Chapter 5 Lies Between The Sheets

I didn't sleep.

Not after what I found.

The Rosetti family.

My family.

My marriage.

None of it felt like coincidence anymore.

It felt like strategy.

I stared at the folder in Luca's office long after I should've left. I knew I was crossing a line. But the man I married had built a world on secrets and if I didn't start digging, I'd be buried beneath them.

When I heard footsteps on the stairs, I barely had time to shove the folder back and slip into the hallway like I hadn't just uncovered a possible reason I was dragged into his world.

Luca entered the room seconds later.

He didn't see me.

But he looked... different. Haunted. Tired. Like the weight he carried was finally catching up to him.

A warlord in a moment of silence.

And I was married to him.

The next morning, he didn't speak much at breakfast.

Neither did I.

We danced around each other like strangers with too many shared sins.

But later, while I was sitting by the window in the east wing-trying to sketch something that didn't feel hollow-he walked in and dropped a folded piece of paper beside me.

"What's this?"

"An invitation," he said. "There's a charity gala. Rosetti's son will be there."

I froze.

He knew.

My eyes flicked up to his. "You went through my things?"

"No," he said coldly. "But I know what you were looking for in my office."

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. Shame? Guilt? Or just the terrifying awareness that I wasn't as good at hiding as I thought.

"You could've just told me the truth."

Luca laughed-bitter and sharp. "And what truth would you like, Aria? That I married you to protect your father? That I knew Rosetti would come after you if I didn't? That you're a pawn in a game you didn't ask to play?"

I stood, heart pounding.

"So it was about revenge."

"It was about survival," he snapped. "Yours. Your family's. And yes-mine too."

His voice lowered.

"They were going to take you. I made sure they didn't."

I backed away. "You don't get to act like you saved me. You just bought me before they could."

He flinched.

And that was when I realized... I'd actually hurt him.

Good.

Because I was drowning in confusion, and he deserved to feel some of it too.

"You wanted control?" I whispered. "Congratulations. You have it. But don't pretend this is love."

His gaze sharpened. "No. But it's starting to feel like something worse."

"What's worse than love?"

"Needing someone you can't afford to lose."

That night, I didn't sleep in my room.

Not because I wanted space.

Because I couldn't handle the silence between us.

I wandered down the long, dark hallway until I found myself outside his door again.

And just like before... it opened.

This time, I didn't hesitate.

I stepped inside.

He didn't speak.

He just reached for me, pulled me to him, and buried his face in my hair like it was the only place he could breathe.

We didn't kiss.

We didn't undress.

We just lay there in the dark, hearts beating like thunder, two people pretending the world outside that room didn't exist.

But it did.

And it was coming for us.

I wanted answers.

But now I was tangled in something bigger than truth.

And the man I was supposed to fear... was starting to feel like the only one I could trust.