Chapter 9-10
988 Words
CHAPTER NINE
Ghosts of Dubai
Dubai glittered with artificial perfection.
Gold towers.
Black cars.
Secrets hidden beneath luxury.
Aria hated it immediately.
Which probably meant it suited Elias perfectly.
She stepped out of the elevator inside the private hotel penthouse with Dante beside her.
Two armed guards stood outside the doors.
Neither moved to stop them.
Because Elias wanted this meeting.
That alone made Aria uneasy.
The penthouse doors opened slowly.
And there he was.
Elias Mercer.
Older.
Sharper.
Still painfully handsome.
The sight of him punched old memories straight through her chest before she could stop them.
Late nights building code together.
Cheap coffee.
Shared dreams.
Promises.
Lies.
His eyes softened the moment he saw her.
“Aria.”
She felt nothing.
At least that’s what she told herself.
“You look guilty,” she said coolly.
Pain flickered across his face.
“You always could read me.”
“And you always underestimated me.”
The tension inside the room tightened instantly.
Dante remained near the doorway, silently watching everything.
Calculating.
Protective.
Elias noticed.
“So it’s true,” he said quietly. “You trust him.”
Aria almost laughed.
“You clearly don’t know me anymore.”
“I knew you once.”
“Not well enough.”
Elias exhaled heavily.
“They’re coming for you, Aria.”
“They already tried.”
“No,” he said grimly. “You haven’t seen what they’re capable of yet.”
Aria crossed her arms.
“Then enlighten me.”
Elias hesitated.
That hesitation made Dante tense immediately.
“They wanted your algorithm from the beginning,” Elias admitted finally.
Aria frowned.
“My original system?”
“It wasn’t just predictive software.”
Confusion flashed across her face.
“What are you talking about?”
Elias looked directly at her.
“Your code evolved beyond financial prediction. It started identifying behavioural patterns.”
Aria went still.
No.
Impossible.
“It could predict political instability,” Elias continued quietly. “Market collapses. Social unrest. Economic manipulation.”
Her stomach tightened.
“You’re lying.”
“I wish I were.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
Dante finally spoke.
“They wanted to weaponise it.”
Aria looked between both men.
“And instead of telling me the truth, you destroyed my life?”
Elias’s expression broke slightly.
“They told me they’d kill you.”
“Maybe they should have.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Silence filled the room instantly.
Elias looked devastated.
But Dante?
Dante looked angry.
“Don’t say things like that.”
Aria turned sharply toward him.
“You don’t get to tell me how to feel.”
“No,” he said quietly. “But I get to remind you that surviving wasn’t weakness.”
The intensity in his voice stunned her.
And suddenly, Aria realised something dangerous.
Dante cared.
Really cared.
That terrified her more than the syndicate ever could.
CHAPTER TEN
Falling
It happened slowly.
So slowly, Aria almost missed it.
Dante became part of her routines.
Morning strategy calls.
Late-night conversations.
Shared silence.
The sound of his footsteps inside her penthouse.
The feeling of safety she experienced around him.
And safety?
That was the most addictive thing of all.
One evening after returning from Dubai, Aria stood alone on her balcony overlooking the city.
The wind moved softly through her hair while distant traffic glowed beneath the night sky.
For once, the world felt quiet.
Dante stepped outside beside her, carrying two glasses of wine.
“You disappeared.”
“I needed air.”
He handed her a glass.
Their fingers touched again.
Still dangerous.
Still electric.
But now familiar too.
Dante leaned against the railing beside her.
“You’ve been distant since Dubai.”
Aria stared out at the city lights.
“He lied to me for years.”
“Yes.”
“And part of me still hates him.”
“You’re allowed to.”
A bitter smile touched her lips.
“That’s the problem.”
“What is?”
Aria finally looked at him.
“The part of me that still remembers loving him.”
Dante went quiet.
Not jealous.
Not angry.
Just listening.
Which somehow made this harder.
“I don’t know how to trust people anymore,” she admitted softly.
The confession surprised even her.
Dante studied her carefully.
“Trust isn’t something that appears instantly.”
“No?”
“No. It’s something built slowly. Choice by choice.”
The honesty in his voice unravelled something inside her.
Aria looked away quickly.
Too late.
Dante had already seen it.
The exhaustion.
The loneliness.
The woman beneath the billionaire amour.
He stepped closer carefully.
“Aria.”
Her heartbeat quickened.
“Don’t,” she whispered.
“Don’t what?”
“Make this harder.”
Dante’s eyes searched hers.
“You think caring about someone is a weakness.”
“No,” she said quietly.
“I think losing them is.”
The vulnerability in her voice hit him hard.
Aria saw it happen.
Saw his expression soften.
Saw the wall between them finally crack.
Then Dante reached for her.
Slowly.
Giving her time to stop him.
She didn’t.
His hand settled gently against her face.
Warm.
Steady.
Safe.
And suddenly, Aria realised something terrifying.
She wanted this.
Wanted him.
Dante lowered his forehead against hers.
“Tell me to stop,” he murmured.
She opened her mouth.
But the word never came.
So, he kissed her.
Soft at first.
Careful.
Like he understood exactly how breakable trust could be.
Aria melted before she could stop herself.
One hand gripped his shirt while the other slid against his chest.
The kiss deepened slowly.
Warmth.
Need.
Relief.
Years of loneliness cracked open inside her all at once.
And for the first time in years—
Aria Voss stopped thinking.
Stopped fighting.
Stopped controlling.
She simply felt.
Which was wonderful.
And absolutely terrifying.
- Writer
