Chapter 51 

Aria’s POV 

I should have shut up. I shouldn’t have said shit. 

I felt like w fool because goosebumps started to appear. I just have been so cringe. 

The words left my mouth before I could second–guess them, and the silence that followed felt heavy. 

Dominic’s gaze flickered, something unreadable crossing his features. He looked at me like he wasn’t sure if I was serious, like he wasn’t sure what to do with me. 

Then, after what felt like forever, he exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. “Aria…” 

I braced myself for the rejection. 

For him to tell me I was foolish for asking. 

That he wasn’t the type of man who stayed. 

But he surprised me. 

Instead of turning away, instead of slipping back into that distant, cold mask he always wore, he sighed, moved toward the bed, and sat down on the edge of it. 

Not saying anything. 

Not touching me. 

Just being there. 

The breath I had been holding released slowly, my body sinking into the mattress as tension I hadn’t realized was there faded. 

Dominic stayed. 

That alone was more than I expected. 

I watched him from the corner of my eye. The way his fingers tapped against his knee, the way his jaw clenched like there was something on his mind. 

He didn’t look comfortable. 

Like he didn’t know how to just… be here. 

I shifted slightly, pulling the blankets over myself, my gaze locked on the ceiling. “You don’t have to sit there like I’m holding you hostage, you know.“. 

His lips twitched slightly, but it wasn’t quite a smirk. “You say that like you didn’t ask me to stay.” 

I rolled onto my side, facing him. “Would it kill you to relax?” 

He shot me a look. “Relaxing gets people killed.” 

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Not here. Not now.” 

His shoulders didn’t loosen. 

I hesitated before speaking again. “You said it never gets easier.” 

His eyes flicked to mine, unreadable. 

“The deaths,” I clarified. “You said it never gets easier.” 

Dominic didn’t answer right away. 

Then, he leaned back against the headboard, exhaling. “It doesn’t.” 

I studied him carefully. “Then why do you keep doing it?” 

His lips pressed together, his hands clenching slightly before he relaxed them. “Because I have to.” 

I frowned. “That’s not an answer.” 

He turned his head, his eyes locking onto mine. “Yes, it is.” 

Something in his voice made me stop pressing. 

It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t annoyance. 

It was finality. 

Like this was a burden he had long accepted. 

Like this was the only life he knew. 

Successfully unlocked! 

Chapter:51 

I didn’t push I didn’t push further. Instead, I shifted again, pulling my knees to my chest. “Do you ever wish you could do something else?” 

Dominic blinked, caught off guard by the question. “Something else?” 

I nodded. “Like… if things had been different. If you weren’t born into all this.” 

He stared at me for a long moment. 

Then, to my surprise, he actually thought about it. 

His fingers tapped against the bed frame. “When I was younger, I wanted to be a pilot.” 

I blinked. “What?” 

A small, almost sheepish smirk crossed his lips. “I used to watch the planes take off from my father’s estate. I liked the idea of leaving, of being untouchable in the sky.” 

I swallowed. Dominic De Luca, the most feared man in the city, wanted to be a pilot? 

The thought was almost sweet. 

“And what happened to that dream?” I asked softly. 

His smirk faded. “Reality happened.” 

I bit my lip, my chest tightening. 

Of course it did. 

Of course someone like Dominic never had the luxury of dreams. 

He had power. Money. Fear. 

But freedom? 

Never. 

Just like me. 

I exhaled softly, looking away. “If you ever got the chance, would you take it?” 

He didn’t answer right away. 

Then, in a low voice, he said, “No.” 

I turned back to him. “Why?” 

Dominic’s gaze darkened slightly. “Because people like me don’t get to escape.” 

My stomach twisted. 

I hated how much I understood that. 

How much I related to that. 

Silence settled between us again, but this time, it wasn’t uncomfortable. 

Just… heavy. 

! 

After a while, Dominic shifted. He reached over to the nightstand, grabbed a cigarette, but instead of lighting it, he rolled it between his fingers. 

I hesitated. “Dominic?” 

He hummed in response. 

I bit my lip. “What do you really want?” 

His eyes–flickered to mine. “What?” 

O 

I swallowed. “You said you don’t regret this life. That people like you don’t get to escape. But if you could want something, anything, what would it be?” 

Dominic didn’t answer right away. 

S 

Instead, he placed the cigarette back on the nightstand and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees 

Then, in a voice so low I almost didn’t hear it, he murmured, 

“I don’t know.” 

My chest tightened. 

Dominic De Luca, the man who always had a plan, the man who always knew what he wanted- 

Didn’t know what he truly wanted. 

It was the most honest thing he had ever said. 

And it broke my heart a little. 

Chapter51 

I didn’t know why. 

Maybe because I was starting to realize- 

For all his power, all his control, all the fear he instilled in others- 

Dominic was just as trapped as I was. 

And somehow, that made him feel more real to me than ever before. 

He exhaled, rubbing a hand down his face. “You should sleep, gattina.” 

I hesitated, then nodded. 

But I didn’t close my eyes. 

I just watched him. 

The way his shoulders still held tension, the way his fingers tapped against his knee, restless. 

Dominic De Luca didn’t know how to be still. 

Maybe he never had. 

Maybe he never would. 

I didn’t know what came over me, but before I could second–guess it, I reached out, my fingers brushing against his hand. 

His eyes flicked to mine, surprised. 

I didn’t say anything. 

I just intertwined my fingers with his, squeezing lightly. 

For a moment, he didn’t react. 

Then, slowly, carefully, he squeezed back. 

It was a small thing. 

But it meant everything. 

We didn’t speak. 

We didn’t move. 

We just stayed there, his hand in mine, both of us lost in the weight of what we couldn’t say. 

And for the first time since I met Dominic De Luca- 

I didn’t see a monster. 

I just saw a man. 

A tired, lonely man. 

And I wasn’t sure which was scarier. 

But one thing was for certain- 

Dominic wasn’t just breaking me. 

I was breaking him, too. 

The morning light filtered through the curtains, warm and golden, casting a soft glow over the room. For the first time in what felt like forever, I woke up feeling… calm. 

I blinked slowly, adjusting to the brightness, the soft sheets tangled around me. My body felt warm, my muscles relaxed in a way they hadn’t been in a long time. 

And then I realized- 

I wasn’t alone. 

Dominic was still there. 

Not on the other side of the room. Not pacing restlessly. Not cold and distant. 

He was right next to me. 

Lying on his side, one arm stretched above his head, the other resting loosely across his torso. His breathing was deep, even. Peaceful. 

I stared at him, my heart doing something strange in my chest. 

I had never seen him like this. 

Not guarded. Not calculating. Not wearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

Just… Dominic. 

3/5 

Chapter 51 

His dark lashes fanned against his cheekbones, his sharp jaw relaxed in sleep. The scar along his temple caught the morning light, a reminder of the man he had been forced to become. 

But right now, he wasn’t that man. 

Right now, he was just a man. 

I didn’t know how long I lay there, just watching him. 

I barely noticed the way my fingers moved on their own, reaching out, ghosting over his knuckles, tracing the calloused ridges of his palm. 

He twitched slightly at the touch, his brows furrowing, but he didn’t wake. 

A soft smile pulled at my lips. 

Dominic De Luca–the most powerful, ruthless man in this city–looked so damn human like this. 

I bit my lip, fighting the sudden urge to laugh. 

If his men could see him now, they’d lose their minds.. 

I barely had time to process that thought before his fingers moved. 

His hand flexed, catching mine before I could pull away. 

My breath hitched. 

His voice was low, rough from sleep. “What are you doing?” 

I swallowed, my pulse skittering. “Nothing.” 

His eyes cracked open, dark and unreadable. “Liar.” 

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, barely there but enough to make my stomach flip. 

I tried to move my hand, but he held it firmly, his thumb brushing lazily against my wrist. 

Warm. Strong. 

Possessive. 

I rolled my eyes. “I thought you were asleep.” 

“I was,” he murmured. “Until someone decided to start tracing my hand like a lovesick teenager.” 

I gasped. “I did not-” 

His smirk deepened. 

My cheeks burned. “You’re insufferable.” 

Dominic hummed, shifting slightly. His fingers tightened around mine as he tugged me closer, until my forehead nearly brushed his. 

I sucked in a breath. 

He was so close. 

His scent, all cedar and spice, wrapped around me. His warmth seeped into my skin. 

I should have pulled away. 

But I didn’t. 

Because, God help me, I liked it. 

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I liked waking up next to him. I liked the way his voice was rough with sleep. I liked the way he looked at me, like he saw me, really saw me. 

His free hand came up, trailing over my jaw, his thumb skimming my cheek. 

I stilled.. 

His voice was softer now. Lower. “You stayed.” 

I swallowed. “You did too.” 

He didn’t reply. 

He didn’t have to. 

Because the way he was looking at me said everything. 

Something in my chest tightened. 

I wanted this moment. 

I wanted him. 

4/5 

Chapter 51 

And for the first time, I wasn’t sure if it was just because of survival. 

I wasn’t sure if it was just because I had no choice. 

Because right now, I wasn’t thinking about escape. 

I was just thinking about him. 

And last night. 

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