Chapter 3 The Mansion

ARIA MORETTI

Aria thought she was entering into a whole new world.

The gates were so big that their sheer size made her forget her imminent problems-a suffering father who was now going to be left alone, and the path of uncertainty that lay wide before her for the smallest fraction of a second. The guards standing there were just as distracting, for she had hardly seen men who were so mechanical, so devoid of life that they moved as though they were born and bred for opening those gates to the man who owned them.

All they did was stare and salute as the car passed.

"You won't be passing these gates for a long time," the man announced, sitting comfortably in the owner's corner. He was a deliberate man, that one, because all the five men he brought with him were in a different car going before this one, which was occupied by only the driver in front, himself and her.

She did not answer his words too, far too frightened of the ice in his voice to want to say anything. Yet, their eyes met, and she found a cruel look waiting for her beneath the pools that were his. It was as though he was the Devil, and she was his captive.

The vehicle moved forward before stopping in front of one of the biggest mansions she had ever seen. It towered high in the night sky, and white lights glowered from it so that it appeared almost otherworldly. Once it did, the man got out of the car door which his driver held open for him, and vanished inside of the house. She stood outside, dumbfounded, and even thought of how hard it would be to slip off and run away. Only the sight of a woman dressed in a housemaid's uniform coming towards her could manage to distract her from these things.

"Welcome. Don Nico Romano has asked me to prepare you for him. Come with me."

Clueless and unaware of what to do, Aria hesitated. It all felt like a trap waiting to spring up on her, and something from within wanted her to renounce her promises, run back home, and to dare the man to do what he would if he could. But her father...

Her lip disappeared into her mouth and her teeth pressed hard on it. A short distance before her, the woman stood waiting, and Aria clenched her fists before following her lead into the big mansion.

It was unlike anything in the place she had come to know as home-it smelled of lavender and rose and the air conditioners hiding high up in the walls pumped a cool wind on her skin as she walked past. The walls were white and the lights reflected off them in a colour that was beautiful, but there was something foreboding about the place that made her wish she was back at home, and with her father.

"He has asked me to give you this room. You should like it..."

And before she was done talking, the woman pushed the doors open to reveal a large room that was big enough to be half her apartment. There was a queen size bed in the middle of the room, and everything on the inside seemed to promise her comfort and luxury. They both stepped inside of it, and Aria stood right in the centre, refusing to believe she would be treated so well by that man.

The doors slammed shut, and Aria turned to see the woman looking straight at her.

"So Don Nico brought you here?" She asked, and Aria thought there was something fiery about her eyes before nodding to imply yes.

"He wants to teach you a lesson, then. And the best thing you will do for yourself is to learn it."

The woman she spoke to found herself oddly suspicious of her, and for good reason. "Why are you telling me this?"

"He hardly brings a woman into the house. Somehow, you're here. I do not know why, but I will only ask that you be wise. Act as you should, and you will be fine around here."

The words were no threat, nor were they spoken in a way that meant it was one. There was indeed something motherly and comforting about her heavily accented voice as she heard it, and Aria found herself liking the woman for this single tip she had just gotten.

"You should also bathe and wait and get ready for yourself to be called upon. As for more clothes, they will be given to you the next morning."

"Why should I wait to be called upon? What does he want me to do?" Aria asked, now confused. She had her suspicions, and hoped they would be far from reality.

"Don Nico wants you with him tonight."

At once, Aria's eyes widened.

"What does he want me for?"

Aria felt Anita's eyes go cold. "You shouldn't bother if you think it's sex. Don Nico will not try to sleep with you tonight. But he wants you for a reason you might never know until you find out. I will come to you when he wants you around. Enjoy while you can."

Slowly, and with these words, Anita withdrew, leaving the newcomer alone in the room. She could only swallow and sit and wait for what would happen while disturbed that she was now a part of a game whose rules could be anything.

Anything at all...

**

Aria could hardly remain in one place while alone. The room was a pretty, tidy place, but she felt caged within the walls, an animal in a zoo.

What was all this? What had she just done?

It was all to save her father, but now she did not know if she could go through with it.

She was still debating when a knock on the door and her answer led to Anita coming again, her head peeking through the open space in the door. "He wants you now."

The simplicity of the command left her dumbfounded, and she let herself be led through an endless labyrinth of hallways that only ended before a mighty, mahogany double door that parted to reveal a grand room with red curtains and carpets. It was a room so large that she was almost lost until she stared straight down and found herself staring into his eyes.

He was simply unbelievable, this Nico Romano man, the one Anita called The Don. For the first time, she took a good look at his face under some good lighting, and that slick, jet black hair of his that had been drawn into a tight ponytail. His blue eyes were sharp enough to cut diamonds, and so was the trace of his jawline. He sat composed in this seat as though he was Lord of all, with twenty men or so gathered around him, ten on each side. There were also several guards behind him, armed with sunglasses and guns.

"Come," She heard him say, his voice reverberating around the room.