NO ONE'S POV
Liliana stood in the center of her room staring out the rain and storm that was raging outside against the glass window in her room. The water droplets pounding onto her window created loud noises because the crash of thunder was hitting it; thus, it broke through the thick silence over her.
She came back a couple of hours ago, exhausted and tense. The rest of the family was already asleep, without waiting even to catch her when she gets home, to have dinner or to talk. But this treatment Liliana was well used to; her step-mother and brother kept waiting for her to fumble so that they would take over and show her their true colors. Sheep's wool covering the face of the wolf, looking forward to the right time to strike.
She weighed on her own shoulders, as though suffocating mist hung about her in layers thick and immobile, coiled around her lungs to squeeze in a fight every time she was trying to take breath. She'd think it crept through every dark of her brain, always a haunting presence reminding her what she did. Whatever how much she tried pushing away from it, still clung there, it's an unrelenting whispering oppressive presence regarding her regrets yet to be in the aftermath.
Liliana already regretted the fact that she had signed that contract, the guilt and tension eating her up, holding her captive in their sharp claws.
Her hands locked into fists at her sides, nails biting into her palms. Her thoughts twisted and tangled, looping back to the same impossible reality.
She had signed her life away.
She had been bound to Dante Moretti for a year. The man who always sat and watched her from the shadows, calculating and cold, a presence lurking at the periphery of her existence. He had been only a name, a whisper of a rumor, until today. Until he made clear his intentions.
'When the year is up and you've paid back the loan, you can leave. No strings attached.'
The memory of his words chilled her spine, echoing in her mind like a chant. Will he really set her free, or is this just another lie sugar coated? Will she be able to repay the loan? Could she spend a whole year with him? What if she couldn't repay the loan? What if she was stuck with him forever?
Dante was a man unpredictable, did things she could not expect; he would do anything he could to get what he wanted. No one would disobey him, the next second their head lay on the floor, with life slowly fading from eyes.
He was the cruelest, brutal, and cold-blooded person she had ever met. A devil in human disguise, a ruthless person, killer, murderer, Satan in person.
Liliana knew nothing about his harsh and dangerous side. However, she knew one thing: he was still being gentle with her, patiently waiting for her to get into his trap before opening up his true self as merciless and unforgiving.
Her stomach curled. She knew the basics of the deal, he'd be her husband, in name, a marriage of convenience to settle both of their families' reputations and protect Russo Enterprises. But Dante was never going to be a man for a business deal alone.
No, he wanted to control. He wanted power over her.
And that's what terrified her.
Would he make of this marriage a way to break her, bend her, shatter her? How could she survive a year under his thumb without losing herself entirely?
Her eyes dropped to her fists, still bunched at her sides. She made her fists unclench. She took a deep shuddering breath. So what were her choices? The pros of signing this contract were all well and good on paper, but were they really worth giving up everything she'd given up in those last hours?
The positives were that the company her father had built from scratch would be secured. No hostile takeovers, no bankruptcy. Dante's resources would stabilize everything and she could continue running it—at least on paper.
The Russo name tainted since the rumors of financial instability began circulating. Associating herself with the Moretti family would end the whispers, forcing the vultures to retreat.
Above all, even though she and her father's relationship had long been strained, she could not watch everything he worked for come to an end because of her pride. The signing of the contract would ensure that his life's work would live on and perhaps even begin to heal some of the cracks that existed between them, but Liliana didn't have any confidence about her relationship with her step-mother and step-brother.
Then there were disadvantages; those weighed heavier, something that made her heart constrict with fear and doubt.
She will be one year in Dante's control. Not a marriage. A bargain made with the devil. One year as his wife, held by his rules, his demands. She had heard the rumors about him, the whispers of cruelty and ruthless business tactics. A man who crushed anyone in his path. What would he do to her?
But to lose herself, of course. Dante wanted not a wife, but an object. An obedient servant. A doll he could play with and satisfy his whims with. Could she really do that? Be that? By the end of it all, would there even be a shadow of a person left of her?
Last of all, she didn't know what this future was. This scared Liliana, not knowing what would happen next. Would she be free to pay his loan or would she be forever bound to him? Even if he did keep his promise and let her go after one year, what then? The damage would be done. She would be sullied by her connection to him, her name forever linked to the Moretti empire. Could she ever in fact break free from him, even if she actually walked away?
Liliana wrapped her arms around herself, as if she could hold the crushing weight of it all at bay. The rain pounded harder against the window to mirror the turmoil inside. There was no right choice, no easy answer. She had signed the contract because she had no other option, but that did not mean she was ready for what came next.
"God," she whispered, her voice shaking in the quiet. "What have I done?"
There was still a chance. She could rise and go back there, rip the contract paper up and throw it in his face, not bend before him. The paper must be on her desk. But she didn't. He would find another method to bring her to her knees and take her for himself. Besides, if she refuses, the company would soon collapse, and also her bond with her family, that has already been on a thin line.
The barrenness of the room yielded no answers, only brought a chill reminder of the fact: alone, within this. She had none to turn to, no one to rely on. She had not realized that her father had distanced himself after the companies started collapsing because he was not convinced about her. Her stepmother and her half-brother would not even stop hiding their glee at this first moment of giving away weakness to totally blot out her from the family.
And now…now she had chained herself to a man who could well become her downfall.
Liliana closed her eyes, breaths hitching. She has to be strong. Will have to find a way to endure this, be able to protect herself from whatever Dante had planned to do. Because now she could not turn back any further.
"Fine, she whispered, trying a little straightening of body as she pushed the terror gnawing inside." If he thinks he will break me. he'd be in for a rude surprise."
Her reflection stared back at her from the rain-streaked window, eyes dark and determined. Liliana Russo might have just sold her soul, but she wasn't going to let Dante Moretti own her. Not completely. Not without a fight.
One year. She'd be okay. She was going to be okay.
Because whatever Dante wanted to happen, no matter what he was going to force on her…
She remained Liliana Russo.
She'd never bend to one man, not the devil himself.
Those were the thoughts that were running inside her head, promises she made unto herself as the darkness very soon took over. She closed her eyelids shutting out the darkness. The pent-up emotions taking Their toll upon her as she fell into darkness, soundly sleeping after the terrible and tiresome day she had in hand, far too tired to even undress her clothes.