Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Aria’s POV
A few hours before the kidnapping
“I know you want to breathe,” Dominic said this morning, hands in his pockets, gaze unreadable. frown at first until I realize why.
“So breathe. You’ve got the day. Just don’t try to run. My men will still be watching.”
Freedom, but not really.
His handsome face held mischief which had made me
I stood by the window long after he left, arms folded as I watched two guards pretend to blend in with the garden staff. One of them scratched his head and muttered into a mic clipped near his collar. Smooth.
I sighed and turned from the window.
Fine. If I couldn’t vanish, maybe I could live a little. Just… exist without feeling like a possession on lockdown.
So, I changed out of my usual loungewear and pulled on jeans and a plain tee. Simple. Comfortable. I tied my hair up, added a pair of black flats, and headed out–no destination in mind, just this low, strange itch to feel normal.
I passed the east wing, where sunlight spilled onto the marble. The hall smelled like lemon polish and faint cologne–Dominic’s cologne. Subtle but impossible to ignore.
As I reached the back patio, I spotted one of the guards glance up from his phone and straighten.
I didn’t acknowledge him. I didn’t need to.
Instead, I walked toward the far fence, where I remembered seeing the greenhouses last week. I’d never really checked them out. The air grew warmer, heavier with the scent of damp earth and blooming herbs. It almost felt like peace.
“Aria,” someone called.
I turned and saw Luca approaching, casual, holding a file.
“You look…” he eyed my outfit, “less like a mafia princess today.”
I rolled my eyes. “Shut up.”
He grinned. “Dom really let you out, huh?”
“Not really. I can still smell the paranoia with the amount of guards stalking me.”
He handed me the file. “Before you vanish into the flowers or whatever–Dominic wanted you to look at these. Career options. Just…ideas.”
I took it and flipped through.
Design school. Event planning. Interior architecture. Even culinary programs.
“You think I’d make a good chef?”
Luca shrugged. “You’ve got sharp knives in you already.”
I snorted? “Thanks for that.”
He smiled and walked off, leaving me with silence again.
1/4
Chapter 164
For the next hour, I wandered. Touched rosemary leaves. Sat under the canopy of climbing roses. Read over the programs in the file, dipping back forth like any of this could ever belong to me.
The problem wasn’t options.
it was me.
I didn’t know who I was without danger breathing down my neck. I didn’t know how to dream without someone turning it into a weapon.
And just as I was about to go back inside-
Theard a scream.
Not loud. Just… muffled.
I stood, heart pounding, head jerking toward the greenhouse exit.
Another sound.
This time–closer.
I backed away instinctively, hand brushing my pocket. No phone.
The door burst open.
I gasped as two figures in black rushed in. Faces masked, fast–too fast.
“Hey!” I shouted, stepping back. “HEY—!”
A gloved hand slammed over my mouth.
I thrashed, kicked, but another hand gripped my wrist, twisting until I whimpered.
My legs fought against the cement floor. I elbowed one in the ribs. Hard.
“Stubborn bitch,” one hissed.
Something sharp jabbed into
my
neck.
My scream died in my throat.
Everything blurred.
The last thing I saw was the file falling from my hands…
…and the roses overhead.
Then darkness.
Dominc would never trust me with being alone because I always ended up being the source of his weakness.
And this time, I proved him right again.
The room was cold. Not physically, it was layish, overly air–conditioned, decorated like some cursed version of a luxury suite–but it was cold. In the way silence wraps around you and squeezes. I sat in a chair, wrists bound, cheek stinging.
Victoria stood across from me, swirling wine like we were at a dinner party. Nico leaned against the wall, arms folded, watching me like I was an insect
10:31 Mon 2 Jul
Chapter 164
under glass.
“I warned him,” Victoria said, her voice smooth. Too smooth. “Men like Dominic they’re always too arrogant to imagine their toys child be Laven. Ha we are going to sell her to the highest bidder..”
I didn’t respond.
The side of my face still burned from where her palm landed minutes ago. She hadn’t even flinched when she hit me. No hesitation. Just smack, and then
silence.
Nico chuckled, low and bitter. “She’s always been mouthy. You’d think by now she’d learn.”
My head snapped toward him. “And you’re a coward. That’s what you’ll always be.”
His jaw ticked. “Still bold, even in chains.”
I rolled my eyes. “Chains don’t scare me anymore. People like
- do. People who smile while selling out everything that once mattered.
Victoria turned then, slow and deliberate, heels clicking
across the marble.
She crouched in front of me, voice dipped low. “You think you’re still the victim in all this, don’t you?”
“I am the victim.”
She smiled, sharp and unsettling. “You were. Now you’re just leverage.
I laughed. It had a dry and tired tone. “Is that what you think this is? Dominic will burn this whole fucking world down to get me back. You really want to be standing in the rubble when that happens?”
She stood and looked at Nico.
He hesitated. Then nodded once.
A slap came next. Again.
Harder this time.
It knocked my head to the side, and I tasted blood. My teeth had caught the inside of my cheek.
I didn’t make a sound.
But my eyes burned.
“Don’t mistake his obsession for love,” Nico said quietly. “He’ll come, yes. But not for you. For what you represent. His ego. His reputation.”
“He loves me.”
Victoria raised a brow. “You sure?”
“I know.”
Her mouth twisted like she was chewing on something bitter.
“Then let’s put that love to the test, shall we?”
I frowned. “What do you mean-?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she walked across the room and picked up a sleek little remote off a table. With a tap, a screen on the wall blinked to life.
เลกเ
MON, 2 Jun
Chapter 164
Live video feed.
Dominic. In black. Storming into a room somewhere–eyes sharp, mouth hard.
My breath caught.
He looked like hell. Like the devil’s incarnate hu
Imself. I knew he would come, and that enough made me smile a little.
Victoria stepped beside the screen, facing it like an audience.
“Hello, Dominic,” she said softly.
I stared at the screen. At him. He froze in front of the camera.
And for a second-
Just one small second-
I thought I saw his jaw tighten.
Victoria looked at me, “Time to go meet your beloved.”
