I wear his name like a scar.
Alessandro Rossi stole everything from me; my freedom, my future, the lie I told my father to keep him alive. He thinks I'm a tool to be used, a bride to be displayed, a Fraga to be broken. He thinks the ring on my finge...
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The ropes burned against my wrists, every small tug carving deeper into my skin, but I kept pulling anyway. Stopping meant giving up, and I refused to give Liam the satisfaction of seeing me break.
I heard the phone call. I heard every word.
Alessandro was coming.
I knew it before Liam even ended the call. I could hear it in the way his voice changed. Whatever traps Liam thought he'd set, they wouldn't matter. Alessandro would come. He'd find a way. He always did.
When Liam tossed the phone aside, his eyes found me. Hungry. Cruel.
"You really think he's going to save you?" His mouth twisted into something between a grin and a snarl. "I'm going to chain him here, in this very room. And I'm going to make sure he watches while I fuck you. Your husband, helpless, broken, watching me ruin what belongs to him."
My stomach turned. Fear clawed up my throat, hot and acidic, but I forced my face to stay still. I wouldn't let him see it. I wouldn't give him that.
"You're lucky my balls still fucking hurt after that kick you gave me," he sneered, his hand dropping toward his crotch. "Otherwise I'd already be buried inside you."
I swallowed hard, my heart slamming against my ribs. "That says more about you than me." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "Needing a woman tied up just to feel powerful. Must be exhausting, being this pathetic."
His expression darkened. He crouched in front of me, too close, his breath sour against my face. "I don't need you to move for what I have planned. I could shove my cock down your throat right now and watch you choke on it."
I bared my teeth at him. "Go ahead and try. See how fast I rip it off and spit it back in your face."
For a second, his smirk faltered, his eyes flicking to my mouth like he could see the bite I promised him. He leaned back, chuckling low in his throat, but it sounded forced.
"That mouth of yours will get you killed."
"Then do it." My voice shook, but I didn't look away. "Kill me. Because I will never stop fighting you. I will never beg. I will never give you what you want."
He leaned back and laughed, low and ugly. "Oh, you will. They all do eventually."
He stood and resumed pacing, and I let out a breath I'd been holding for God knows how long.
Liam talked and talked, detailing his plans like I was supposed to be impressed. How he'd take my father's territory after Alessandro was dead. How he'd keep me as his prize, broken and obedient, a symbol of everything he'd taken from the Rossi family.
I listened. I let him talk. Because every word he spoke was another minute Alessandro had to get here.
His men checked their weapons again. They were waiting for him.
