Forbidden Feelings
722 Words
It had been three days since Aria walked away from Luca on that rooftop. Three days of silence. No message. No clandestine. Just at aching vol where the danger and desire used burn.
Gianna noticed. "You look like someone died," she said one morning over breakfast.
"Maybe something did," Aria muttered.
Her best friend sighed. "Want to talk about it?"
Aria shock her head. The fewer people who knew,the safe everyone would be.
Across the city,Luca stood before the Romano family's war council. Tension choked the air. A rival family,the Ferettie,had made a bold move- kidnapping a Romano lieutenant.
"This mean war," one of elders snarled.
Luca raised a hand. "No. It means we respond,but we do it smart.
His father scoeled. "Don't confuse cleverness with cowardice.
Luca met his eyes. "If we start a war,more than just soldiers die."
The room went silent.
Later,Enzo pulled Luca aside.
"You're distracted. Is this about her?"
Luca didn't answer.
Enzo shook his head. "You're not thinking clearly."
"She asked me to walked away," Luca said finally.
"And you going to?"
"I don't know."
Aria buried herself in work,trying to finish her mafia article. Every name connection felt like a ghost haunting her. She thought about deleting it all,but she couldn't let fear win.
Then come the note.
Slipped under her door.
You were warned. This is your last change. Stay away or lose everything.
Her hands trembled. She ran to the police station.
Dante,her father,read the note with a dark expression.
"This is what I feared," he said. "You're too close."
"I can't stop now," Aria insisted. "There's a story here. People need to know."
"They'II kill you before the ink dries."
Aria looked him. "Then help me expose them."
Dante's jaw tightened. "You want my help,you give me something first. Names. Evidence."
Aria hesitated. "I can't."
"Then I can't protect you."
She left,heart pounding.
That night,Luca came.
He appeared on her balcony like a ghost,his face shadows by moonlight.
"I had to see you," he said.
Aria stepped out. "Why are you here?"
"I can't let you go. I tried. But I can't."
She felt herself soften. "You're in danger. So am I."
"I know. But I'd rather die with you than live without you."
She touched his face. "You're so damn reckless."
He kisssed her. Hard. Despared.
They made love for the this time that night,in the quiet dark,where the world couldn't touch them.
The next morning,Aria awoke alone.
A note on her pillow.
I'm going to end this. For us.
Panic gripped her.
She ran to Gianna. "I need your car."
"Aria....... what's happening?
"No time to explain."
Luca met with the Feretti boss in an abandoned church. Alone.
"I'm not here to fight," he said. "I'm here to make a deal."
"You're a fool," the boss spat.
"Maybe. But I'm offering peace. You keep your territory. We keep ours. No blood."
The Feretti boss considered it. "What's in it for me?"
"No war. No police raids. No one dies."
A pause.
Then gunshoot.
Luca dropped to the floor,bleeding.
Aria arrived minute later,breathless. She found him in the church,unconscious. She screamed for help.
He was rushed to a safehouse clinic.
Enzo met her there. "You shouldn't be here."
"I love him," she said.
"He's dying because he tried to change things for you."
Hours passed.
Luca woke.
"You came," he whispered.
"Of course I did."
"I made a deal. They tried to kill me."
"You're not dying, Luca."
He smiled weakly. "I'd rather die for love than live for blood."
She kissed him.
"I'm not letting you die."
Later that night.
As Aria sat by Luca's side, she scrolled through her phone,reviewing the audio recording she had secretly taken of the conversation between Luca and Feretti boss. Despite the trauma,the journalist in her couldn't ignore the important of what she'd captured.
Gianna messaged: You okay?
She replied: Barely. But I think I have something huge.
Just then, Enzo re-entered.
"There's more," he said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Aria asked.
Enzo looked grave. "That wasn't just a hit on Luca. It was sancioned. Someone in own family tripped them off."
Aria's heart sank. "A traitor"
Enzo nodded. "Someone close."
Luca stirred,eyes fluttering open. "Enzo..... Aria...... find out who did it. End this."
Aria gripped his hand tightly. "We will. I promised."
- Writer
