NO ONE'S POV
Liliana stared blankly at the contract lying on her desk, her thoughts running in circles. The words danced upon the page, belittling her with the impossible choice before her. Her heart hammered in her chest and thrashed against her ribcage as if seeking freedom from the weight bearing upon her.
One year.
A year of being tied to Dante Moretti, the man who could easily destroy her in more ways than one. Yet also the man who could save everything her father had built. For the first time ever, everything felt like it hung precariously in the balance-and the walls were closing on her faster than she was able to keep them from.
Her hands shook as she pushed forward to touch the edge of the contract. The cool, crisp paper and sharpness of the edge felt heavy, like it was already carrying its load on her future. Her breath caught in her chest as she imagined what it would be if she signed on the dotted line.
Constant thoughts kept nagging her back and forth.
On the other hand, signing meant survival. That was, saving the legacy of her father, ensuring Russo Enterprises will not become a free-for-all with the vultures circling overhead and waiting for her to crash. The company wasn't just her responsibility-it's her father's life work, his pride, never mind that she still has such a bad relationship with her own family it could get far worse. Liliana wouldn't even hesitate that her stepbrother and stepmother would easily get her father to disown her, and just the idea of it threw her into a tizzy of emotions. She couldn't let it break down because of her pride, could she?
But Dante, the man who exuded power and domination, the man who would take her as his wife in name and body-more than a business deal. This was no ordinary marriage. No illusions of love or partnership. It was about control. Submission. Power. He didn't want a wife; he wanted possession.
Just thinking about it twisted her stomach. Dante Moretti was a man of icy blue eyes and predatory smirk, a guy who could so easily consume her, body, mind, emotions. He was dangerous on levels that went beyond mere reputation. He could shatter her, and she wasn't sure she'd ever recover from it.
A part of her screamed to walk away, to throw the contract in his face and refuse. Her pride, her independence, begged her not to bow to him. But that voice was drowned out by the harsh reality of her situation. Without Dante's help, Russo Enterprises would fall. Her father's life's work would be wiped out. Her family would hate her and disown her. And she'd be left with nothing.
Everything was suffocating her, the tension, the uncertainty, the doubt, the uneasiness, the conflict. Everything.
Liliana just wanted to run away from everything, eventhough it was a cowardly act she didn't care. The whole thing was too much for her to handle. The pressure and entirety of everything that has been put on her shoulders at such a young age is too much for her to handle.
Liliana pressed her hands to her temples, trying to drown out the storm in her head. Her pulse thrummed, her thoughts spilling out of control.
"What should I do?"
She wasn't just choosing between a contract and freedom. She was choosing between survival and ruin. If she refused, the company would collapse, and she would be left in financial ruin, with no one to turn to, not even her family. She would lose everything. Dante would probably sit back and watch her crash and burn with glee. He had the power to shatter her in business and private life, and he certainly wouldn't hesitate to if she refused his proposal.
But accepting his terms was giving herself over to him in ways she couldn't yet understand. That meant one year of living with him, of tolerating his rule, his wishes. Could she really put up with that? Anything left to her when the dust settled? And what would happen if she couldn't pay it back on schedule? What if she had been caught and tied there for good, never to go free of him or the evil dark world he controlled in her life?
Both decisions carried pros and cons.
It had dug its nails deep inside her, almost becoming part of the inner core. Liliana was unsure if she had it in her to hold whatever Dante had planned for her. Dante was never one for the book; she wasn't under any illusions that this proposal had something even remotely resembling legitimacy to it. She would be owned, body and soul and mind, by him.
Her hands trembled as she pushed her palms flat against the desk, her chest rising and falling in deep breaths to quiet the rising tide of panic. She could feel her pulse racing, the room spinning slightly as anxiety wrapped its cold, relentless fingers around her throat.
"Think, Liliana. Think," she whispered to herself, trying to regain control. But it was impossible to think clearly when everything felt like it was falling apart.
Time was running, and Dante was waiting. He had made it clear this was no negotiation, that she was out of time, out of options. She knew he was right. No one else could save her. No one would intervene and offer her the lifeline she so desperately needed. Only Dante.
Liliana closed her eyes as visions of her father's face flashed through her mind as she thought of the pride he had in his eyes at her taking over the company, his belief that she could continue the legacy that he had built from the bottom up, though with a hint of uncertainty. Could she let all that slip away? Could she really watch everything fall apart knowing she had the chance to stop it?
But what was the cost?
This decision hung over her like a guillotine poised to fall at any second. She wouldn't have a right and simple answer; either decision she made felt like walking blindly into a trap of doom, which would probably decide between her pride or the future.
Her eyes came open, looking at the dotted line at the bottom of the contract. Only one signature could seal everything for all time.
One signature. One year.
Liliana took deep, shaking breaths as she hovered her hand over the pen. Her mind shouted at her to stop. But her heart, a heart that was broken much too many times by this world, knew better.
This one simple sheet of paper was all it would take to seal her fate; stronger and more powerful than she was.
She didn't have a choice.
Taking a deep, resigned breath, Liliana picked up the pen and pressed it to the page, signing her name in bold black ink. She knew the weight of that decision settled over her like a heavy cloak as the nib left the page in that moment.
She had sealed her own fate.