Page 20 of Tormented Hearts

The smell of blood still lingered in the air, sharp and metallic, as Phoenix sat curled up on the edge of the couch. Her body was stiff, her mind reeling from everything she had just witnessed. The violent clash of life and death, the raw brutality of Luca’s world, had shaken her to her core. She had known, in the back of her mind, that the life Luca lived was dangerous, but knowing it and seeing it were two entirely different things.

Her heart was still racing, her pulse thudding in her ears as her mind replayed the scene over and over. The way Luca had unleashed his fury, the way he had commanded the deaths of the men who had attacked them—it was as if she had seen a part of him, she didn’t want to acknowledge. A part of him that terrified her.

But what terrified her even more was the realization that, despite everything, she still wanted to be close to him.

Luca stood by the window, his back to her, staring out at the city as the weight of his actions settled over the room like a heavy fog. His posture was rigid, his shoulders tense, as if he too was processing the violence that had unfolded. But unlike Phoenix, Luca didn’t seem shaken by it. It was as if this was just another day in his life—another day of power, blood, and control.

Phoenix swallowed hard, her throat tight as she tries to make sense of her swirling emotions. How can she care for someone who is capable of such cruelty? How can she feel drawn to him, even after watching him so ruthlessly take lives?

Her mind is a whirlwind of fear, anger, and something else—something darker and more complicated. She knows she should be horrified. She should be running as far away from Luca and his dangerous world as possible. But the truth is, part of her doesn’t want to leave. Part of her wants to stay, to understand this man who has so thoroughly claimed her heart, despite everything.

"Luca," she whispers, her voice trembling slightly.

He turns slowly, his piercing blue eyes locking onto hers. For a moment, the intensity of his gaze takes her breath away, the raw power in his presence making her pulse quicken. But there is something else in his eyes now, something that softened the sharp edges of his usual demeanour. He doesn’t look like the ruthless mafia boss in that moment—he looks like a man who had just gone to war to protect what mattered most to him.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his voice low, rough around the edges.

Phoenix nods slowly, though she wasn’t entirely sure if she was telling the truth. "I’m... I’m fine," she says quietly, her hands still trembling in her lap.

But Luca isn’t convinced. He steps closer, his movements slow and deliberate, as though he were afraid of scaring her off. He sits down beside her on the couch, his large frame dwarfing her, but his touch is surprisingly gentle as he reaches for her hand.

"You don’t have to be fine," he says softly, his voice a rare mixture of concern and vulnerability. "I know this isn’t easy for you."

Phoenix’s heart clenches at his words. She had expected him to brush off her feelings; to tell her this was just the way things were in his world. But instead, he is acknowledging her fear, her discomfort. It was a side of Luca she hadn’t seen before—a side that made her feel even more conflicted.

"I..." Phoenix swallows hard, her eyes filling with tears as she tries to find the right words. "I didn’t expect it to be like this. I didn’t realize how... how dark your world is."

Luca’s expression tightens, but he doesn’t look away. He knew exactly what she meant. "I tried to keep you out of it," he said quietly, his thumb brushing gently over the back of her hand. "But in my world, there’s no escaping the darkness. It’s always there."

Phoenix nods, her breath shaky. She knew that, deep down, but hearing him say it made it all the more real. There is no escaping the violence, the danger. Not if she stays with him.

"But I don’t want you to be afraid of me," Luca continues, his voice dropping to a low, almost pleading tone. "I would never hurt you, Phoenix. Never."

Phoenix looks up at him, her heart twisting in her chest. She wants to believe him—needs to believe him. And part of her did. Luca had been nothing but protective of her, fiercely so. But the other part of her—the part that had watched him kill without hesitation—wasn’t sure if she could ever fully trust him.

"You’re not afraid of me, are you?" Luca asks, his eyes searching hers, his voice soft but filled with an undercurrent of tension.

Phoenix bits her lip, her heart pounding in her chest. She wants to say no, wants to tell him that she isn’t afraid of him. But that would be a lie. The truth was, she was afraid. Not of Luca himself, but of the power he held, the darkness that clung to him like a shadow. She was afraid of what being with him meant for her future—what it meant for her soul.

"I don’t know," she whispers, her voice barely audible.

Luca’s hand tightens slightly around hers, his jaw clenching as he processes her words. He doesn’t pull away, but the tension in his body is palpable. "You don’t know?"

Phoenix shakes her head, her eyes filling with tears as the weight of her emotions crash over her. "I don’t know how to feel, Luca. I care about you, but... I’m scared. I’m scared of this world you live in. I’m scared of what it does to you."

Luca’s expression softens, the hardness in his eyes giving way to something more vulnerable. He reached up, gently brushing a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "I don’t want you to be afraid," he says quietly, his voice filled with a rare honesty. "But I can’t change who I am. This is the life I was born into. The life I’ve built."

Phoenix swallows hard, her heart aching as she looks into his eyes. She knew that he couldn’t change, not really. This was who Luca was—a man who ruled with power and violence, a man who would kill to protect what was his. And if she stayed with him, she would always be a part of that world.

But did she want that?

"I don’t know if I can live like this," Phoenix admits, her voice trembling as she finally voices the fear that has been gnawing at her since the attack. "I don’t know if I can live with the violence, the danger... the darkness."

Luca’s face tightens, his eyes darkening as her words sink in. For a moment, he doesn’t speak, his jaw clenching as though he were trying to hold something back. But when he finally did, his voice was low, raw with emotion.

"I can’t lose you, Phoenix," he whispers, his voice barely more than a breath. "I don’t know how to lose you. You the only light in my life, the only thing that keeps me sain"

Phoenix’s heart breaks at the vulnerability in his words. She has never seen him like this—so raw, so exposed. He wasn’t just the ruthless mafia boss in that moment. He was a man who had built his life on power and control, and now he was faced with the possibility of losing the one person who mattered most to him.

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