His Bride,Their Prey

Chapter 3

The room remained deathly silent.

No one dared speak.

No one dared move.

The stranger stood beside Alessandro Moretti with both hands tucked neatly behind his back.

His presence alone seemed to steal the air from the room.

I slowly lifted my head.

For the first time...

I saw his face clearly.

He couldn't have been much older than twenty-nine.

Jet-black hair.

Cold blue eyes.

Sharp features carved from stone.

There wasn't a single trace of emotion on his face.

No sympathy.

No curiosity.

Nothing.

He looked...

Untouchable.

Dangerous.

Like the kind of man who'd order someone's death before finishing his morning coffee.

His gaze swept across the room.

It never lingered.

It never hesitated.

Until...

It landed on me.

Those icy blue eyes studied me.

My tear-stained cheeks.

My trembling body.

The bruises already forming around my wrists.

For one brief second...

Neither of us looked away.

Then...

He looked past me.

As though I were nothing more than another piece of furniture.

My chest tightened.

I hated him instantly.

Alessandro broke the silence.

"You're late."

"I was finishing business."

His voice was calm.

Deep.

Every word precise.

No wasted movement.

No wasted breath.

Alessandro nodded once.

"Good."

"I have another matter that requires your attention."

Lucien's eyes remained fixed on his father.

"I'm listening."

Alessandro gestured toward me.

"Daniel Rossi settled his debt."

Lucien glanced at the closed file resting on the table.

"I assumed as much."

"There was only one payment he could afford."

Lucien finally looked at me again.

This time...

His eyes traveled over me with the detached indifference of a man inspecting a shipment.

Not a woman.

Not a victim.

A transaction.

I clenched my fists.

"What are you looking at?"

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Several guards inhaled sharply.

One even took a cautious step forward.

Nobody...

Nobody spoke to Lucien Moretti like that.

Lucien didn't react.

He simply continued looking at me.

His expression never changed.

"I asked you a question."

Still nothing.

"Oh, what?"

"You don't speak?"

Silence.

I laughed bitterly.

"Figures."

"You mafia people probably think you're too important to answer ordinary people."

One of the guards muttered under his breath.

"She's insane..."

Another whispered,

"She's dead."

Alessandro chuckled.

"She's certainly inherited Isabella's courage."

Lucien's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly.

"Isabella?"

It was the first hint of emotion I'd seen from him.

Barely noticeable.

But it was there.

Alessandro noticed it too.

"We'll discuss that another time."

Lucien gave a single nod.

He didn't ask another question.

He simply accepted it.

I frowned.

Why did they keep saying my mother's name?

What weren't they telling me?

Alessandro picked up his whiskey once more.

"The debt has been settled."

"But the agreement remains."

Lucien looked at him.

"You've chosen."

"I have."

Alessandro slowly turned toward me.

"She'll be your wife."

The words echoed through the room.

I felt sick.

"No."

I whispered.

"No..."

Lucien remained completely still.

Not even a blink.

No surprise.

No objection.

Marriage meant absolutely nothing to him.

It was simply another order.

Another responsibility.

Another business arrangement.

I stared at him in disbelief.

"Say something."

Nothing.

"You can't seriously agree to this."

Still nothing.

I took a step closer.

"I'm talking to you!"

Finally...

Lucien spoke.

"I heard you."

His voice was cold enough to freeze the room.

"Then answer me!"

"Why me?"

He held my gaze for a long moment.

Then answered with four words.

"Because you were chosen."

I shook my head.

"I'm not marrying you."

His expression remained unreadable.

"You misunderstand."

He took one slow step toward me.

Until barely a foot separated us.

For the first time...

I realized how terrifyingly tall he was.

He looked down at me.

Not with anger.

Not with cruelty.

Not with pity.

Just...

Indifference.

I refused to look away.

"If you think I'm going to spend the rest of my life with a monster like you—"

His voice cut through mine.

"For someone used to clear a debt..."

He tilted his head slightly.

"...you certainly talk a lot."

Before I could react...

His gloved hand slowly reached toward my face.

Every muscle in my body tensed.

I wanted to slap his hand away.

But I couldn't move.

His fingers brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face.

Not gently.

Not lovingly.

It was clinical.

Like a man inspecting something he'd just purchased.

His thumb briefly paused beneath my chin, forcing me to keep my eyes on him.

My heart pounded.

Not because I liked it.

Because I hated that he could touch me whenever he pleased.

His voice dropped even lower.

"Get used to hearing my name."

"You'll be carrying it soon enough."

I jerked my face away from his hand.

"I'd rather die."

For the first time...

The corner of Lucien's lips twitched.

Not a smile.

Something far more unsettling.

"We'll see."

He stepped back.

Without taking his eyes off me, he said,

"Cut the ropes."

One of the bodyguards immediately obeyed.

"Yes, Mr. Moretti."

A sharp blade flashed beneath the chandelier before slicing through the ropes around my wrists.

The restraints fell onto the marble floor.

Pain shot through my arms as blood rushed back into my hands.

I rubbed my aching wrists.

Then...

Without thinking...

My hand shot forward.

SLAP!

The sound echoed throughout the mansion.

Time stopped.

Lucien's face barely moved.

But the red mark blooming across his cheek was impossible to miss.

For half a second...

Nobody breathed.

Then—

Click.

Click.

Click.

Every bodyguard in the room drew their weapons.

More than a dozen guns were aimed directly at my head.

"Don't move!"

One barked.

Another c****d his pistol.

I stared at them.

My heart hammered violently inside my chest.

One pull of a trigger...

And I'd never see another sunrise.

Yet somehow...

I couldn't bring myself to regret it.

If I was going to die...

At least I'd slapped the arrogant bastard first.

A deep chuckle suddenly broke the silence.

I turned.

Alessandro Moretti leaned back in his chair, swirling the whiskey in his glass.

His laughter echoed through the hall.

"Interesting..."

He smiled.

"It's been a very long time..."

"...since anyone dared lay a hand on my son."

He looked genuinely entertained.

"I almost admire your courage."

Lucien slowly turned his head back toward me.

His cheek was still slightly red.

His expression...

Hadn't changed.

Not even a little.

He didn't look angry.

He didn't look embarrassed.

He simply looked...

At me.

Without taking his eyes off me, he spoke.

"Stand down."

One of the guards hesitated.

"But, Mr. Moretti—"

Lucien didn't even spare him a glance.

"Now."

Immediately...

Every gun lowered.

The room fell silent once again.

The bodyguards reluctantly lowered their weapons.

One by one...

The guns disappeared back into their holsters.

The room fell silent once more.

Lucien slowly turned his attention back to me.

The faint red mark on his cheek was already beginning to fade.

His piercing blue eyes met mine.

Cold.

Unmoving.

He didn't look angry.

If anything...

He looked...

Intrigued.

"You bastard!" I shouted, my chest rising and falling with every furious breath.

"I'm not some object you can buy!"

"I'm not your property!"

"I'm not your wife!"

"I'm Elena Rossi!"

"And I refuse—"

Before I could finish...

Lucien closed the distance between us.

So close that I could smell the faint scent of cedarwood and expensive cologne clinging to him.

It was oddly comforting.

I hated that I noticed.

He leaned down ever so slightly, his lips just close enough that only I could hear him.

"Good."

I frowned.

"...What?"

"I was beginning to think you'd spend our marriage crying."

My brows knitted together.

Marriage?

Did he seriously think this was happening?

He straightened his jacket as though I'd done nothing more than brush a speck of dust off it.

"I prefer a challenge."

I stared at him in utter disbelief.

"You're insane."

"So I've been told."

A quiet chuckle escaped Alessandro.

"It seems she'll keep you entertained after all."

Lucien didn't respond.

His attention never left me.

For several long seconds...

Neither of us spoke.

The silence between us was suffocating.

It felt less like two people staring at each other...

...and more like two enemies measuring the other before the first strike.

Finally...

Lucien spoke.

"You'll learn."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Learn what?"

He slipped both hands into the pockets of his tailored trousers.

"That surviving in this family requires more than courage."

His gaze hardened.

"It requires obedience."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

"Then I suppose I'm already dead."

For the first time...

Something flickered behind those icy blue eyes.

Not amusement.

Not anger.

Interest.

It disappeared as quickly as it came.

"I guess we'll find out."