Chapter 17
982 Words
The mansion didn't sleep that night.
It only pretended to.
Behind closed doors, beneath quiet footsteps and dimmed lights… everything was shifting.
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Bianca
Sophia didn't expect her.
But she should have.
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She had stepped out onto the terrace, needing air—needing space away from the suffocating tension inside—when she felt it.
A presence.
Sharp. Calculated.
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"You don't look like you belong here."
Bianca's voice cut cleanly through the silence.
Sophia turned slowly.
Bianca stood by the railing, elegant as ever, a glass of wine in her hand, her expression calm—but her eyes were anything but.
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"I am family," Sophia replied quietly.
Bianca smiled faintly. "Family indeed…."
The words landed harder than they should have.
Sophia didn't respond immediately.
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Bianca took a slow step closer.
"You're new," she continued, her tone deceptively light. "Which means you don't understand how things work around here yet."
Sophia lifted her chin slightly. "Then maybe you should explain."
That made Bianca pause.
Just for a second.
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Then she smiled again—this time sharper.
"People like you," she said softly, "don't survive long in this world when they stand in the wrong place or make the wrong decisions"
The implication was clear.
And this time, Sophia didn't look away.
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"I'm not standing anywhere I shouldn't be, nor am I doing anything wrong," she said.
Her voice was steadier now.
Not as soft.
Not as uncertain.
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Something flickered in Bianca's expression.
Interest.
Or warning.
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"We'll see," Bianca murmured.
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Luca found Bianca before she could leave.
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"Still starting trouble?"
Luca's voice was cold as he stepped onto the terrace.
Bianca turned slowly, her expression shifting instantly—softer, almost amused.
"You say that like you don't enjoy it," she replied.
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Luca didn't return the smile.
"Stay away from her."
The words were immediate.
Sharp.
Final.
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Bianca tilted her head. "Her? You mean your supposed sister Sophia?"
She glanced briefly toward Sophia—then back at him.
"And here I thought you didn't care about anyone."
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"I don't," Luca said.
But there was something in his tone that didn't match the words.
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Bianca stepped closer, lowering her voice slightly.
"You've said that before," she murmured. "Right before you walked away."
A pause.
Then, more pointedly—
"Or have you changed your habits?"
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Luca's expression darkened.
"Don't test me."
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Bianca smiled slowly.
"I don't need to."
Her gaze flicked again—toward Sophia.
"I can already see the difference."
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That was enough.
Luca stepped forward, closing the distance between them in a way that made the air tighten instantly.
"You don't get to involve her," he said quietly.
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Bianca held his gaze.
Unflinching.
"You already did."
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Silence.
Tense.
Loaded with years of history, unfinished patterns, and something dangerously close to rivalry.
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Then Bianca stepped back, lifting her glass slightly.
"Careful, Luca," she said lightly. "You're starting to look like a man who has something to lose."
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And with that—
She walked away.
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Meanwhile, Sophia didn't move immediately.
Her heart was still racing—but not from fear this time.
From realization.
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She had seen it.
The way Bianca looked at Luca.
The way Luca spoke to Bianca.
The tension. The history. There is something unfinished between them.
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And for the first time…
Sophia didn't feel small.
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She felt something else.
Something sharper.
Something stronger.
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Awareness.
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Because this wasn't just about feelings anymore.
This was about position.
About power.
About where she stood—and where she was willing to stand.
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She turned to leave—
But Luca's voice stopped her.
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"Sophia."
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She paused.
Slowly turned back.
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He was watching her.
Not like before.
Not just observing.
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Deciding.
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He crossed the distance between them in a few measured steps.
Not rushed.
Not hesitant.
Certain.
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"You shouldn't have been alone with her," he said.
Sophia held his gaze.
"I can handle myself."
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A beat.
Then—
"I know," Luca said.
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That was new.
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Something in her chest tightened.
But she didn't step back this time.
Didn't retreat.
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"Then stop acting like I can't," she added.
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Silence.
Brief.
Charged.
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Luca studied her carefully.
As if noticing something he hadn't before.
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"You're changing," he said.
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Sophia didn't deny it.
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"Maybe I have to."
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That did something.
Something subtle—but final.
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Because in that moment, Luca understood something clearly.
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This wasn't the same girl who had once written his name in a diary.
This wasn't someone fragile.
This wasn't someone he could simply watch from a distance anymore.
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This was someone stepping into his world.
And that meant one thing.
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He had to act.
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Later that night, Luca stood alone in his penthouse wanting to get away from the mansion and the tension.
The city lights stretched endlessly beyond the glass, but his focus wasn't there.
It was sharper.
More dangerous.
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Bianca's words echoed faintly.
You're starting to look like a man who has something to lose.
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He didn't like that.
Didn't accept that.
Didn't allow it.
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Luca Virelli didn't lose anything.
He took.
He controlled.
He decided.
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And Sophia…
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She wasn't going to be caught in the middle of something uncertain.
She wasn't going to be left exposed.
She wasn't going to be… shared with possibility.
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His jaw tightened slightly as the decision settled fully into place.
Cold.
Precise.
Final.
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"If they want an alliance…" he murmured under his breath,
"…I'll give them one."
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But not the one they expected.
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His hand reached for his phone.
A single call.
A single order.
Something that would change everything.
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Something drastic.
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Something that would make Sophia his—
Completely.
- Writer
