Avery's POV
It has been two days since Luca kissed me in front of half of Venice and declared war with his action, two days since my face became public, two days since strangers decided they knew who I was and somehow… I was still here, still breathing, still choosing this.
I stood by the tall window of Luca's apartment, my fingers resting lightly on the window as I stared out at the beach below. The water moved slowly, glowing under the hot afternoon sun. Ships passed occasionally, tourists laughing, normal life continuing like nothing had changed but everything had.
For me, at least.
I wasn't hiding in the bedroom anymore, wasn't flinching at every small sound or checking over my shoulder every second, not because the danger was gone but because something inside me had changed. I still felt fear, it just wasn't in control anymore.
"Watching the water won't tell you anything useful."
Marco's voice came from behind me, calm as always. I didn't turn immediately.
"I wasn't looking for answers."
"Then what were you looking for?"
I finally looked over my shoulder. "I don't know… maybe something that still feels normal."
Marco stepped further into the room. "Normal is a luxury" he said.
"I figured."
He stopped a few feet away, looking me carefully like he was trying to understand something.
"You're still here" he said.
It wasn't a question.
"No one forced me to stay."
"No," he agreed. "They didn't."
I crossed my arms loosely. "Are you trying to figure out if I'm going to run?"
"I already know you're not."
That made me pause. "How?"
Marco's lips curved slightly. "Because if you were going to run, you would have done it yesterday."
He wasn't wrong. I looked back out at the beach.
"I thought about it."
"I know."
"But I didn't."
"No."
It was silent between us for a while, then Marco spoke again.
"You've already made your choice."
"I haven't said it out loud."
"You don't need to."
I exhaled slowly. "That doesn't mean I'm not terrified."
"I would be concerned if you weren't."
I let out a small sigh. "That's comforting in a very strange way."
Marco stepped closer, resting his hand on the back of a chair. "You're beginning to understand something important."
"What's that?"
"That fear doesn't go away."
I turned to face him fully. "Then what changes?"
"You do."
The words settled in my mind. Marco continued, his voice calm. "Fear makes people predictable and predictable people are easy to control."
I frowned slightly. "And I'm predictable?"
"You were."
That hurt when it shouldn't.
"And now?"
He looked at me and we locked eyes for a while. "Now you're learning not to be."
I didn't know whether to feel proud or insulted.
"Is this your way of training me?"
Marco's expression remained blank. "I don't train people."
"Then what do you do?"
"I prepare them."
"For what?"
"For the reality they have chosen to walk"
Footsteps came softly from the hallway. My heart reacted instantly. Luca. I didn't know when I had started recognizing the sound of his presence so easily but I had. He walked into the room a second later, his presence commanding the space effortlessly.
Today, he looked… calmer. His dark eyes found mine immediately, he smiled and something in my chest fluttered.
"There you are" he said softly.
I tried to ignore how relieved he sounded. "Where else would I be?"
His lips curved slightly. "Fair point."
Marco excused himself "I'll give you both some time."
He walked past Luca, pausing briefly near the door and whispered quietly "She's thinking differently now"
Luca didn't look at him. "I know."
Marco left and the room suddenly felt different. I shifted slightly.
"Does he always analyze people like that?"
"Yes."
"That's a little weird."
"It's useful."
I chuckled. "I feel like I'm being examined."
"You are."
I blinked. "That's not comforting."
"It's not meant to be."
I studied him for a moment. "You look less… public today."
One of his brows lifted slightly. "Less public?"
"Less… intimidating" I corrected.
His lips curved. "That's because I'm not pretending right now."
"Pretending?"
Luca walked closer, stopping just in front of me.
"My confidence," he said quietly. "Most of it is not real."
I blinked. "You're joking."
"I'm not."
"That doesn't make sense."
"It does," he replied calmly. "In my world, hesitation is weakness. Doubt is dangerous. So you must learn to hide it."
I looked deep in his eyes . "And the smile?"
He scoffed.
"You fake it?" I asked softly.
"Most of the time."
Something about that made my chest ache. "Why are telling me this now?"
"Because you should know who you're standing beside."
The honesty in his voice made heat blooming in my cheeks. I looked away.
"That's… a lot."
"I know"
I leaned back slightly against the table. "Why me?"
The question slipped out before I could stop it. Luca didn't answer immediately.
"I didn't plan for any of this" he said finally.
"That's not really an answer."
"I know."
He stepped closer. "I don't choose people easily."
"That sounds worrying."
"It should."
A small smile formed on my lips. "Then why did you choose me?"
His eyes softened. "I didn't."
I frowned. "That makes even less sense."
"It just happened" he explained.
"That's not helpful either."
His voice lowered slightly. "Walking away from you felt wrong."
My heart skipped. "That's it?"
"No."
"Then what else?"
Luca hesitated, just for a second but I noticed.
"I don't fully understand it yet" he admitted.
"You don't?" his honesty catching me off guard.
"No."
I sighed. "That's… actually reassuring."
His brow lifted. "Why?"
"Because if you had some perfect explanation, I would think you were lying."
He smiled. "I'm not."
"I know."
I actually did and that was the dangerous part.
*****
Later that afternoon, Luca led me through another part of the apartment I have never seen before or maybe it wasn't part of the apartment because it felt different. We stepped into a dark room lined with screens, cameras showing angles of every corner of the building, every entrance, even possible blind spot.
I slowed my steps. "This is… a lot."
"It's necessary."
I walked closer to one of the screens showing the street outside. People moving freely yet unaware they were being watched.
"Do you monitor everything?" I asked quietly.
"Yes."
"All the time?"
"Yes, this isn't just about your safety baby "
"No?" I turned to look at him.
"It's about controlling the situation before it gets any worse"
"This is your world." I asked, moving around the room.
"Yes."
"And you live like this every day?"
"Yes."
I looked back at the screens, at the quiet surveillance.
"This isn't just wealth" I murmured.
Luca didn't deny it.
I wrapped my arms around myself slightly. "Do you ever get tired of it?"
"Yes."
I looked at him. "Then why stay?"
His expression shifted. "Because leaving isn't an option."
"Why?"
"Because this world doesn't let you walk away."
*****
That night, the apartment was quiet again but not in the suffocating way it has always been. I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. I should have been exhausted but sleep doesn't come easily anymore, too many thoughts and emotions kept me awake.
Beside me, Luca shifted gently. I turned my head. He was asleep and for the first time since I have known him, he looked different, his expression was softer.
This was the version of him no one else saw, hidden behind power, reputation and confidence. Something he didn't show the world and somehow… he had shown it to me.
I looked at his face, noticing his usual sharp lines were softened by sleep, the tension was gone.
I exhaled slowly. "For the first time…" my voice was barely a whisper. "I wasn't afraid of them."
My eyes stayed on him, on the man who had pulled me into a world I didn't understand, who could destroy me without even trying and maybe… starting to need.
"I'm afraid of how much I'm starting to need you."