ric Vale sat to my right, posture straight, jacket cut sharp, every movement deliberate. His father was across from us, already deep in conversation with my uncle.


    ric turned slightly toward me, his voice even. “Emilia, how was your day?”


    “It was fine. How was yours?” I answered smoothly, folding my napkin across myp. He didn’t ask because he cared, he asked, so we could direct the conversation back to him. Where it would stay for the rest of the night.


    “My days will be better when I’m out of that hotel. The building seems to hate me.” he said, eyes sweeping the room.


    “How are you liking Viin?” I smiled faintly.


    “My father thought it time I begin handling matters here myself. Viin is… instructive.”


    “That’s a diplomatic way to put it,” I said, tilting my head.


    He smiled slightly. “And what word would you choose?”


    “Unforgiving,”


    His eyes lingered on me, assessing. “Then it will suit me.”


    The servers arrived then, cing tes before us, silver lids.


    I forced a polite smile, but my chest ached. I should have been upstairs, listening to Bastion curse at a pan while Luca tried to chop herbs with surgical precision. Dinner with them, not this performance.


    “Have you ever tasted osso buco, Emilia?” ric asked.


    “No, I don’t think I have.”<fndc40> Get full chapters from find(?)ovel</fndc40>


    He l lifted his fork halfway between us. “Come here.”


    Themand was soft, but it left no room for refusal. He shifted closer, eyes steady on me as I leaned forward and took the bite.


    I chewed, swallowed carefully.


    “So?” His gaze didn’t waver. “Do you like it?”


    No I didn’t. But that wasn’t the answer he wanted. I nodded once.


    I knew there were others that would consider me weak for agreeing and bending so quickly. But they didn’t see the longer game. A Dynasty merger wasn’t about the love, it was about blood. My submission to him, wasn’t about giving him power. It was choosing how I would mould him around me.


    His thumb brushed across my bottom lip. My stomach clenched — there was no food there, nothing to wipe away. Just a mark. Possession disguised as etiquette.


    “I identally smudged your lipstick,” he murmured.


    I leaned forward slightly, lowering myshes. “Did you?” The whisper tasted soft, practiced.


    It burned, but I had to y my part. This was the role. My uncles and Alexander clearly valued a merger with the Vales, or this dinner would never have been staged.


    His thumb lingered at my lip, his knee brushing mine beneath the table.


    I forced myself to hold the smile, even as my nce flicked past his shoulder.


    Luca.


    He stood at the bar, a ss in his hand, his eyes locked on me.


    ricr’s fingers brushed my hair back, coaxing my gaze back to him. I smiled faintly. “Your drink’s nearly empty,” I said. “I’ll get you another.”


    He smirked at that, removing his hand from my knee.


    I walked toward the bar, every step deliberate, the weight of dynasty eyes on my back. But all I felt was his stare—Luca’s—burning through me, locked and unrelenting.


    I ordered ric’s drink.


    I kept a careful distance between myself and Luca. Even from here, the air was thick with him.


    “Who’s the tourist?” His voice was cold.


    “ric Vale.” My eyes flicked to Luca, and I saw it, the way he was staring at me.


    “The fucker is feeding you. In our restaurant. In a building we own.”


    It wasn’t just what he said.


    “Stop looking at me like that,” I said under my breath, shame already rising hot in my chest.


    “Like what?”


    “Like I’m cheating on you and Bastion.”


    The words physically hurt.


    I turned, forcing the mask back on. “This is all I can offer you. A life long affair.”


    He said nothing.


    My throat tightened. “This was a mistake. Starting this back up again.” The bartender set the drink down between us. I didn’t look at it. “We’re just going to hurt each other.”


    “Emilia.” His hand flexed once, I knew it was taking his self control not to grab me. “You walk away from me right now, and I’ll walk over there and drag you from that seat until we finish this conversation.”


    I nodded once. “Okay. I’m listening. Tell me how you’re going to get those four men over there to sign me to you. And Damius, tell me how your grandfather allows it. Tell me your n, Luca.”


    I hoped he had one. That right now he would give me something solid. Instead my heart started breaking just like it had three years ago when they stopped replying.


    “I saw the clothes,” I whispered. The pain bled straight through my voice. “I walked into the wrong room. Your spare room.”


    Luca’s face dropped.


    “At least it makes sense now. Must be a lot of work, removing her clothes from your wardrobe every time Ie over.”


    Pain consumed me. “I ignored it, Luca. The ne. The hair ties. The security messages on your phone with updates on her.”


    “It’s not what you think.”


    I nodded tightly. “Of course not. It’s not like you and Bastion only show up to events you’re not formally invited to, dragging me into corners and bathrooms like a secret.”


    I raised my hand, beckoning the bartender. “Pour this whiskey down the drain. Then pour another.”


    The man hesitated, but then nodded. Anything to buy myself more time.


    “Tell me I’m wrong, Luca. Please. Tell me it’s all in my head.”


    The bartender set the new ss in front of me. I didn’t touch it.


    I turned to Luca. My eyes flickered to his.


    “It’s not what you think.”


    “Fine.” I wrapped my hand around the drink, “Then exin it. Exin why you have a wardrobe worth of women’s clothes on racks in your spare room. Exin why your phone lights up with updates from her security. Exin why Bastion has an entire message thread instructing his men to preheat the car before she gets in.”


    I stepped closer, “Or better yet…Exin why neither of you ever mentioned the penthouse. The one everyone whispers about.”


    The pain suddenly got a lot worse, because I could handle the truth, but being told lies, fed under the disguise of hope. I couldn’t handle that.


    I waited.


    One second. Two. Three.


    He didn’t say anything.


    The silence hollowed me out. I took it as my answer.


    Turning on my heel, I walked back toward the table. My mask was already sliding back into ce when his hand closed around my arm, sharp and unyielding.


    “Luca—” I hissed, trying to pull free. “Let go of me.”


    He didn’t. His grip only tightened.


    In one motion he snatched ric’s untouched ss from my hand, tossed the ss into the nter by the door. Then he pulled me with him, his stride quick, unstoppable, until the bathroom door mmed shut behind us.


    “Let go of me, Luca,”


    Instead he turned, pressing me back against the tiled wall. His hand locked at my hip.


    “If you go back to that man, Emilia, he will be dead by morning,” his mouth at my ear. “I’ll make it look like an ident. Can’t have our beautiful girl losing sleep.”


    I pushed at his chest, I made it too steps before he caught my wrists easily. He turned me, pressing me forward until my hips met the marble vanity.


    His hand spread t against my stomach, pinning me back to him. The other hand pulled my skirt up.


    “He had no right to touch you. To feed you.”


    “Lu—”


    His hand mped over my mouth, silencing me.


    The fabric tore with a rip as he forced the dress higher. “You’re ours. To feed. To care for. To fucking worship.” His voice was soft, as he kissed my ear.


    “Reach around,” he murmured. “Undo Daddy’s belt.”


    My breathing turned sharp but, I didn’t move.


    “Baby.” The one wordnded like amand. “Undo my belt. So I can fuck you. Remind you who you belong to.”


    My hands shook as I reached around and undid the buckle, leaving the belt loose, the click of the metal.


    “Now the zip,”


    “Luca—someone mighte in.”


    “I fucking hope so,” his hands gripping me tighter “Angel. Now.”


    The word broke me. My hand slid lower, trembling as I pulled the zipper down.


    “He touched your mouth like he had a fucking right to,” Luca hissed, his teeth grazing my ear. His grip tight on my hip until the hold bruising.


    “Take my cock out,” his mouth still at my ear.


    My breath ragged, but my hands obeyed, pulling him free.


    He groaned against my neck. “Good girl.”


    Then he positioned me, his chest pressed heavy to my back, his hand forcing mine t against the cold surface.


    My voice cracked, my hands sliding helplessly across the vanity again.


    “t,” he ced my palms back down against the cold marble. “Stay. Don’t move unless I say.”


    “That’s my good girl.”


    Every thrust mmed deep, brutal, the sound of it echoing sharp off the tiles. His grip the only thing keeping me anchored.


    “You’re making me so proud, baby,” he groaned, dragging me back onto him harder. “Taking it this rough for me. That’s daddy’s good girl.”


    I gasped.


    “You like that don’t you,” His hand mped on my hips, pulling me back, watching the way my body gave under him in the mirror. His eyes were wild.


    “My sweet girl is ready to squirt, aren’t you?” His voice low against my ear, “I can feel it. You’re seconds away. See how Daddy, knew the exact angle to put you at? Because you’re ours baby.”


    The marble was cold, his rhythm merciless, the praise dragging me higher.


    “Aww, there it is,” he kissed my neck, the thrusts sharper, angled, hitting the same spot over and over. “Right there. You’re about to soak me, soak this floor, aren’t you?”


    My sob choked out, the pressure unbearable.


    “Please, Luca—not here.”


    I turned my head, but his hand was already there, catching my jaw, forcing me back. “Eyes on me,” his reflection locked into mine. “Don’t look away. Not from me.”


    Then he shifted, pulling me back, his hips changing angle just enough to ease me off the brutal spot he’d been riding. The rhythm slowed, deliberate, dragging.


    His chest pressed tight to my back, his lips at my hairline, softer now.


    “I love you, baby,” he whispered into my hair, the words a rasp. “So fucking much. You don’t even know. Every second, every thought—it’s you.”


    Tears filled my eyes again, blurring the reflection.


    “You consume me.” he murmured, rocking into me slow, grounding. “Ours to worship. Ours to ruin. Ours to keep.”


    His hand stroked down my stomach, anchoring me, back to him.


    “I’ll never let anyone else feed you. Never let anyone else touch you. You belong to us, Emilia. We’ll never let you go. ”


    The rhythm softened further, each thrust more like a promise, his voice worship tangled in every word.


    “I love you, baby,” he said again, kissing the back of my neck. “I’ll prove it every fucking day until you finally believe me.”


    His hips rocked slow, deep, dragging me back into him with every movement. Each thrust was steady.


    My chest tightened.


    “Good girl,” he soothed, his palm sliding over my stomach, holding me against him. “Stay with me. Feel me. Let Daddy take you there.”


    My sob broke into the mirror.


    “That’s it,” he coaxed, his rhythm slow, each movement stroking me higher. “Taking daddy’s cock so fucking good. Making me so fucking proud.”


    “Luca—”


    “So perfect when you cry for me. Don’t hold back, angel. Give it to me. Give me everything.”


    It was overwhelming.


    “I’ve got you,” he murmured, kissing my temple. “Safe. Ours. Always ours.”


    The pressure built sharp but softer this time, coaxed instead of demanded. My hands pressed harder to the marble, tears blurring my reflection.


    “Cum for me, baby,” he whispered, the words so slowly, watching me. “Show me how much you love me. Show me I’m still yours.”


    His praise undid me, his vow shattered me. I broke with a sob, trembling, my body shaking against him.


    “That’s it,” Luca groaned, grounding me with his hand at my stomach, his lips pressed into my hair. “Good girl. Such a good girl for me. I’m so proud of you, baby.”


    My breaths uneven, but he slowed with me, easing me down.


    “I love you,” he said again, kissing my temple, softer now.


    My tears only came harder. He turned me, cupping my face, holding me against his chest. Minutes passed, he helped fix my dress. I did his zip up.


    “Tell me how this ends,” I said, voice unsteady. “Tell me how we get more than a bathroom every time someone looks at me too long.”


    “Your family isn’t a problem,” he said too fast.


    “So it’s yours,” I let the tears run down my face. “What’s her name?”


    “There isn’t anyone else,”


    “Then whose clothes are in your spare room?” My voice trembled and I hated it. “Why do your security pings read like a caretaker’s log? Why did Bastion request fresh bloodwork for her? Why didn’t you ever tell me about the penthouse everyone whispers you built?”


    His silence hurt more than the truth.


    I swallowed. “I’m engaged, Luca.”


    He didn’t move. “No, you’re not.”


    “I am.” The words shook—not from doubt, from the act of living them out loud. “It will be announced next week.”


    His fingers tightened at my waist as if he could squeeze the sentence out of existence. “No.”


    “This is all I can offer you,” I said, and the words nearly killed me. “A lifelong affair.”


    He stared at me like I’d spoken anothernguage. “You’re not marrying him.”


    “If the Vale contract falls through,” I whispered, “there are two other families waiting. The shortlist is locked. Alexander signed off. I’m the paper between them.”


    He pulled me back from his chest, “Tell me their names.”


    “It doesn’t matter. They’re the same man in different suits.”


    “Don’t do this,” he said, and the plea cracked out of him raw. “Trust me.”


    “I did. And then you taught me how to live without answers.”


    He flinched like I’d struck him.


    “Tell me how we end up more than corners and locked doors,” I said. “Tell me how your grandfather allows it. How those four men at my table sign me over to you.” I swallowed. “Give me the n, Luca.”


    I asked again, desperate. Apart of me wanting to believe that this worked out differently.


    He opened his mouth and said nothing.


    “I can’t keep breaking you,” I said, my hand went to his face, and I wiped a tears away from his cheek. “And I won’t let you break me.”


    “Angel—”


    “I’m sorry.” I kissed his cheek, softly. “We shouldn’t have started this again.”


    The words seemed to empty the room.


    He searched my eyes like he could find a lifeline I hadn’t hidden well enough.


    “ric Vale is one of three final candidates. I will end up married to him. Or to a man just like him.”


    He shook his head once, twice. “No.”


    “You’ll keep loving me in the dark,” I said, “and I’ll keep pretending it doesn’t hurt you and Bastion. We’ll all drown slower. That’s the only difference.”


    “Don’t say goodbye.”


    I pressed my forehead to his for one breath.


    “I have to.” My voice barely carried. “Because I love you too much to let you keep doing this to yourself.”


    His breath stuttered against my skin. “We can’t stay away.”


    “You have to,” I said, pulling back, even as it tore me open. “Stay away from me, Luca. We’re over.”


    I stepped back first. He let me go.


    I smoothed my skirt, re-centered the mask that always fit too well, and turned for the door.


    He didn’t pull me back.


    Because he saw it in my eyes.


    I was done.