Chapter 9 I WAS JUST A TRANSACTION

Ariana's POV

I don't even know how many days it's been since the wedding. Not that the word 'wedding' really fits what happened. There were no flowers. No friends. No white dress. Just silence. An exchange. A transaction. And me, shoved into a new life that feels more like a sentence than a beginning.

The mansion is massive. Beautiful, yes. Grand enough to take your breath away the first time you walk in. But it hums with a coldness that settles in your bones. Every wall feels like it's watching. Every hallway stretches too long. Every door closes too loudly. And him? Leone Maurizio walks these halls like he owns not just the house, but the air in it too. Maybe he does.

He hasn't looked at me properly in days. I mean really looked. He passes me like I'm furniture. Once, I used to flinch every time I saw him coming now, I just go still. Like prey. Like something waiting for the predator to pounce.

I hate that I've started getting used to it.

Luna tried, though. She always does. Tonight, she was sitting on my bed, brushing my hair like we were actual sisters. She was humming some soft tune, and for a second, I let myself close my eyes. It was the only thing that felt remotely human lately someone brushing my hair without an agenda.

"You're quiet today," she said, her voice light, but I could hear the worry behind it.

I opened my eyes and offered her a half-smile. "Is that new?"

She smiled back, warm and teasing. "Fair. Still... it wouldn't kill you to talk to me."

I let out a soft breath, not quite a laugh. "Maybe I'll learn."

Her fingers paused in my hair. "He's not always like this, you know. Leone. He has his moods. But he's not heartless."

I didn't answer. Because I didn't know what he was. He hadn't touched me since I got here. Hadn't yelled. Hadn't smiled. He just... existed. Powerfully. Quietly. Like a storm waiting.

Luna's phone buzzed. She glanced at it and stood. "Dante's waiting. I have to go. Eat something, okay?"

I nodded. She kissed my forehead and left. I stayed there, staring at the door long after it clicked shut. I didn't want her to leave. Not because I was scared, but because I knew what came after she left: silence. Too much of it.

Later, when sleep wouldn't come again I gave up. Wrapped myself in a robe and padded out of the room, barefoot and exhausted. I didn't know where I was going. Maybe I was looking for tea. Or maybe just proof that the world still turned without me.

The house was quiet. Too quiet. Every creak in the floor, every rustle of curtain, felt magnified. I could hear my own heartbeat, loud and unsure.

Then I heard them. Voices.

I paused. One of them was unmistakable: Leone.

I shouldn't have stopped. I should have turned back. But something in me a gut feeling or just pure masochism made me inch closer. The library door was cracked open just enough.

"She's just a piece of the puzzle," a deep voice said. Someone I didn't recognize.

Then Leone, his tone hard and flat: "I didn't ask for her. I never wanted her. But now that she's here... she serves a purpose."

My stomach twisted.

The other man scoffed. "You getting soft on the girl?"

A pause. A long, heavy one.

Then Leone, colder than ice: "She was bait. And it worked. That's all that matters."

There was no doubt in my mind what I'd just heard.

His voice wasn't muffled. The door wasn't thick. I heard every single word clear as day.

And it broke me.

I didn't wait to hear more.

I turned. Walked. Then ran. My robe swept around my ankles, and the floor was cold under my feet. But nothing was colder than what was spreading in my chest.

Back in my room, I locked the door with shaking hands and collapsed to the floor.

Bait. Useful. Not wanted.

God, I was stupid. So, so stupid. All those nights I thought maybe just maybe there was something real forming between us. A flicker. A thread. A beginning.

He was just using me. Like my father did. Like Greta did. I was currency. Leverage. A means to an end.

And I like the fool I am had started to fall for him.

I didn't come down the next day. Didn't open the door for Luna. Didn't eat. I just sat by the window, hugging my knees, watching the world move without me.

I didn't even know what I was feeling anymore. Sadness? Rage? Shame? They all blurred together. I thought monsters were supposed to be obvious. Big. Loud. Fanged.

But sometimes, they kiss your hand. Call you wife. And use you like a pawn.

I must've drifted off because when the door creaked open, I startled. I didn't turn around.

But I knew it was him.

His presence filled the room before he spoke.

"You've been hiding."

I stayed silent.

He stepped closer. "Ariana."

Still, nothing.

"Look at me."

I turned slowly. Not because he asked. Because I needed to see if he would lie to my face.

His eyes searched mine. But I didn't see remorse. Not softness. Just confusion. Irritation, maybe.

"You used me," I whispered.

He blinked. "What did you hear?"

I let out a bitter laugh. "Don't bother. Don't you dare insult my intelligence. I heard every single word, Leone. Clearly. Word for word. There's no mishearing what you said. So don't stand there and pretend this is something else."

His jaw tightened. "You misunderstood."

"Did I? Because it sounded pretty damn clear to me."

He took a step forward. I backed away.

"Don't," I said, holding out my hand. "Don't come near me. Don't touch me. Don't talk to me like I matter."

His voice dropped. Dangerous. "You don't get to run again."

My throat tightened. "Run? You think this is about escape? I just want the truth! Did you ever see me as a person, Leone? Or was I just... debt payment?"

He didn't answer.

And that silence? It cracked something inside me.

"I want to leave," I said quietly. Almost too quietly.

He stared at me. A long, heavy silence. Then: "No."

"You can't keep me here."

"Watch me."

"I trusted you," I said, voice cracking. "I let myself believe you were different. That maybe, just maybe, I could matter to someone."

He stepped forward. I didn't move.

Then his voice, lower now, more tense than angry: "You matter."

"No," I said. "You just want to own me."

He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something else. Maybe something real. But I was already turning away.

I needed to breathe. To scream. To forget his face.

He grabbed my wrist.

I turned and slapped him.

The sound echoed.

He froze. His eyes darkened. His chest heaved like he was struggling to hold something in.

But he didn't touch me. Didn't speak.

He just turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

And I sank to the floor.

All over again.

That night, I didn't sleep.

Didn't cry.

Just sat there, hollow.

I thought monsters roared. Had fangs. Claws.

But some wear suits. Whisper lies. Kiss your forehead and call it love.

And you don't realize what they took until there's nothing left to give.