Chapter 2 - Tears and Ledger Sheets
Hook: "The girl who repaired dresses is dead. Let's see what we can build from her ashes."The paper slipped from my fingers, fluttering down to the marble floor.
I fell to my knees, my white silk dress billowing around me like a deflating balloon. The cold of the marble seeped through the fabric, chilling my skin, but it was nothing compared to the absolute, freezing numbness spreading through my chest.
Twelve million dollars.
That was my worth. Not a lifetime of love, not a family, not a future. I was a transaction. A line item on a ledger sheet used to balance a gambler's bad decisions.
"He smiled at me," I whispered to the empty air, my voice cracking. "Through the window of the car... he smiled at me because he knew."
"He knew exactly what was coming," Luca said. He didn't offer to help me up. He stood there, a towering shadow, watching me process the death of my entire reality. "He needed a public spectacle. If you simply disappeared, people would ask questions. The police would investigate. But if the big, bad 'Bride Collector' stole you in broad daylight, Adrien becomes the tragic hero. The mourning fiancé. The public pities him. The banks extend his credit. And his debt to me is wiped clean."
I covered my face with my hands, but the tears wouldn't come. I was too empty for tears. The silence of the room was suffocating. I thought of my mother kissing my forehead, telling me “Elena, you look like someone finally chose you.”
She had been wrong. Nobody chose me. They just traded me.
"Why?" I asked, looking up at Luca. My gaze hardened, the despair slowly curdling into something hot and sharp. "Why do you collect brides, Luca? Is this a game to you? A way to humiliate men like Adrien?"
Luca looked down at me, his expression unreadable. He slowly pulled off his leather gloves, revealing strong, calloused hands.
"I don't collect brides for pleasure, Elena. I collect them because they are the most valuable collateral a man has. When a man owes me, he will lie, cheat, and steal to protect his money. But when I take the woman he has promised to protect, the entire world sees his weakness. It reveals exactly what kind of man he is."
"And what am I to you now?" I demanded, pushing myself up from the floor. I stood tall, ignoring the pain of my bare feet, facing him directly. "A trophy? A hostage?"
"You are a liability," Luca said coldly. "Or an opportunity. That depends entirely on you."
He walked back to his desk and picked up a black leather folder, tossing it onto the table.
"Adrien thinks you are weak because you are gentle. He thinks because you spent your life fixing other people's beautiful things, you don't know how to break them. I think differently. I saw you in that cathedral, Elena. I saw how you observed every detail, how you mended what was ruined with surgical precision. You have a gift for seeing the structure of things. The flaws. The weak points."
He leaned against the edge of his desk, crossing his arms.
"I can keep you in a locked room for the rest of your life, feeding you scraps and keeping you as a reminder of Adrien's debt. Or, I can teach you how my world works. I can give you the tools to take back everything he stole from you."
I stared at him, my mind racing.
"You want me to help you destroy him?"
"I want you to help me destroy them," Luca corrected, his eyes flashing with a dangerous, dark light. "The Cross family is planning something. Adrien didn't just sell you to clear his debt; he’s using his newfound public sympathy to form an alliance with the Volkov syndicate—my rivals. If they succeed, they will bring a war to this city. I don't intend to let that happen."
He stepped closer, offering me a hand.
"So, Elena. Do you want to hide in your torn white dress and wait for a prince who sold you? Or do you want to learn how to wear black?"
May you like
I looked at his hand. It was strong, steady, and held no promises of love. But it offered something better: a weapon.
I reached out and took it.
