The night lingered in Isabella's veins long after the music ended. Back in her room, she could still feel Damian's hands at her waist, his breath at her ear, his voice dripping with jealousy.
She pressed her palms against her burning cheeks, shaking her head as if she could erase the memory. But every time she closed her eyes, she saw him leaning in his lips inches from hers.
And worse… part of her wished he hadn't stopped.
"God, what's wrong with me?" she whispered to the empty room.
A knock startled her. Light. Urgent.
She froze. At this hour, no one should be here.
Another knock.
Isabella's heart pounded as she tiptoed to the door, pressing her ear against the wood. "Who is it?" she whispered.
"It's me," came a hushed voice. "Luca."
Her breath caught. She glanced nervously around her room, then cracked the door open just enough to see him. He stood in the corridor, his jacket gone, his tie loosened, his eyes fierce.
"You shouldn't be here," she hissed.
"Neither should you be there," Luca shot back, his jaw tight. "I couldn't leave tonight without seeing you."
He pushed the door wider, slipping inside before she could protest. Isabella's pulse raced. If anyone saw him if Damian found out…
"You're reckless," she whispered, shutting the door quickly. "If my father…"
"Forget your father." Luca's eyes burned into hers. "Forget Damian. Bella, you don't belong to them. You don't deserve this cage."
Her lips parted, stunned. "I don't have a choice."
"There's always a choice." Luca stepped closer, lowering his voice. "I can get you out. If you want freedom, say the word and I'll make it happen."
Isabella's breath came fast. The thought of escape the thought of life beyond iron bars disguised as silk made her chest ache with longing. But Damian's shadow loomed in her mind, his words replaying: There's no one else. Remember that.
She backed away, shaking her head. "You don't understand. He'll never let me go."
"Then let him try to stop me," Luca said fiercely, reaching for her hand. "I'm not afraid of him."
Her skin tingled where he touched her. Hope warred with fear in her chest, twisting her insides into knots.
And then..
The door burst open.
Isabella gasped, yanking her hand from Luca's as Damian filled the doorway. He stood perfectly still, his gray eyes like sharpened steel, his presence suffocating the room.
The silence was lethal.
Luca straightened, his shoulders squared, but Isabella could feel the tension radiating from him.
"Damian," she whispered, her voice trembling. "It's not he was just"
"Leaving," Damian finished coldly, his gaze locked on Luca.
For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then Damian stepped forward, slow and deliberate, his eyes glinting with something darker than jealousy.
"You should have danced your dance, Romano," he said softly, almost conversationally. "And kept your distance."
"Or what?" Luca shot back, his voice steady though his fists clenched at his sides.
Damian's lips curved, but there was no humor in it. "Or you'll find out what happens to men who touch what's mine."
The air cracked like lightning between them. Isabella's pulse thundered in her ears. She wanted to scream, to beg them both to stop but the words lodged in her throat.
Damian took another step forward, and Luca didn't back down. The two men stood eye to eye, predator and challenger, the tension thick enough to choke.
"Bella," Damian murmured without breaking his stare from Luca, "go sit on the bed."
Her heart lurched. "What? No "
"Now." His voice was velvet and steel, a command that brooked no defiance.
She froze, caught between them, every instinct screaming danger.
And in that moment, Isabella realized the truth: whatever choice she made tonight would change everything.
Isabella's legs refused to move. Her knees trembled, her heart a frantic drumbeat in her chest. Damian's eyes cut to her briefly sharp, commanding before sliding back to Luca, who stood rigid, defiant.
"Don't," Luca said, his voice low. "Don't order her around like she's property."
Damian's jaw ticked, a dangerous calm spreading over his features. "And you think she's yours to save? To steal?" His tone dripped with lethal amusement. "Bold of you, Romano. Very bold."
Isabella swallowed hard, her gaze darting between them. Two predators circled, and she caught in the middle felt like prey.
"Stop this," she whispered, though her voice barely carried. "Both of you, please "
"Quiet, Bella." Damian's words silenced her more effectively than a shout. His authority coiled around her like invisible chains.
Luca stepped forward, blocking Damian's line of sight to her. "She's not a prize in your sick games, Damian. She deserves more than this prison you've built."
For a moment, Damian's mask slipped his eyes flaring, his chest rising with something sharp and possessive. But then he smiled, slow and chilling.
"You think you can give her more?" His tone was soft, mocking. "Tell me, Luca… what would you do with her? Hide her in the shadows of your family name? Use her as a pawn like your father used your mother?"
The insult landed heavy. Luca's fists clenched, his knuckles whitening. "At least I wouldn't break her the way you will."
The words hung in the air like gunpowder waiting for a spark.
Damian's expression hardened, the playfulness gone. He stepped closer, the tension in the room spiking until Isabella could barely breathe. His presence filled every corner, every shadow, as though even the air belonged to him.
"You're testing my patience, Romano," he said, voice as quiet as a blade sliding from its sheath. "And my patience is not infinite."
Isabella's chest rose and fell rapidly. She felt the pull of Damian's command, the fire of Luca's defiance, both men ready to tear each other apart and she, helpless between them.
Her mind screamed to move, to speak, to stop this, but her body stayed rooted to the spot. She realized, with bone-deep certainty, that tonight would leave scars, no matter how it ended.
Damian finally shifted his gaze to her, his voice dropping into something dark, intimate.
"Last chance, innocenza. Sit down… or watch what happens when a wolf tears apart anyone foolish enough to enter his den."
The threat, the promise, the possessiveness it all crashed into her at once.
Her pulse hammered in her throat. She could choose obedience, surrender to Damian's claim… or defiance, standing with Luca, daring to dream of freedom.
Either way, she knew the truth.
This was no longer just about her heart.
It was about survival