Chapter 4: Ink-Stained Promises

The storm hadn’t passed.

It had only shifted its direction.

Aaravi knew this now. She could feel it in the way the air had changed since Matteo’s kiss — thick with promise, heavy with what hadn’t yet been said. The rooftop, with all its soft lights and peaceful skyline, had felt like a betrayal afterward. Because the truth was, she couldn’t go back. She couldn’t turn away from what had happened between them, no matter how much she tried to convince herself that it was just a moment — a slip, a mistake.

But her chest was heavy with the knowledge that it wasn’t.

Aaravi woke the next morning to a world that felt too small for her now. The bookstore seemed less like her sanctuary and more like a cage. The same shelves. The same routine. But the tension in her body, the fear in her heart — they were new.

She shouldn’t have gone to that rooftop. She shouldn’t have let him kiss her. She shouldn’t have let herself feel anything for a man like Matteo Leone.

But there was a darkness in him, a pull, that threatened to unravel everything she thought she knew about herself.

She poured her tea with shaking hands, staring at the steam rising from the cup, trying to steady her breathing.

The knock on the door was quiet, but unmistakable.

She froze.

Aaravi opened it slowly, her pulse racing.

Matteo stood there, looking more dangerous than ever. His black suit clung to his frame, perfectly pressed, but the darkness in his eyes was what struck her most. It was the look of a man who was about to step into a storm. A man who had already stepped into it and was dragging everyone around him along.

“I need to talk to you,” he said quietly, his voice a low murmur.

She didn’t invite him in, but he didn’t need an invitation. He stepped past her, his presence consuming the small space of her shop. He moved like he owned the place, and in a way, he did. Everything in her life had been shifted, turned upside down, and she hated him for it.

But she hated herself more for feeling the pull toward him, despite everything.

She swallowed hard. “What is it?”

Matteo turned to face her, his expression unreadable. “The man who made the offer to your father — the one I outbid — has resurfaced. He’s connected to someone I don’t want you to be involved with.”

Aaravi’s heart skipped. “Who?”

“You’re not ready for this,” he said, his tone grim. “But you need to know the truth. You need to understand what’s coming.”

“I don’t want to know.”

“Too bad,” he replied softly. “Because you’re already a part of it.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he was already walking toward her, closing the space between them.

“Matteo,” she whispered, but her voice wavered under the weight of his gaze. “What are you asking me to do?”

“Nothing,” he said, his voice lowering. “You don’t have to do anything. But I need you to stay out of the way.”

“I can’t just—” She took a step back. “I can’t hide. I won’t.”

His expression softened for the first time, but there was still something cold in his eyes — something that told her he wasn’t just protecting her from physical harm. He was trying to shield her from the truth.

“The less you know,” he said, stepping closer, his presence overwhelming. “The safer you’ll be.”

“I don’t need you to protect me.”

“You do,” he replied softly, reaching out and cupping her cheek. “I don’t want you to end up like him.”

Aaravi stiffened. “Like who?”

Matteo didn’t answer immediately. He was looking at her in a way that made her feel like he was seeing right through her, past all the walls she’d built.

“My father?” she whispered.

His eyes flickered, just for a second, with something unreadable. “No. Not your father. Someone else.”

The words hung in the air between them, thick with the weight of something unsaid. Aaravi could feel the tension rising between them. Could feel how close they were standing now, so close that her breath mingled with his.

She wanted to step back. Wanted to ask him to leave, to let her be free of the chaos he had brought into her life.

But when his hand slid down to the back of her neck, drawing her closer, everything else seemed to blur into the background.

“You’re not like the others,” Matteo said quietly, his lips just inches from hers. “I don’t want to drag you into this.”

His voice had dropped, softened with something she couldn’t quite name. But it wasn’t enough to stop the war inside her — the war between what she knew was right, and what her body screamed at her to do. To feel.

And when his lips pressed softly against hers, she didn’t pull away.

It wasn’t a kiss like the last one. This time, his touch was insistent, demanding. His mouth slanted over hers, deepening the kiss, coaxing her response, pulling her into him until she had no choice but to surrender to him.

Her hands rose instinctively to his chest, fingers curling into his shirt, the heat of him scorching her skin through the fabric. Every part of her was alive with the feel of him. The strength. The danger. The pull that made it impossible to stop.

His hands slid to her waist, drawing her closer, his body hard against hers. And when his tongue teased hers, a low, aching moan escaped her lips. She could feel him smile against her mouth — a smile that was dark, predatory, and yet full of a strange tenderness she couldn’t understand.

When they broke apart, both of them breathless, she looked up at him, unable to find the words.

“You’re a fire,” he whispered, his voice low and rough. “And I’m the one who’ll burn.”

She stepped back, heart racing in her chest.

“You’re a part of this now,” Matteo continued, his voice softening, but there was something dangerous in his words. “No turning back. You’re mine now, Aaravi.”

The words settled in the space between them like a promise, a brand.

Her pulse quickened.

“I didn’t ask for this,” she whispered, but the defiance in her voice was fading. Something in her had already surrendered.

“You don’t have to ask,” Matteo replied, his hand reaching out to touch her cheek again. “It’s already done.”

Aaravi stared at him, lost in the intensity of his gaze. She was in too deep, and she knew it.

But the question still burned — could she ever find a way out?

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