"I'm not some trinket you get to keep," she goes on. "I'm not a prize or an object, I'm a fucking person. And today you destroyed my life. I'll never forgive you for it. Never."
"Then I'll spend a lifetime trying to make it up to you."
"I don't want that."
"Really?" I smirk, fully back in my dominant role. I'm the boss now. I'm Marzia's owner, her captor. She dances to the melody of my song and nobody else's. "Who says I give a shit about what you want, Marzia? All I care about is getting control over you. And something tells me I have that already."
She remains quiet, glaring at me and refusing to speak. I guess we've made it to the silent treatment portion of the evening. It's really fucking amusing how hard she tries to fight the obvious attraction between us. I want to say so many things to her. Prove to her she never cared about her parents at all, and that I'm all she needs. Instead, I settle for tugging on her arm and dragging her outside where a limousine awaits to take us to her new gilded cage.
"You will love me, Marzia De Luca," I tell her sternly. "I'll make you if I have to, but some day, someday soon, I will hear you tell me you love me despite everything that just happened."
"I'd rather die," she hisses, breaking the silent pact she's made with herself. "You will never own me."
I pull her against me, flattening her body against the door of the limousine as I reach between her legs again.
"Stupid bambina," I mutter with a smirk. "You're forgetting I already do..."
8
Marzia
I will never stop hating Adrian Bernardi.
The man ruined my life and he seems intent on continuing to do that for the rest of it. My parents are dead, God only knows what he did to my brother, and my fiancé-to-be has barely escaped with his life.
Once upon a time, I thought I could love Adrian Bernardi. Now I know it was the foolish thinking of a little girl who wanted to see the best in people. But there's nothing good about Adrian—he's a monster.
I am shown from one gilded cage to another, led from the massacre at my parents’ house to the luxurious quarters of the Bernardi family. My head hangs low as I'm led from the shiny black limousine to the Bernardi Estate. I am a prisoner here, and if they expect me to act happy about this, they're in for a big disappointment.
Still, I can't help sneaking a glance at my surroundings. The Bernardi Estate is enormous. There is a huge main building with a few smaller ones surrounding it for the caretaker, the gardener, and the help. There's also a guest house. Plenty of security guards are scattered around the house, glaring at the car as we enter. This place is like a prison—impossible to escape. They needn't put bars on my windows, because there's no way I'll ever get out of here.
Adrian walks next to me silently, his head held high and his lips pursed as he leads me into the house. There are several maids in the lobby chattering to one another, but everyone goes deathly still and quiet as Adrian and I enter the room. I feel their heavy gazes following me, judging my actions with every step I take. I will be scrutinized here—everything from my appearance, to the way I act and the way I hold myself looked at, examined, and looked at under a microscope.
Still, the house is impressive. It doesn't scream of new money like I'd anticipated. My family home is old, has been in the family for generations, and is starting to slowly fall apart. But not the Bernardi Estate. This place has been groomed, polished and perfected within an inch of its life. It's like being in a museum, the impression made even stronger by the expensive art that decorates every wall in the building. A grand marble staircase leads to the upper floor of the building, and a heavy crystal chandelier hangs over the grand hall, imposing with its thousands of crystals.
Anyone else would be delighted to be in the presence of such stunning beauty. But not me. I can't wait to leave this place and have my revenge on the Bernardis for what they did to me.
"I will show you to your new room," Adrian informs me.
I purse my lips, refusing to give him an answer.
Instead of pissing him off, it only seems to amuse him, and he smirks as he leads me up the stairs.
I'm not wearing handcuffs but I might as well be. I feel the invisible pull of the chain tying my ankles and wrists together tugging on my limbs as I walk. My heart pounds, wondering whether I'll ever be able to break free of this place. I want to keep my hopes up, but I'm starting to doubt my own ability to escape Adrian's prison. I'm his property now—he already told me as much.
He leads me down several long hallways until he finally comes to a stop in front of a double white door.
It doesn't escape me that there's a lock on the outside of the door, making me scoff.
If he notices my anger, Adrian doesn't acknowledge it, instead calmly opening the double doors and inviting me to follow him inside.
On the inside, there's not just a room there's a small apartment. We enter a beautiful salon with powder pink velvet furniture. Every surface here is covered in rich, light oak wood, beautiful grey marble and gold accents. It's stunning. But I've already resigned to hate every inch of this place, and I refuse to acknowledge the luxurious surroundings Adrian's going to keep me captive in. Instead, I walk through the arch into the bedroom which has a stunning, huge bed with a beautiful velvet headboard. A chandelier hangs above the bed. The furniture is beautiful, feminine, and expensive. There's a pink marble bathroom to the right, and the views of the sea are stunning from up here. I don't acknowledge any of those things, instead quietly sitting down on the bed and glaring at Adrian as he approaches me.
I half-anticipated rose-colored bars on the windows, but there are none. Probably because both Adrian and I know, jumping from a window would result in one thing only—my untimely death.
"I hope you like your new home," Adrian tells me with a smirk. "You will be staying here indefinitely."
"Not if I have anything to do with it, stronzo," I mutter under my breath.
This earns me a strict look from the man who now owns me. "Excuse me?"
"You think you can keep me locked up like an animal?" I hiss at him. "I'll never be happy here. You'll never have me. I'll fight you with everything I have in me before you get to so much as lay a finger on me."
"We'll see." He grins at me as if I've just told a joke.
"You're a murderer," I mutter.
"Actually, I didn't kill anyone." His eyes glitter with mischief as he stands before me. "My father and guards did. Of course, that doesn't change the facts. You're alone, Marzia. You don't have anyone anymore."
"I have my brother," I argue. "And Vitto—"
He doesn't let me finish. He approaches me in two quick steps, making a move to grab me but changing his mind at the last minute. My heart pounds with fear as he pulls his hand back, groaning as he runs it through his dark hair. "Don't say his name in this house," he tells me sternly. "I won't stand for it. I don't want to hear a single word about that piece of merda."
"You're talking about my fiancé," I hiss.