روايات بقلم Nova Raine

EVERYTHING ELSE COMES AFTER••Roman••I couldn’t get any sleep throughout the night. My mind was blank, yet somehow heavy at the same time, like there was too much going on inside it but nothing I could properly hold on to. Every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was Luci, being dragged away by Marco.It didn’t sit right with me. Nothing about tonight did.I stayed in my study for hours, trying to piece my thoughts together, but it was useless. So eventually, I gave up and decided to go check on her.Maybe seeing her would calm me down.When I got to the door, the lights were off. “She must be sleeping,” I thought quietly.I turned, ready to leave and let her rest. Then I heard a faint sound.I stopped.“Did I just hear that… or is my mind playing tricks on me?”For a second, I stood there, unsure. Then that instinct in me shifted. It's a feeling I’ve learned never to ignore.I turned back immediately and pushed the door open. And what I saw…It felt like my heart stopped. Luci was st

FAR FROM OVER••Roman••When I got to the end of the dark hallway, there were three doors on the left and three on the right. My eyes moved from one to the other.Where the hell could he have taken Luci?My chest was rising and falling fast now, anger and fear mixing together in a way that made my hands itch. I didn’t waste another second. I moved straight to the first door and pushed it open.Empty.I stepped in briefly, scanned the corners, then walked out immediately.Next door.Nothing.By the time I got to the third, my patience was already thinning out dangerously. I pushed it open harder this time, stepping inside with my jaw clenched tight.Still nothing.“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath.I stepped back into the hallway, my mind racing. Then I heard a muffled voice. Faint, but clear enough.“Let me go, you nuisance.”My heart skipped.That's Luci. No doubt about it.Every nerve in my body snapped into attention. I hurried out of the room immediately and moved toward the next

THIRD DOOR ON THE RIGHT••Roman••I kept searching for Luci, pushing through every person that stood in my way. The music from the dance floor continued playing loudly, couples laughing and spinning across the floor as if nothing was wrong, but all I could hear was the pounding of my own heartbeat.Something was wrong.My instincts had been screaming it from the moment Marco took her away from me.I moved quickly through the crowd, scanning every corner of the hall, every doorway, every hallway entrance. My men were already spread across the place, but none of them had given me any useful information yet.No one had eyes on Luci, and that was a problem.I pushed past another group of guests, ignoring their irritated looks as they stumbled aside. My eyes kept moving from face to face, hoping to catch even the smallest glimpse of her, but she was nowhere.My jaw tightened.Marco had planned this. I could feel it.Then my eyes landed on a door at the far end of the hall.It looked ordina

COULD THIS BE TRUE••Luciana••“Where are you taking me to?” I forced the words out when Marco kept dragging me deeper toward the dark hallway.My voice sounded steadier than I actually felt.I kept glancing around as we walked, hoping to see even the slightest sign of Roman or any of his men. But the hallway was empty and quiet, the music from the banquet hall already sounding distant behind us.A chill crawled down my spine.With everything I had heard about Marco Valerio, the knife strapped to my thigh could not save me from this devil in human form. Still, even if I knew that, I could not give myself in easily.Not without a fight.“I just want to show you something, princess,” he turned slightly and smirked at me. “As I said earlier.”His grip on my arm was firm, almost mocking, like he already knew I could not escape.After a few more steps, we arrived in front of a closed door. Marco reached into his pocket and pulled out a small access card. He slid it against the panel beside

DANGER ZONE••Luciana••I expected Marco Valerio to be a fat old man with a devilish face and cruel eyes. In my imagination he had always looked like one of those men whose evil showed clearly on their skin, mostly older, but the man standing before me now was nothing like that.Marco is young. Probably not much older than Roman. Tall, well built, and dressed in a perfectly tailored suit that looked like it cost more than most people’s yearly salaries. If someone saw him outside this hall, they might even call him handsome, but there was something wrong with him.It was the smile.That strange, devilish, awkward smile that never quite reached his eyes.As he took my hand and led me away from Roman, I kept staring back at him. I tried my best not to show the weakness and fear building inside my chest, but my heart was beating so loudly I felt like it might fall out of my body.The music continued around us. Couples laughed and spun across the polished floor, unaware that something dark

THE BANQUET••Roman••The silence between Luci and me had been deafening. After last night's argument, neither of us had said much to the other. I wanted to apologize, to tell her that I regretted the way I spoke to her, but my pride kept me quiet. The tension hung thick in the air, and we both knew it.I stood in our room, my eyes scanning the empty space. She wasn’t here. I had already left a note for her on the table, simple yet meaningful. Something to show that I was still trying.It read:Get ready by 6 pm for Marco's banquet. We can’t afford any more mistakes. I'm sorry.I wasn’t sure if the apology would reach her, but I had to try. She’d be back in the room soon enough, and by then, I would be long gone, but the note would remain.I grabbed my suit jacket from the chair and slipped it on. The banquet tonight wasn’t just about showing up. It was a statement, a test. I couldn’t afford to show weakness in front of Marco or anyone else in the room. Not after what happened last ti