flutter in her chest.
“In private, you’ll have more freedom than you probably expect,” Luca continued. “This house, the gardens, and most of the estate are yours to move through. I’m not interested in keeping you in a cage.”
“You locked my door last night.”
“For your safety. Not mine.”
He said it simply, without defensiveness.
“There are people who would very much like to hurt you right now, Sofia, simply because of the name you’re about to carry. That door wasn’t about controlling you. It was about keeping you breathing.”
Sofia hadn’t considered that.
She filed the information away, unsure whether she believed him.
“And if I disobey?”
Luca leaned back in his chair.
“If I decide your rules don’t apply to me?”
He studied her with an intensity that made her want to look away.
So, naturally, she didn’t.
“You can hate me,” he said.
Sofia blinked.
“Hate me freely. Hate me every single day for the rest of your life if that’s what gets you through it. I don’t need your affection, Sofia. I never expected it.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then his voice lowered.
“But disobedience is different.”
The room suddenly felt quieter.
“Disobedience puts you in danger I can’t always undo. So hate me all you want. Just don’t lie to me.”
His gaze didn’t leave hers.
“And don’t run from me.”
Sofia’s breath caught.
“I will always find you.”
His voice remained calm.
Too calm.
“And I will not enjoy what happens after.”
It wasn’t a threat.
Not exactly.
It was worse.
It was a promise.
“You make it very hard to see you as anything other than a monster,” Sofia said quietly.
“I’ve never asked you to see me any other way.”
Luca stood and buttoned his jacket.
The conversation was over.
Of course it was.
Everything in this house seemed to end when Luca De Luca decided it did.
“There’s a dress fitting this afternoon. Someone will come for you at two.”
He walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
One hand rested against the frame.
Slowly, he looked back at her.
Really looked.
Sofia’s pulse stuttered despite herself.
“For what it’s worth,” he said, “I don’t think you’re capable of the kind of obedience I’m asking for.”
Sofia frowned.
Luca’s mouth almost curved into a smile.
“I don’t actually want it, either.”
“Then what exactly do you want?”
For the first time, Luca hesitated.
Only for a second.
“I need you to survive long enough to hate me properly.”
The words caught her completely off guard.
He held her gaze.
“Everything after that, we’ll figure out.”
Then he left.
Sofia remained sitting alone in the too-large office.
Sunlight fell in long stripes across the floor.
For several moments, she didn’t move.
Then she looked down.
Her hands had stopped shaking.
She couldn’t remember when.
That should have made her feel relieved.
Instead, it made her uneasy.
Because she didn’t know what it meant.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
Sofia looked up.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
But it wasn’t the servant she expected.
It was Enzo.
And the expression on his face made her stomach drop.
“Mr. De Luca asked me to tell you something,” he said.
Sofia slowly stood.
“What?”
Enzo hesitated.
Then his eyes moved toward the window.
“Someone tried to get through the gates this morning.”
Every muscle in Sofia’s body went still.
“Who?”
Enzo looked back at her.
His face was unreadable.
“Someone who knows exactly who you are.”
Sofia’s breath caught.
Luca’s words echoed inside her head.
There are people who would very much like to hurt you right now.
Her eyes moved toward the estate gates in the distance.
For the first time since arriving, she understood something terrifying.
Luca De Luca wasn’t the only thing she had to fear.
And whoever had come looking for her…
Already knew exactly where she was.
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