Caught in his web
768 Words
The morning after the attack, Ariana woke to sunlight flooding the room, but the warmth it brought didn’t touch her skin. She felt changed — like something inside her had been shaken loose and hadn’t settled yet.
She wasn’t the same girl who had stood trembling in that marble hallway the night before.
Dominic Viero had held her. Not like property. Not like a possession. But like a man holding something he thought he’d lost.
And that terrified her more than the intruders ever could.
She sat up slowly, stretching beneath the silk sheets. The bed was still warm beside her — a rare sign. He had stayed. Slept in the same room. Maybe even watched her sleep.
Her fingers drifted to her collarbone, remembering the weight of his arms. The way his voice had trembled—not with fear, but with feeling.
Care. He said he didn’t know how to show it, but he had.
Last night, Dominic Viero had felt.
A knock on the door made her jump.
“Come in,” she said softly.
It was Clara, holding a tray of breakfast. “Mr. Viero asked me to make sure you eat today.”
Ariana blinked. “He did?”
Clara smiled faintly, then set the tray down. “He hasn’t left the house since last night. Security’s doubled. Cameras upgraded. He’s in the war room.”
War room?
Ariana didn’t ask. There were parts of Dominic’s world that weren’t hers to touch.
Not yet.
“Thank you,” she murmured, picking up a fork.
As soon as Clara left, Ariana moved to the closet and dressed in something simple — a pale sweater and fitted pants. No makeup. No perfume. Just… herself.
She needed answers.
She walked down the hall, every step echoing on the polished floor. Guards were stationed at every corner now — all armed. All alert. No one looked at her directly, but she felt the weight of their awareness.
She found Dominic in a room she had never seen before.
Black walls. Monitors lining the shelves. Maps. Files. Guns.
And him — standing at the center like a dark king overseeing his empire.
He turned before she could speak. “You shouldn’t be in here.”
“I need to be.”
Their eyes locked. Neither moved.
He sighed and stepped toward her, loosening his tie. His black shirt was rolled at the sleeves, veins bulging along his forearms.
“Ariana,” he said, voice quiet, “last night wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“Why did it?”
He hesitated. “Because you’re being used as leverage.”
“For what?”
“My enemies know I don’t keep anyone close. I’ve never had a weakness. Now I do.”
Her breath caught.
“You think I’m a weakness?” she asked.
“I think you’re the only person who could bring me to my knees.”
Ariana’s heart slammed.
Dominic moved closer. His voice was low, like thunder rumbling behind steel.
“I built my empire by not feeling. Not hesitating. Not caring. But with you…”
He reached out, brushing his thumb across her jaw.
“I care. And it terrifies me.”
She stared at him, lips parting.
“You shouldn’t care for someone you don’t love,” she whispered.
His fingers stilled.
“I never said I didn’t love you,” he said.
Her knees nearly gave way.
“But you said this marriage wasn’t about love.”
“It wasn’t,” he said. “At first.”
She looked up at him, eyes burning. “Then what is it now?”
Dominic didn’t answer.
Instead, he leaned in — slow, deliberate, controlled.
His lips brushed hers like a secret, like a promise he didn’t know how to say aloud.
When he pulled away, Ariana’s chest ached with something unfamiliar.
Desire. Confusion. Need.
“Dominic—”
“You don’t need to say anything,” he cut in. “I don’t expect you to trust me. Not yet. But I will protect you. Even if it kills me.”
Ariana reached for his hand. “I’m not a pawn. I won’t be protected like glass.”
His eyes sharpened. “No. You’re not glass. You’re fire. But I’ll burn anyone who touches you.”
In that moment, she saw the war in him. A man who had never been loved trying to learn what it meant to love someone.
And it made her fall deeper.
Into his web. Into his world.
Into him.
But webs don’t just catch. They trap.
And Ariana was already caught.
- Writer
