Aaron Bratava was gone.
But the air still felt heavy, like his shadow had refused to leave.
Sabrina let out a sharp breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
Her fists unclenched, red marks from her nails carved into her palms.
Sabrina Bonetti
(muttering): “Mrs. Bratava? Over his dead body.”
Valentine’s glare snapped to her, sharp as a whip.
Valentine Adrenaline
“Enough is enough, Sabrina! Do you even realize what you’ve done? Men like him… don’t take humiliation lightly.”
Sabrina turned, fire blazing in her eyes.
Sabrina Bonetti
“And women like me don’t bow down to men who think they can own us.”
Her mother’s jaw tightened, the silence between them louder than any scream.
Somewhere deep inside, though, Sabrina felt it—
That dark, unreadable look in his eyes.
Not anger. Not annoyance. Something worse.
Amusement.
Like he was already planning his next move.
Like she was a game he fully intended to win.
And that realization… made her shiver.
Valentine Adrenaline
“You don’t understand, child. This marriage isn't about you. It is about Bonetti Empire. If you reject him… if you provoke him…”
She paused, closing her eyes as though the very thought was unbearable.
Valentine Adrenaline
(whispering): “…then Bonetti Empire will drown in war.”
Sabrina’s breath caught.
Sabrina Bonetti
Sabrina: “War?”
Her mother nodded slowly.
Valentine Adrenaline
“The Bratavas are not men you reject. They are men who conquer. If Aaron is denied, he will not leave with his pride wounded—he will return with his armies.”
The words carved into Sabrina like knives.
Her defiance was fire, but beneath it, a cold dread began to stir.
Somewhere deep inside, though, another voice whispered—
Sabrina Bonetti
If he thinks he can scare me into submission… he doesn’t know me at all.
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