Lucrezia's day hadn't gone too well but was a bit better than the past few days.
Her palms were raw from detergent. There was a faint scent of bleach clinging stubbornly to her skin as she'd had to scrub floors, rinse linens and wipe surfaces until her shoulders burned.
Tasks she had never performed her entire life. All she wanted now was sleep.
She had just taken a step toward the narrow doorway, about to retire for the day when the chief maid's voice cut through the corridor.
"There's one more task to complete."
Lucrezia stopped, whipping her head in the elderly woman's direction.
"What-"
For a second, she saw red and her fists curled so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
The humiliation of it all choked against her ribs like a burning sensation.
A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery graduate like her who had spent almost half of her life training in the discipline, was respected for her clinical precision and had assisted in many trauma cases now worked in a Don's house, the same hands that had sutured lacerations and managed collapsing vitals smelled of soap and dirty water.
It made her jaw tighten.
"What task is that?" She controlled herself and asked the woman who replied with a frown,
"You were assigned to the boss's room to clean. I had forgotten to tell you,"
The moment Lucrezia heard the Don, her heart skipped ten beats, feeling her chest plummet.
"The Don?"
"I'd advise you to get the task done as soon as possible now that he has yet to arrive. It might not be quick once he's back." The chief maid suddenly turned around and walked away, not even giving her any further audience.
Lucrezia creased her brows at the way the woman had spoken, wondering what she meant by 'quick' once he had arrived. Had they all begun to think so low of her over a night that Maverick had summoned her?
She could feel her eyes sting almost immediately at the thought but she kept herself together, not wanting to show any weakness.
Making her way to the Don's wing of the mansion, she noticed how there were fewer guards present today and no one dared question her or stop her as she walked inside, not even sparing her a glance... almost as if she hadn't gone in at all.
Had Maverick perhaps been the one to give the order that she clean his room?
Her thoughts paused the moment her gaze landed on the door she had been brought to just last night.
Flashbacks of what he had done and said to her in there, clouded her mind, and she turned the doorknob aggressively, almost stumbling to the ground the second it opened.
The room was spacious and empty, as if there was a void in it and just as her eyes locked onto the bed, Lucrezia felt a burning sensation, like a lump forming in her throat, remembering how Maverick had torn her clothes.
Heavens knew what his intention had been, bringing her to his room earlier.
This was the exact same man who'd protected her in every possible way years back, someone she'd turned to each time without hesitation.
The same man who had once stood between her and the world like an immovable wall.
Her vision blurred—not from weakness, but from the sharp collision of past and present.
College.
Lucrezia had been sixteen.
Although brilliant, she'd been naïve enough to believe her father's name didn't follow her beyond the gates of his estate and it had taken only two weeks for reality to correct her.
There had been a party—one of those loud and reckless teen gatherings thrown in a clubhouse on the outskirts of Montoverra.
Lucrezia had known she wasn't allowed to go as everyone knew who she was and the event hadn't been within the college premises where her safety was assured.
But that night, she'd only wanted to feel normal amongst other teenagers...just once.
Knowing her father was out of town to handle matters concerning the underworld, she'd chosen rebellion over caution.
She snuck out of the Alexandros estate using one of the secret passages she discovered by accident as a child.
Even Maverick had been unaware of her demise.
The dress she wore was a dangerously short black silk gownthat clung to her figure and ended scandalously high on her thighs. She had never worn anything so bold and out of place before.
The party had initially been loud and suffocating with music pulsing through the walls of a clubhouse, filledwith loose and drunk teenagers.
It felt intoxicating at the beginning. Lucrezia laughed and danced, letting everyone see her as just another girl in a short dress. No bodyguards. No shadows. No whispers of her being the "Don's daughter."
But beneath the noise had been a few eyes Lucrezia had been completely unaware of, following her amongst the crowd.
She'd taken the liberty to use the washroom and the man had followed her discreetly, knowing she was a bit tipsy from the alcohol.
'Who are you?!' A startled Lucrezia asked the moment she stepped out of the washroom and met a man dressed in a black hoodie with his facebarely visible.
The person said nothing and only scanned her with clear mischief in his eyes, 'What is Don Santiano's daughter doing all alone at a clubhouse..."
He stepped forward, making her take three instinctive steps backwards, "No bodyguards or escorts in sight," He looked around the empty corridor, before turning back to her with unspoken excitement, as he had just been given access to a secret path.
He shut the door behind where he had come through, flashinga chilling smile across to her through the hoodie he wore.
Lucrezia drank in his appearance and noticed a cartel symbol tattoo on his wrist, signifying he was no ordinary clumsy teenager out here to party.
'Back off.' She warned when he tried to come closer and she smelled the thick stench of alcohol emanating from him.
Panic crept in and since she wasn't so sober, she didn't realise when he lounged at her, throwing her down on the cold floor and pinning her hands.
A scream tore from her lips as she struggled against him, kicking wildly but his weight was heavier and he had managed to slip his hands through her dress in a second, grabbing hold of her undies.
Lucrezia tried to fight with every power in her but somehow, it felt like she wasn't even moving or trying.
She closed her eyes tightly, wanting whatever was happening to her to end as quickly as possible when suddenly, the man's weight was lifted off her and she could finally breathe again.
Lucrezia opened her eyes, her vision blurry as she saw a familiar figure and the next thing she heard was the agonising scream of the manwho'd cornered her earlier before a deafening silence.
She sat up, instinctively moving to adjust her gown before slowly meeting Maverick's gaze with her teary brown eyes. The intruder who had tried to touch her lay limp on the floor and Lucrezia noticed a handful of blood pooling around his head.
Maverick had knocked him out— or at least, that was what she chose to believe.
Maverick's expression shifted the second he turned to look at her.
No rage or dominance in his stare. Just more of a concern.
She lowered her head in embarrassment, wondering what he must've been thinking of her when his hands swiftly moved to his shoulders and he removed his jacket without a word, draping it around her shoulders and covering the short hem of her dress.
His movement had been careful and respectful, making sure not to linger anywhere else unnecessarily.
They both went home in awkward silence as Maverick drove unusually fast through the streets before reaching the estate.
'You're still shaking,' he sàid quietly when the vehicle stopped and Lucrezia's cheeks flushed red.
'I didn't tell you,' she whispered, confusion mixing with relief. 'How did you—'
'The library panel was open,' he replied simply. 'You forgot to close it properly.'
His words were filtered, no accusation or lecture, just fact.
'Oh...'
He didn't ask why she'd gone or scold her for the way she dressed. Didn't even try to remind her of the danger tied to her name.
By the time they stepped out of the car, Maverick took her straight through the secret passages and back to her room, not wanting anyone to see her in this state. Her father had returned by this time and it would have been horrible if he'd found out about her defiance.
Since then, Lucrezia had seen him differently. He had not been summoned or forewarned but yet, when danger found her, so had he.
Even when she ran from his protection, he still chose to protect her.
But now—
She was the one who feared him-
Lucrezia's thoughts shattered the instant the air in the room shifted.
It wasn't a sound.
It was a presence, a heavy commanding aura that made her spine stiffen and she turned around sharply, colliding with the towering figure she had once associated with safety.
Now, he felt like a storm at her back.
Lucrezia's breath caught immediately and her instinct kicked in as she stumbled backwards in shock, her heel slipping against the marble floor the next instant.
The world tilted around her in a second but before gravity could claim her, a strong hand locked around her waist firmly, pulling her upright in one swift motion.
The movement was quick and unpredictable, the force of it bringing them far too close together, as Lucrezia's face brushed against Maverick's, their lips colliding briefly in what might have resembled a kiss.
It wasn't tender or deliberate, just an accidental friction charged with unresolved tension.
Lucrezia's breath mingled with his for a fraction of a second and she could feel the warmth of his skin, the steady rhythm of his controlled breaths thumping in her ears unlike her own.
She froze.
And so did he.
His hands were still at her waist and her fingers were still instinctively gripping the fabric of his shirt in an effort to steady herself.
The proximity was suffocating and intimate in a way neither of them had ever crossed before and Lucrezia's pulse thundered loudly in her ears as her eyes locked with his.