Chapter 3 3-What did he want from you

[ IRIS'S POV ]

Bend me over? Did he just say he would bend me over? Fear crashed into me. So much so that I did not want anything more than to escape. From him. From the estate and all other things.

He watched me, a low smile crossed his face like a flash and it was gone.

"Relax. Iris. I would take you raw. Not now. And definitely not here. That would be in my house. My place, where you actually belong."

He leaned down, his face so close to mine that our noses almost touched." I know everything about you. Iris. I know you hate the taste of champagne but like tea. I know you sneaked out to the garden at 2:00 AM when you couldn't sleep. And in the afternoon when you're bored. I know you have a birthmark shaped like a star on the small of your back."

My blood ran cold ." Have you been watching me? In my room ?"

"From the trees. Through the lens of my camera. From the back of the cars you never noticed. "He confessed,

His voice devoid of shame. In fact, he sounded proud. Obsessed, like he's done a good job. In watching me, invading my privacy.

"I watched you grow from a girl into a woman. I watched men try to approach you at school, men I had to..... discouraged from ever speaking your name again."

The realization hit me like a physical blow. The boys who had suddenly moved away. The teacher who had mysteriously resigned after being too friendly with me.

It wasn't bad luck. It was him. Sofia. Am so sorry for ever thinking of taking him away from you. He's all yours.

I looked at my back for an escape route but found none. Behind me are shelves full of books and if I try to run, he would catch me and who knows what the devil would do to me. So I stayed.

"You're insane," I whispered, tears of frustration and fear pricking my eyes.

"I am obsessed," he corrected, his hand moving from my hair to my throat, his thumb resting over my thudding pulse. He wasn't squeezing, but the threat was there.

"There is a difference. Insane men lose focus. But with you, I have never been more focused in my life. Every move I've made, every war, every war I've fought, everybody I've buried, was to get to this moment. To this house,"

"Why not just ask for me ?" I cried ." If you wanted me so badly, why marry Sofia ?"

Salvatore's eyes darkened, a flash of genuine rage crossing his handsome features ." Because your father would never have given me his precious youngest daughter.

"If you know me like you truly claimed, you would know I am not his precious daughter. I have no interest in the kind of world and businesses he runs. My sister does. So if you want a queen for your dynasty. It's her.

"He wants you for a political trade later. He thinks you're a hidden ace. He used Sofia as the bait, thinking he could keep you for someone else ." he replied unbothered.

He brushed his lips against my ear. " But I didn't play by Lorenzo Rossi's rules. I took the bait so I could burn the whole trap down. By the time this wedding arrives, Sofia would be the least of my problems. And you. Will be in my arms. You belong to me, Iris. Every fiber in you is mine."

I tried to push him away, but my hand landed on his broad chest. It was like trying to move a mountain. He didn't budge instead, he grabbed my wrists, pinning them behind the armchair. He didn't hurt me but the display of strength was absolute.

"Can I kiss you? Iris ?" He asked his mouth almost on mine. I could feel his hot breath on my face.

"Let me go, Salvatore."

"Not until you understand," he said, his voice dropping to a low command." You're going to play the part of the dutiful sister. You are going to help Sofia plan her wedding. You are going to stand at the altar as her bridesmaid.

I won't, "I sobbed." I won't do what you just asked. You belong to my sister. To Sofia.

"You will ." He countered, his eyes burning into mine ." Because if you don't, I'll start taking things away from his family. First, your father's business. Then, your sister's reputation. And finally your freedom. Do you understand, Iris? You are mine.

No...no he can't be serious. He can't stake a claim on me like I'm his.

"You have been since the moment I saw you five years ago standing in the rain outside your school, looking like you wanted to set the world on fire, only that it's me you light it on, and I can feel it burn, deep inside my veins. No one can set it off, not you, not your father, or even a fire extinguisher."

He released my wrist and stepped back , the sudden loss of his heat made me whimper. Lowky. He looked perfectly composed again, as if he hadn't just admitted to stalking me for half a decade.

"Go to sleep, little mouse," he said, glancing towards the door ." And keep the locket. It looks better on you than it did in the box.

Without another word, he melted into the shadows of the library. I stayed in the chair for a long time, my heart racing, the scent of jasmine and sandalwood clinging to my skin like a brand.

I looked at the locket in my hand. It wasn't a gift anymore, it was a leash.

Salvatore Moretti wasn't here to marry into my family. He was here to colonize it. And it was the territory he had achieved.

I was in the same spot for a while trying to stabilize my breathing. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed.

What did he want from you?

A voice said from the door of the library. I turned back slowly. My heart was beating loudly as if it would burst out of my rib cage.

Sofia was standing there with her hand on her waist and I knew she was trying to keep it from shaking.

What did she see?