Chapter 61: MY LIFE

MIA

"You fucking lied and now kidnapped me! All those sweet words, the dinner, touching me — it was all your sick plan and I don't want that anymore! Let me go!"

He walked to the bed, holding me like a child throwing tantrums. My heels hit the edge of a small table, knocking a book to the floor but I didn't care about the pain as I fought hard until my muscles burned and my throat felt raw from screaming.

"Stop touching me! Let me go!"

He lowered us both to the bed, wrapping his arms around my body and pulling me into his body. One of his legs hooking over mine to stop me from kicking, his breath warm and steady against my ear.

"Shh, Mia. Just take deep breaths with me and calm down. You are safe here so stop panicking." He whispered, making me fight harder but that only made him hold on tighter. "You have everything you need here. I will visit every day and take care of you."

"I hate—" I stopped.

He didn't react. "Go on, Mia. Tell me how much you hate me and see if you believe that."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I tried to force myself to say it but couldn't.

"If you say that and mean it, I will let you go but I won't promise I will leave you alone. So say it."

"I…" I trailed off, not being able to say it.

A sick part of me still loved him. And besides that, deep down a sick part of me was still thinking about the sessions we used to have and didn't want to lose them.

I was going crazy at this point.

I started to sob, the fight draining from me because no matter how hard I tried, I still didn't want to fully leave him. I started shaking uncontrollably in his arms as I cried and he stroked my hair.

"Why are you doing this? Why won't you just get out of my head… and heart?" I asked with a broken whisper. "Why, Dante? I loved and trusted you, why did things turn out this way?"

"Because I love you." He said just as softly. "And I can't lose you. Before you walked into my life, it was all black, filled with violence and no emotions. But the day I saw you was the day I started to feel. Call me selfish, Mia, but I can't lose the only person who makes me feel."

"I don't want you…"

"We both know that's a lie." He kissed the top of my head. "My heart is yours if you'll let me."

I cried more.

"I will never let you go because I am that selfish. The world almost took you once and I almost died. You are my life, without you I see no reason to exist." He said. "No one wants to be killed. We always fight not to let that happen so as long as you are my life, I won't let anyone take you because you are the reason why I live. In time you will remember how good things were between us."

My tears soaked through his shirt and the pillow as he stroked my hair to comfort me like he was helping me get rid of a nightmare instead of being the nightmare. The delusion in his words terrified me more than the locked door. This wasn't the Dante I knew — the intense, protective man I'd fallen for. This was someone broken that had crossed a line he couldn't uncross.

Time passed in what felt like hours but I couldn't be so sure. My body felt weak as I lay limp in his embrace, chest aching and mind reeling. He held me until my breathing evened out into ragged hiccups as he murmured soft Italian endearments into my ear.

Eventually, he shifted, pressing a kiss to my temple. "You'll feel better once you settle in. Rest now."

He stood, and the loss of his warmth made the room feel colder. I curled into a ball on the bed, watching him through swollen eyes as he moved to the door. He paused at the biometric panel, his palm lighting it up green.

"I'll bring you dinner soon. Don't worry, it will be one of your favorites so just take a nap until then."

The door opened briefly — freedom so close — and then closed with that terrible, heavy thud. The locks engaged one by one. Click. Thud. Beep and I was alone.

I stayed still for a while, the silence pressing in on me from all sides. The room was indeed comfortable with soft bedding, soft lighting and the faint hum of the ventilation.

I knew that screaming from here would be useless so it was best I conserved my energy for now.

I looked around the space and that's when I noticed the small camera hidden high in the ceiling. Of course he was still watching me right now.

The exhaustion vanished in an instant as rage and terror shot through me. I screamed loudly until my voice cracked and vanished then I threw myself at the door, pounding with both fists and kicking until my toes throbbed.

"Let me out! Dante! Please!"

But I knew it was useless.

My legs gave out and I slid down the door to the floor, back pressed against the cold steel and hugged my knees to my chest and cried again.

Why couldn't I just hate him after everything?

No one knew where I was. I thought about Marco. He was the only one Dante would probably trust with this. Would he even care, or was he a part of this?

Reality finally set in that I was at his mercy. Everything I could have moving forward — food, water, air and even light — was at his mercy.

I stared at the camera and whispered. "Why did you do this to me?"