Not a good man
1074 Words
The first time Aria realized something was wrong,
It wasn’t because of Lucian.
It was because of the silence.
The penthouse was never noisy.
Never lively.
But today… it felt different.
Too still.
Too quiet.
Like the air itself was holding its breath.
Aria stood at the top of the staircase, her fingers lightly gripping the railing as her gaze swept across the empty living space below.
Something felt off.
She couldn’t explain it.
Just a feeling.
A warning.
“Ma’am.”
She turned.
The housekeeper stood behind her, a middle-aged woman with kind but cautious eyes.
“Martha,” Aria said softly. “Is something going on?”
Martha hesitated.
That alone was enough to make Aria’s stomach ache.
“Mr. Blackwood has guests,” she said carefully.
Aria frowned. “Guests? Since when do guests make the house feel like a graveyard?”
Martha’s lips pressed together.
“Some guests,” she said quietly, “are not meant to be seen.”
A chill ran down Aria’s spine.
“What does that mean?”
But Martha only shook her head.
“You should stay upstairs.”
That was the exact moment Aria knew she wouldn’t.
Curiosity wasn’t the right word.
It was something deeper.
The need to understand the man she had tied her life to.
Even if it scared her.
The voices came from his study.
Low.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
Aria stopped just before the door, her heart pounding as she caught fragments of conversation.
“…losing patience.”
“…you said it would be handled.”
“It is handled,” Lucian’s voice cut through cold and precise. “Unless you’re questioning my methods.”
Then another voice...rougher.
“I’m questioning your loyalty.”
Aria’s breath caught.
Loyalty?
“To what?” Lucian asked softly.
“To us.”
The word lingered.
Heavy.
Unsettling.
Aria’s fingers tightened slightly against the wall.
What was this?
This wasn’t business.
Not normal business.
“Careful,” Lucian continued, his tone dropping. “You’re starting to sound like a man who’s forgotten his place.”
A low chuckle followed.
“You don’t scare me.”
“No,” Lucian replied. “But I should.”
Something shifted in the air.
Even from outside the room, Aria could feel it.
Power.
Danger.
Control.
Then sharp sound...
Like something hitting the table.
Or worse.
Aria flinched slightly.
Her heart started racing.
She shouldn’t be here.
She knew that.
But she couldn’t move.
“You have until tomorrow,” Lucian said, with a gun pointed at one of the mens head.
The calm in his voice was more terrifying than anger.
“After that… I won’t be as patient.”
“And if I refuse?”
“You won’t.”
The same words.
The same certainty.
The same cold promise.
Footsteps.
Aria’s eyes widened.
She barely had time to step back before the door opened.
Two men walked out.
They didn’t look like businessmen.
They looked like trouble.
One of them glanced at her.
His gaze was slow and assessing.
“Didn’t know you had company,” he muttered.
Aria swallowed, forcing herself to stand still.
“I live here,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt.
The man smirked slightly.
“Poor thing.”
Then they left.
Aria exhaled shakily.
Her heart was still pounding when...
“Enjoying the show?”
She froze.
Slowly, she turned.
Lucian stood in the doorway.
Watching her.
His expression was unreadable.
“I wasn’t”
“Don’t lie.”
The words were soft.
But threatening.
Her jaw tightened. “Maybe if you didn’t sound like you were threatening people, I wouldn’t have to eavesdrop.”
His gaze darkened slightly.
“You heard something you shouldn’t have.”
“And what exactly is that?”
“That my husband isn’t just a businessman?”
Lucian stepped closer.
Each step is deliberate.
Controlled.
“Careful, Aria,” he said quietly. “You’re starting to ask questions.”
“And you’re starting to look like someone I shouldn’t trust,” she replied.
His eyes locked onto hers.
For a moment something flickered.
Not anger.
Not irritation.
Something darker.
“You shouldn’t trust me,” he said finally.
The honesty hit her harder than a lie.
Aria blinked.
“What?”
“You heard enough,” he continued. “So let me make this simple.”
He stepped even closer.
Her breath caught.
“This world,” he said softly, “is not clean.”
Her pulse quickened.
“And I’m not a good man.”
The words came out calm.
Something in her chest tightened.
Because for the first time
She believed him.
“Then why bring me into it?” she whispered.
His gaze lingered on her.
Longer than it should.
“Because you were available.”
The words landed like a slap.
Aria’s expression hardened immediately.
“Of course I was,” she said bitterly. “Desperate girl. Easy solution.”
Something in his jaw ticked.
But he didn’t deny it.
“Stay out of my business,” he said instead.
“And if I don’t?”
His eyes darkened.
“Then you’ll get hurt.”
Silence.
Aria held his gaze.
Refusing to back down.
But inside, something had shifted.
Fear.
Not of him as a man.
But of what he was capable of.
Later that night.
She sat on the edge of her bed, her mind racing.
The voices.
The threats.
The men.
Lucian’s words.
I’m not a good man.
Her chest tightened.
“What did I get myself into…?” she whispered.
Across the hall,
Lucian stood by the window, a glass of untouched whiskey in his hand.
His thoughts weren’t on business.
Or threats, or enemies.
They were on her.
The way she looked at him.
Not with fear alone. But something else.
Defiance.
Curiosity.
His phone buzzed.
He glanced at the screen.
Victor.
He answered.
“You’re getting careless,” Victor said immediately.
Lucian’s gaze hardened.
“Watch your tone.”
“You brought her into this,” Victor continued. “You think she won’t start digging?”
“She won’t.”
Victor chuckled.
“That girl? She already is.”
“Be careful, Lucian,” Victor added. “Secrets don’t stay buried forever.”
Lucian ended the call without responding.
His gaze drifted back toward the hallway.
Toward her room.
And at that moment,
He wondered if bringing Aria into his world…
Was a mistake.
- Writer
