Chapter 5 - THE THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE"Stop! Lorenzo, stop! You'll kill him here!" Ariana screamed, pulling at Lorenzo’s heavy shoulder.
Lorenzo stopped, his knuckles bloody, his breath heavy and ragged. He looked at Valerio, who was gasping for air on the marble tiles, blood pouring from his nose. Lorenzo spat on the ground beside him, then grabbed Ariana by the hand and dragged her out toward the private elevator.
"Let go of me!" she yelled as the elevator doors closed, cutting them off from the chaotic shouts of the ballroom.
Lorenzo didn't let go. He threw her gently against the padded wall of the elevator, leaning in so close she could feel the heat radiating off his body, his eyes wild with adrenaline and unvarnished rage.
"He touched you," Lorenzo breathed, his chest heaving. "He put his hands on you."
"I could have handled it!" she yelled back, her cheeks flushed with adrenaline. "I’m not a defenseless weakling! I survived ten years on my own!"
"You shouldn't have had to!" Lorenzo roared, slamming his palm against the wall beside her head. The loud thud echoed in the small space.
Silence fell over the elevator. Ariana stared at him, her heart beating frantically against her ribs. She looked at his dark eyes, searching for the monster, but what she saw instead was something raw, bloody, and entirely vulnerable.
"Why do you care?" Ariana whispered, her voice trembling. "He was right, wasn't he? You’re using me to provoke a war with the Moretti syndicate. I’m just a strategic asset to you."
Lorenzo looked down at her lips, his breathing slowing down. Slowly, delicately, he reached up with his uninjured hand and cupped her jaw. His thumb gently wiped a speck of blood off her cheekbone.
"Four years ago," Lorenzo said softly, "I walked into Meridian Capital disguised as a minority investor. I saw a woman sitting in the corner, wearing an ugly gray sweater, deliberately trying to fade into the drywall."
Ariana’s eyes widened. "What?"
"I saw you," Lorenzo murmured, his voice thick with a strange, dark affection. "I saw the way your eyes calculated every movement in the room. I saw the brilliant mind hidden behind those ridiculous fake glasses. I didn't buy Meridian for profits, Ariana. I bought it because I spent four years trying to figure out who the hell you were."
He leaned down, his forehead resting against hers. "You are not an asset, Ariana. You are the only thing in this miserable city that makes me feel alive."
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Before she could process his words, Lorenzo covered her mouth with his.
The kiss was explosive—a fierce, hungry collision of ten years of hidden longing, fear, and desire. Ariana groaned, her fingers tangling into his thick hair, pulling him closer as she gave in to the electric fire consuming her veins.
