Chapter 174
Aria – First Person POV
The room was quiet. Almost too quiet.
My head was resting on Enzo’s chest. His fingers still played lightly with mine. Dante was behind me, his hand warm against my back. Matteo was sprawled at my feet, one arm draped over my ankles like he was making sure I wouldn’t slip away again.
Everything felt still. Soft. Safe.
But my chest felt heavy.
The silence wasn’t peaceful anymore. It was full. Like it was waiting for me to say something.
And I knew I had to.
I let out a small breath and stared up at the ceiling. The same ceiling I’d been staring at for weeks now. Pale white. Smooth. Blank. It had started to feel like a metaphor.
My throat felt tight as I opened my mouth.
“Guys,” I said quietly. My voice came out small. Thready.
Enzo shifted beside me. “Yeah?”
I swallowed. My mouth was dry.
“We need to talk.”
The air changed. I felt it in the way Dante’s hand stopped moving. In the way Matteo lifted his head a little, like he was bracing. Even Enzo’s grip on my fingers tightened just a little bit.
“About what?” he asked gently.
Sometimes I feel like I’m disappearing and no one even notices. Like I’m just this… shadow of who I used to be. I used to have a routine. A name badge. Scrubs with paw prints on them. I used to know exactly who I was. Now I can’t even look in the mirror without seeing someone else. Someone who’s always on edge, always watched, always holding her breath. I don’t remember the last time I laughed without feeling guilty. I haven’t drawn anything. I haven’t written in my journal. I haven’t listened to my favorite playlist. Everything I used to be–every little piece of the girl I was–is being replaced by fear and silence. And I know you’re doing your best to protect me, I know this isn’t your fault. But it’s like I’m trapped inside a life I didn’t choose, and I’m scared that if this keeps going… I won’t even remember who I was before all of this.
I sat up slowly, pulling the blanket tighter around my chest. I didn’t look at any of them. I didn’t think I could. So I just stared at my knees and tried to get the words out.
“I miss my life,” I whispered. “My real life. The one before all of this.”
Matteo sat up too. “What part of it?”
“All of it,” I said. “My apartment. My job. The vet clinic. The animals. My best friend Gloria. I haven’t even spoken to her in weeks. She probably thinks I’m dead.”
I blinked quickly. My eyes were starting to sting.
1/3
Chapter 174
“I miss waking up and walking down to the café around the corner. I miss helping little kids hold baby kittens for the first time. I miss answering the phone and knowing who was calling. I even miss the sound of the clinic bell.”
I looked down at my hands.
“Now I wake up in a different bed almost every week. I’m not allowed outside. I can’t even walk down the street without someone watching me. I’ve been in Italy for a month and haven’t seen anything except the inside of mansions and the back of black cars.”
Enzo sat up beside me. He didn’t say anything. He just waited.
“And I get it,” I said. “I know you’re trying to keep me safe. I know you’re doing everything you can. But I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t know I was going to fall in love with three mafia princes. I didn’t know my father was involved in all of this. I didn’t know there were people out there who literally want me dead.”
My voice cracked. I took a shaky breath and kept going.
“I’ve been attacked twice. Kidnapped once. And now that I’m just starting to feel like I might be okay, you’re talking about moving me again. To an island. Like I’m being buried.”
I finally looked up.
Matteo’s jaw was tight. Dante was unreadable. Enzo looked like he wanted to pull me into his arms again but was waiting.
“I feel like I’m not even a person anymore,” I said. “Just some hidden thing that needs to be protected and moved and watched and controlled.”
I covered my face with my hands.
“I love you. All three of you. I do. But I’m scared. And I don’t know how long I can do this.”
Silence again.
Thick. Heavy.
Dante finally spoke.
“You think we don’t feel the same?”
I dropped my hands and looked at him. He was sitting up now too. Watching me closely.
“You think we’re not scared every time you walk into a room?” he asked. “We’re not used to this either, Aria. You think we’ve ever loved someone this much before? We haven’t. You think we like keeping you locked away? We hate it. But what choice do we have?”
His voice was calm but sharp. Not angry. Just raw.
Matteo rubbed the back of his neck. “We were going to tell you. About the island. About the plan. But we kept putting it off. Because we knew you’d feel this way. And we didn’t want to push you further.”
Enzo finally leaned forward and took both of my hands in his. “You’re not a prisoner, Aria. We just don’t know how to keep you safe anymore, We’ve tried everything. We’re not trying to cage you. We’re trying to keep you alive.”
I looked at each of them. My heart ached.
“I know,” I whispered. “I know that. I just needed to say it. I needed to be honest.”
Matteo let out a breath. “Then let us be honest too.”
I blinked. “Okay.”
2/3
Chapter 174
He looked at me dead on. “We’re not letting you go. Not ever. Not even if you ask.”
I didn’t answer right away.
Because part of me already knew that.
And another part was relieved.
Even if I didn’t say it yet.
