Chapter 3
988 Words
Elena barely slept after the gathering.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Luca Rossi’s cold stare following her across the room. Not lust. Not even interest in the usual sense. Just pure, calculated focus. Like she was a problem he had already decided how to solve.
She woke up early, made coffee she didn’t drink, and sat at the kitchen table staring at the wall. Her father still wasn’t home. Marco was the first one down, looking like he hadn’t slept either.
“You okay?” he asked, pouring himself a cup.
“No,” Elena said flatly. “That man last night… Luca Rossi. He stepped in when that asshole grabbed me. But the way he looked at me after…” She shook her head. “It wasn’t normal, Marco.”
Marco’s jaw tightened. “I told you to stay away from him. Rossi doesn’t do anything without a reason. If he’s looking at you, it’s because he wants something.”
Before Elena could respond, the front door slammed open. Their father stumbled in, eyes bloodshot, suit wrinkled from whatever long night he’d had. He smelled like whiskey and cheap perfume.
He saw them and tried to smile. It came out crooked.
“Good morning, kids.”
Elena didn’t smile back. “How bad is it, Dad? Really.”
Her father dropped into a chair and rubbed his face. “It’s handled. I’m handling it.”
“Four million,” Marco said. “That’s what you told me last night. Four million with interest piling up every week. How the hell are you handling that?”
Their father’s eyes flicked to Elena, then away. “I made a deal. A good one.”
“What kind of deal?”. She asked.
He hesitated. Then he shrugged like it was nothing. “Rossi’s interested. He’s willing to clear everything if… if we make an arrangement.”
“An arrangement,” Elena repeated, “You mean selling me.”
“It’s marriage,” her father snapped. “Alliance. You act like I’m throwing you to the wolves. Rossi is powerful. You’ll live better than any of us ever have.”
Elena stood up so fast the chair scraped loudly against the floor. “You’re my father. You’re supposed to protect me, not trade me away to clear your gambling debts.”
Her father slammed his hand on the table. “You think I want this? You think I enjoy begging men like Rossi for mercy? I did what I had to do. The other families want blood. Rossi at least wants you alive.”
Marco stepped between them. “Dad, stop. This is insane. We can find another way. I can take extra jobs. I know people who can loan us...”
“Loan us?” their father laughed bitterly. “Nobody loans money to a dead man walking. Rossi is the only one offering a way out.”
Elena felt sick. She turned and walked out of the kitchen before she said something she couldn’t take back. She grabbed her coat and left the house, needing air, needing space, needing to think.
She ended up in the small park a few blocks away, the one with the broken fountain and benches that no one used. She sat down, pulled her knees up, and tried to breathe.
That’s when she felt it again.
Eyes on her.
She looked up slowly. A black car was parked across the street. Tinted windows. The back window rolled down.
Luca Rossi sat in the back seat, watching her.
He didn’t smile. He didn’t wave her over. He just looked at her with those dark, unreadable eyes.
Elena’s heart slammed against her ribs. She should stand up and walk away. She should run. Instead, she stayed seated, staring back.
After a long moment, Luca opened the door and stepped out. He crossed the street without hurry, hands in his coat pockets, moving like the world belonged to him and he had all the time in it.
He stopped in front of her bench.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” he said.
“I can take care of myself,” Elena replied, keeping her tone steady even though her pulse was racing.
Luca tilted his head slightly. “Can you?”
He sat down on the bench beside her, close enough that she could smell his Cologne. Close enough to feel the heat from his body. But he didn’t touch her.
Elena’s hands tightened on her knees. “What do you want from me?”
Luca looked straight ahead for a moment, then turned his head to study her face.
“Your father is desperate,” he said. “He’s offering you like a piece of meat to clear his debts. I’m considering accepting.”
Elena laughed bitterly. “So that’s it? You’re here to inspect the merchandise?”
Luca’s expression didn’t change. “I don’t need to inspect anything. I already know what I want.”
He reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her face. The touch was light, but it felt like a brand.
“Your father should’ve protected you better,” he said quietly. “But he didn’t. So now I will.”
Elena jerked her head away from his hand. “I don’t need your protection.”
Luca smiled.
"You will."
He rose from the bench and adjusted the cuffs of his suit.
"Tell your father I'll be expecting an answer."
Then he walked away.
Elena watched him disappear into the black car, the engine sound faded into the distance.
Only then did she notice something lying beside her on the bench; A small black box. Her eyes widened in shock wondering who put it there... with trembling fingers, she opened it.
Inside sat a diamond engagement ring.
And beneath it... a photograph.
A photograph of her sleeping in her bedroom.
Taken yesterday.
- Writer
