Page 8 of Mafia Heir's Broken Vows

Somewhere in the distance, laughter echoes from the ballroom, a cruel reminder that we're not alone. Reality slams back into me like a freight train. This is not right. I shove him again, harder this time, and he lets me go.

My chest heaves, my lips swollen, and my pulse racing. His eyes are wild, and dark, with something feral.

"This changes nothing," I snap, though my voice trembles.

Alessandro doesn't move. "It changes everything."

"I still hate you." I seethe. A soft rustle from the hedges catches my attention. My heart stops. I hold my breath.

"Did you hear that?" I whisper.

Alessandro nods. He steps in front of me instinctively, scanning the shadows.

Footsteps. Close.

"Stay behind me," he murmurs, his tone deadly serious.

A masked figure emerges from the darkness. Not a guest—one of Marco's minions.

Alessandro's body tenses. "Go back inside. Now."

"I'm not leaving you out here with them," I hiss. They might just be goons, but they're goons with big guns and small brains.

The shadow retreats, blending back into the darkness. Watching. Waiting.

"We're not safe out here," he growls, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the castle. In there isn't any safer. It's like jumping from the shark pool into a crocodile-infested river. They're both going to end badly. A lot of people are going to be out for blood now that he's back.

We slipthrough a hidden door into the back corridors of Rosewood Hall. The click of the door shuts out the noise of the ballroom, leaving only silence and the soft echo of our footsteps. The narrow passage is dim, the air thick with the scent of old wood and roses. Alessandro's grip doesn't loosen, his hand like a vice around mine as he pulls me deeper into the shadows.

"What does Marco want with you?" he demands, his voice low and sharp.

I yank my hand free, spinning to face him. "Why do you think he wants something, Alessandro? Maybe Marco isn't after you this time." My words drip with venom. "Grow up. He isn't obsessed with you. It's all in your head."

His jaw tightens, and his eyes narrow, glinting with something dangerous. "Don't lie to me."

The lie tastes bitter on my tongue. "I'm not lying. Not everyone is a liar, like you."

He steps closer, his presence suffocating, and my back brushes against the cold stone wall. "You think you can handle whatever this is alone? You can't."

His certainty is maddening. My breaths come short and sharp as I glare up at him. "I handle everything on my own. Stay out of my way. I don't need you. I don't want your help."

His lips twitch into a cold smirk. "Big words for someone who's clearly in over her head."

I feel my resolve cracking under the weight of his gaze. But I can't let him see that. "I'm a big girl now, Alessandro. I don't need a keeper." The words are sharp, but my voice wavers, betraying me.

But even as I spit the words, I know I can't push him away for very long. Not Alessandro. He's too relentless, too much like a storm—inevitable, inescapable. And that terrifies me more than Marco's threats or his goons lurking in the shadows. Because if I let him in, if I let my guard down for even a second, he'll ruin me all over again.

The cool nightair bites at my skin as I step outside, sharp and unrelenting. My heels click against the stone path, the sound too loud in the stillness. I keep my pace brisk, my eyes locked on the faint glow of the parking lot ahead. Behind me, Rosewood Hall looms like a dark shadow, its glittering windows hiding too many secrets.

I don't look back, but I can feel his eyes on me, burning into my back. Alessandro. He didn't follow, but his presence lingers, suffocating and heavy. He let me go. For once, he actually let me go. And yet…

I can't shake the feeling that he's still watching, waiting.

I reach my car, sliding into the driver's seat with a sharp exhale. The faint click of the locks echoes in the quiet, a reminder that I'm alone now. Safe. Or at least I should be.

The winding road out of Rosewood Estate is pitch black, the towering trees casting long shadows in the moonlight. The iron gates creak as they open, and I glance in my rearview mirror, half-expecting to see Alessandro's car behind me. But the road is empty. The estate disappears in the distance, swallowed by the night.

My knuckles tighten on the steering wheel. My mind is spinning—Alessandro's words, his warnings, the weight of his gaze. He's always been impossible to shake.

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