V I V I A N A
I do not speak for the rest of the car ride.
Not because I have nothing to say, but because if I open my mouth again, I know it will only be to scream, and I am done giving them that satisfaction. My hands rest in my lap, fingers curled so tightly my nails bite into my palms, keeping me stable in the only way I know how. Outside the tinted windows, the city slips past in streaks of light and shadow, streets I know, that once belonged to me, all fading further away with every passing second...
Dante sits across from me, legs relaxed, posture infuriatingly at ease, watching me without pretending otherwise. I can feel his attention like pressure against my skin, even when I refuse to look at him. Every part of me bristles under it. He has already taken enough from me. He does not get my eyes too.
The car slows down, and that's when I sit up slightly, looking out the window and seeing that we are now passing through a series of iron gates and are now approaching a mansion...
We park in front of the mansion, and the door opens, allowing cool night air to spill into the car, carrying the scent of rain-soaked stone and expensive landscaping. Dante steps out first, straightening to his full height, and when I finally look past him, my breath catches despite myself.
The Accardi estate looms before me, a powerful structure with lights glowing across multiple levels, balconies stacked like tiers of power rising into the dark. It is larger than the Costanzo mansion by far, more expansive, more polished and a statement carved into architecture. Dare I say it, it's magnificent.
Dante turns back toward me, one hand resting on the open door as he looks into the car, watching me carefully.
"Are you going to behave yourself," he asks calmly, "or will you have to be dragged out?" He asks, and I narrow my eyes at him, leaning in closer to him as I put one leg out of the car.
"If any of your men touch me," I say, my voice tight and filled with venom, "I will start breaking bones... again," I say, reminding him of what I did to some of his men right before we left.
His eyes squint slightly, his eyes travelling over me slowly as he continues to look down at me. A sudden tension forms between us, and that's when I realise how close he is to me, how I can smell his cologne, how subtle his breaths are, how his jaw and neck muscles clench. Snap out of it, Viviana...
"Your choice," he replies, finally snapping me out of whatever the hell that was.
He then takes a step back, giving me space to climb out of the car. My heels hit the gravel slowly, my spine straightening despite the ache in my body. I begin walking fowards and two guards move closer immediately, flanking me like shadows, and for a heartbeat I think Dante will stop them.
He does not.
We take only a few steps before I feel it. A hand presses lightly against my back, nudging and guiding, as if I were some unruly guest who needs direction.
That's when something inside me snaps.
I move without thinking, reaching back and catching his wrist, twisting hard and fast, channelling every ounce of fury still burning in my veins. I feel it give beneath my grip, a sickening crack vibrating through my palm just as I hold onto the man's hand while he begins to shout in pain, dropping to the ground, clutching his arm as his body folds in on itself. His guards all tense up, moving away from me just as I lock gazes with Dante, but all he does is watch me, seemingly impressed with my actions.
"I warned you," I say, taking a slow, deep breath.
That's when he smiles, keeping his hands in his pocket just as he walks up to me, staring down at me as his eyes scan me.
"You never said anything about me touching you." He suddenly says, suddenly throwing me off guard. Heat rushes to my face before I can stop it, anger and humiliation mixing as my entire body tenses, and that seems to be all it takes.
His hand closes around my arm, not rough but inescapable, and he starts pulling me forward.
"Let's go. If you try anything with me, I'm tying you up," he says causually and I gasp at him as he continues to tug me forward. I glare back at him, matching his footsteps and face forward to where he's taking me.
We approach the entrance where the doors would open, and I am ushered inside whether I want to be or not.
The interior steals my breath in a way I resent. Everything is bright, polished and expensive. Marble floors stretch beneath my feet, and ceilings soar high above. It is luxury on a scale meant to intimidate, meant to remind anyone who enters that they are small here, that this place does not bend for anyone.
I hate that part of me can even stand here, appreciating the interior.
We barely make it a few steps inside before two figures approach us from the far end of the hall.
"Boss, you're back," a woman says, and I turn my head to scan the two of them.
The woman who spoke is tall, incredibly stunning and dark-skinned, with pitch-black curls sitting in a ferocious afro, her eyes striking green eyes that take everything in at once. There is confidence in her stride, familiarity in the way she addresses him.
"And you came back with company," the man beside her adds, his smile easy-going and calm, his eyes bright blue, filled with curiosity. He is handsome, having soft brown hair and is the same height as the woman beside him, both of them dressed in all black tactical gear. They must be mercenaries of some sort...
Dante soon releases my arm and steps forward, coming into full view.
"Thalia. Enzo," he says before he faces the man and woman. "Meet my future wife. Viviana Costanzo. Or soon, Mrs Viviana Accardi..." He calls out, and I slowly turn to him, narrowing my eyes at him viciously.
"A gift from the Costanzo family... in exchange for 20 million dollars, that is," Dante adds, glancing back at me and staring at me from head to toe.
Thalia's gaze shifts to me then, softer than I expect, studying rather than judging. Enzo lets out a low whistle.
"Well, damn," he mutters. "The plan really worked, huh?" He chuckles, but Dante ignores him and steps in front of me.
"Thalia, escort her to her room. Have her freshened up, just in time before dinner," he says. "I imagine she's had quite the long day... just give us a minute first."
"Yes, boss," Thalia answers swiftly just as I look over Dante's shoulder to stare at her, her gaze meeting mine.
"Nice meeting you, Donna," she says, a small smile tugging at her lips, and I frown at her for being kind to me. Is it all an act? Whatever it is, I won't be dumb enough to fall for it.
With that, both her and Enzo begin walking out of the room, leaving Dante and I alone together, and once they're gone, the hall suddenly feels too large, the silence between Dante and I being too loud now. My heart pounds, anger and fear swirling together, my thoughts racing faster than I can grab hold of them...
"Welcome to your new home, sweetheart," he says, and his words make my stomach turn.
I lift my chin, meeting his gaze head-on, pouring every ounce of hatred I have left into the look I give him.
"You don't own me, and you never will," I say, my voice trembling despite my effort to keep it steady.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll do exactly as I tell you. Am I understood...?" He questions.
"No." The words leave my lips before I can control them, and as a result, fear floods my entire body as I stare face-to-face with the man that my parents have sold me off to.
"No?" His deep voice hums in his chest, sending a series of chills running across my skin. My bottom lip quivers in fear, but I quickly bite it in an attempt to maintain some sort of control over my body. I can't let him see how terrified I am of him, how my body trembles in terror as he remains across from me.
Dante moves dangerously close to me, his frame towering over me and making me feel almost insignificant in my own skin. His cold, icy gaze meets mine, those soulless blue orbs searing into my green ones. I am paralysed, with no control over my own limbs. I should move, turn around and run while I still have a chance. But where would I even go? I'm in his house now, and there's nowhere I would feel safe anymore...
Before I realise what's happening, his grip is around my throat, his fingers pressing against my skin. My back slams against the wall, and a frightened gasp leaves my lips, just as I look up at the person who has easily overpowered me. He remains silent as he looks down at me, his face inches apart from mine as panicked breaths leave my lips. Suddenly, the fear turns into something else as I realise how his body is pressed against me, how the only space between is the one between our faces...
"Let's get something straight, dollface." He says lowly, his voice sending my heart racing as he keeps himself only inches from my face, my lips.
"You're mine now, and there's nothing you can do about it..."
