Chapter 11: Blood ties

The first thing I thought about when I woke up wasn’t him. It was Leo. Ten days behind iron gates and marble walls and I hadn’t heard my brother’s voice once. I didn’t know if he was eating. If he was scared. If he thought I’d abandoned him. That hurt worse than the contract. Worse than the ring on my finger. I found Mrs. Bellini in the sitting room, folding towels like nothing was wrong. “Can I ask you something?” She looked up and smiled. “Of course.” “I want to see Leo.” Her hands stopped. “I’m afraid that’s something only the Don can approve.” I stared at her. “So I need his permission to see my own brother?” She lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry.” Right. Sorry didn’t open gates. I spent the rest of the day pacing. Checking windows. Listening for cars. The house was too quiet. Too perfect. Like I was the only real thing in it. He came home just before sunset. I heard the doors first. Then the shift in the air. The staff moving faster. “The Don is home.”

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-07-20

Chapter 12 : The Brother

Leo slammed the book shut not because the story was bad but because it wasn’t his, because someone had left it there for him just like the fresh clothes folded at the end of the bed and the hot meals that showed up three times a day and the locked door that never opened from the inside. Comfortable, trapped, and somehow that made him angrier than chains ever could. The lock clicked. Leo didn’t look up. "If you’re here to tell me to eat don’t, I’m not hungry." The door opened anyway and footsteps crossed the room. "You skipped breakfast." Leo leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. "I wasn’t hungry." Marco Rossi. Charcoal suit, black shirt, sleeves rolled to his forearms like he’d just come from something and hadn’t bothered to fix himself. He looked at the untouched tray, then at Leo, then picked the whole thing up and carried it to the door. "It got cold." "You came back because my food got cold?" "I don’t like waste." "Liar." One corner of Marco’s m

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-07-21

Chapter 13 : You're Mine To use

The lock clicked at 6am.Leo didn’t move. "If it’s food, leave it.""It isn’t."Marco.Leo opened his eyes anyway because ignoring him felt more dangerous than looking. Marco walked in without knocking, charcoal suit hugging every hard line of his body, black shirt unbuttoned just enough at the collar to show the sharp cut of his collarbones. He dropped the folder on the table, shrugged off his jacket, and rolled his sleeves up slowly, exposing thick, veined forearms."What is that.""Work.""Why is it in here.""Because I’m working in here today." Marco’s voice was low, calm, and final. He pulled out the armchair and sat, thighs spreading wide as he claimed the space like he owned it. Like he owned *everything* in it.Leo sat up slowly, the sheet slipping down his bare chest. "...You’re joking.""No.""So I’m what, your office now.""For now." Marco’s dark eyes flicked over Leo’s torso for a beat too long before returning to the folder.Leo stared at him, heat already crawling unde

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-07-22

Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 13

Chapter 11: Blood ties

Chapter 12 : The Brother

Chapter 13 : You're Mine To use