Chapter Three
1961 Words
The first thing I learned about Luca Moretti’s world was this:
Nothing belonged to me anymore.
Not time.
Not space.
Not even silence.
The apartment was too large for comfort. Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the city like a painting I was not allowed to touch. Everything was sharp lines and cold colors. Black marble. Steel. Glass. There were no soft edges, no warmth, no signs that anyone lived here the way normal people lived.
This was not a home.
It was a territory.
I stood just inside the entrance, my small bag clutched to my chest, unsure where to go. The men who had escorted me here were gone now, the door closing behind them with a quiet finality that echoed through my bones.
Luca had disappeared moments earlier, vanishing down a corridor without telling me where I was supposed to be.
That, I realized, was deliberate.
I took a cautious step forward.
My shoes sounded too loud against the polished floor. Every movement felt observed, even though I could not see him. I had the strange, unsettling feeling that there were cameras everywhere, that even my breathing was being measured.
I set my bag down slowly, fingers numb.
This was not k********g in the way movies showed it. There were no ropes, no locked doors in sight. And yet, I had never felt less free.
I moved deeper into the apartment, passing a living area so pristine it looked unused. A long couch faced the windows. A decanter of amber liquid sat untouched on a low table. No photographs. No personal items.
Nothing human.
“Don’t wander.”
His voice came from behind me.
I gasped and spun around.
Luca stood near the hallway entrance, jacket gone now, sleeves of his crisp white shirt rolled up to reveal forearms lined with faint scars. He looked at ease, like this was his natural state, watching me without being seen.
“I didn’t know where to go,” I said, hating how small my voice sounded.
“That was the point,” he replied.
My jaw tightened. “You brought me here without explaining anything.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t think I deserve an explanation?”
He walked toward me slowly, each step unhurried, deliberate. Predator calm. When he stopped in front of me, he was close enough that I could smell him, something clean and sharp beneath the faint trace of smoke.
“Deserve is a dangerous word,” Luca said quietly. “It makes people forget their place.”
I lifted my chin.
“And where exactly is mine?”
His gaze dropped to my mouth for a fraction of a second before returning to my eyes.
“Where I decide,” he said.
Anger flared, hot and reckless.
“You can’t just control my life because you paid some bills.”
“I can,” he said simply. “And I will.”
“You said I wasn’t your property.”
“I said not yet.”
My hands curled into fists at my sides. “You’re not even pretending this is normal.”
Luca’s lips curved faintly.
“Normal is for people who aren’t hunted.”
I stiffened.
“What does that mean?”
He turned away from me, walking toward the windows.
“It means your mother made enemies a long time ago. Enemies who would have noticed you eventually.”
My heart stuttered.
“My mother has nothing to do with your world.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
He turned back to face me. “But we’re not discussing that yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not ready.”
I let out a sharp, humorless laugh.
“You dragged me out of my house and into a glass tower and I’m not ready?”
He studied me for a long moment, something unreadable passing through his eyes.
“You’re alive,” Luca said. “You’re fed. Your family is safe. That’s readiness enough for today.”
I wanted to scream. Instead, I said, “What happens now?”
He gestured toward the hallway. “You live here.”
“That’s it?”
“For now.”
“And my family?”
“They’re already moved,” he said. “A guarded estate outside the city. Medical staff. Security.”
The relief was immediate and crushing. It hurt more than fear.
“You didn’t have to do all that,” I whispered.
“Yes,” he said. “I did.”
I looked at him, really looked. At the cold certainty in his posture. At the way he spoke like the world bent around his decisions.
“You expect gratitude,” I said.
“No,” Luca replied. “I expect obedience.”
The word settled between us, heavy and final.
I shook my head. “I’m not like the women you’re used to.”
“I know.”
That unsettled me more than anything else he’d said.
“You don’t scare easily,” he continued. “You’re stubborn. You lie badly. And you’d rather burn yourself alive than let your sister see you fail.”
My breath caught. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough.”
He stepped closer again. “Which is why this only works if you follow my rules.”
My stomach clenched. “Rules?”
“Yes.”
He raised one finger.
“First. You don’t leave this apartment unless I allow it.”
I opened my mouth to argue.
“Second,” he continued, unfazed, “you don’t contact anyone without my knowledge. Your phone will be replaced.”
“That’s insane.”
“Third,” he said, his gaze hardening, “you don’t lie to me again.”
I laughed bitterly. “You expect honesty from someone you’re holding hostage?”
“I expect survival,” Luca said. “Lying to me threatens that.”
I stared at him, heart pounding.
“And if I break a rule?”
His eyes darkened.
“Then you learn why people fear me.”
A chill ran through me.
“Is that supposed to scare me?” I asked, though my voice trembled.
“Yes.”
Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.
Finally, he turned away. “Your room is at the end of the hall. Get some rest.”
“That’s it?” I demanded. “You don’t even care if I try to escape?”
He paused at the doorway, glancing back over his shoulder.
“You won’t,” he said calmly. “Because I’ve already given you everything you’re fighting for.”
He disappeared down the corridor, leaving his words carved into my chest.
My room was larger than my entire apartment back home. Soft gray walls. A massive bed. A window that looked out over the city lights. It should have felt luxurious.
It felt like a gilded cage.
I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my hands.
This was wrong. Every instinct screamed it. And yet, beneath the fear and anger, there was something else. A dangerous undercurrent of awareness.
Luca had kissed me.
Not like a man desperate for affection. Like a man testing a weapon.
And my body had responded.
That terrified me more than his threats.
Sleep came in fragments. When I dreamed, it was of dark eyes watching me from shadows, of hands closing around my wrists, not to hurt but to claim.
I woke to the sound of footsteps.
The door opened without knocking.
Luca stood there, already dressed, jacket back on, expression unreadable.
“You’re coming with me,” he said.
My heart leaped. “Where?”
“Dinner.”
I blinked. “Dinner?”
“Yes.”
“I thought I wasn’t allowed to leave.”
“You’re allowed when I say so.”
I got up slowly, smoothing my dress. “Am I supposed to thank you?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Something like amusement flickered across his face before vanishing.
The restaurant was closed to the public. Of course it was. The staff moved like ghosts, silent and efficient. We were seated in a private room overlooking the city.
Luca ordered without asking what I wanted.
I should have been angry. I was. But hunger twisted my stomach, and when the food arrived, I ate.
“You’re watching me,” I said finally.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“You pretend not to notice when men look at you,” he said. “But you notice everything.”
I stiffened. “That’s not true.”
“It is,” Luca said. “You’re observant. Careful. You measure danger before it happens.”
“And yet you still put me in danger.”
“I put you where I can control it.”
“That’s not protection,” I snapped. “That’s possession.”
He leaned back in his chair, studying me. “Those two things often look the same.”
I pushed my plate away,
“You enjoy this.”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
“At least you’re honest.”, I mutter.
“I told you,” he replied. “Lying is inefficient.”
His gaze dropped to my lips again. “You’re thinking about the kiss.”
Heat rushed to my face.
“No, I’m not.”
He smiled then. A slow, knowing curve of his mouth that made my pulse jump.
“You’re very bad at that too,” he said.
I stood abruptly. “I want to go back.”
“Sit down.”
“I’m done eating.”
“Sit,” he repeated, voice hardening.
I froze.
Something in his tone wrapped around my spine, holding me in place. Slowly, reluctantly, I sat back down.
“Good,” Luca said quietly. “You learn quickly.”
My nails dug into my palm. “You like control too much.”
“I was raised on it.”
“And you expect me to just accept this?”
“I expect you to adapt,” he said. “Or break.”
I met his gaze, refusing to look away. “You won’t break me.”
A flicker of something dangerous lit his eyes.
“We’ll see.”
The drive back to the apartment was silent.
When we arrived, he followed me inside, stopping just short of my room. The tension between us was thick, charged.
“Why me?” I asked suddenly.
He paused.
“You really want that answer?”
“Yes.”
Luca stepped closer, invading my space until my back hit the wall. His hand came up, bracing beside my head. Not touching me. Trapping me anyway.
“Because you looked at me like you hated me,” he said softly. “And still walked into that room.”
My breath hitched.
“Because you didn’t beg until it mattered,” he continued. “And because when I kissed you, you didn’t disappear.”
His fingers brushed my jaw, just once.
“That makes you dangerous,” he said. “To yourself.”
I swallowed hard. “And to you?”
For the first time, he hesitated.
Just a fraction.
“Don’t mistake my interest for weakness,” Luca said. “I don’t fall. I conquer.”
He stepped back, opening the door to my room.
“Sleep,” he ordered. “Tomorrow, we start something new.”
The door closed.
I sank onto the bed, heart racing, his words echoing in my mind.
I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring.
But I knew one thing with terrifying clarity.
Luca Moretti wasn’t letting me go.
And some reckless, traitorous part of me wondered what would happen when I stopped trying to escape.
- Writer
