Page 64 of Forsaken Promises

He smiles, a slow, predatory curve of his lips that sends shivers racing down my spine. “Oh, Sofia. I tried to warn you, didn’t I? I tried to make you see the truth about the Sicuras, about the danger you were in.”

He takes a step closer, his eyes glittering with a dark, malevolent intent. “But you wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t leave Dom, even when I offered you a way out. So now… now I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.”

Before I can react, before I can even draw breath to scream, he lunges forward, his arms wrapping around me like bands of steel. I struggle and thrash, kicking and clawing at him with every ounce of strength I possess.

But it’s no use. He’s too strong, too fast, too ruthless in his determination to subdue me.

I feel a sharp, stinging pain in my neck, and my vision starts to blur and fade around the edges. As I slip into unconsciousness, my body going limp and heavy in Luca’s grasp, I hear him whisper one last, chilling promise.

“Don’t worry, Sofia. I’m not going to hurt you. Not yet, anyway. But Dom? He’s going to pay for what he did. And you? You’re going to help me make sure of it."

The last thing I see before the darkness claims me is the cold, triumphant gleam in Luca’s eyes. And then… nothing.

Just a yawning, endless void of blackness and despair.

As I fade away, my last coherent thought is of Dom. Of the love we once shared, the future we once dreamed of building together.

And of the bitter, aching knowledge that now… now it may be too late.

31

DOMINICO

Istand in the middle of the room, my chest heaving with frustration and anger as Sofia’s footsteps fade away down the hall. It’s like we’re stuck in this endless cycle, this push and pull that neither of us seems able to break free from.

Every time I think I might be getting closer to her, she slams the door in my face, pushing me away.

I sink down onto the edge of the bed, my head falling into my hands as I try to make sense of what just happened. I know I should go after her, chase her down and make her see that I’m not giving up, that I’ll never stop fighting for what we have.

But God, I’m sofuckingtired. Tired of the constant battles, the never-ending cycle of accusation and recrimination. Tired of feeling like I’m banging my head against a wall, trying to break through the fortress she’s built around her heart.

One step forward, three steps back.

And yet… I can’t let her go. I can’t imagine a life without her in it, without the fire and the passion and the sheer, unrelenting force of nature that is Sofia Marino Sicura.

I’ve tried. God knows I’ve tried. After we broke up, I threw myself into a string of empty, meaningless flings. I tried to lose myself in the thrill of the chase, the rush of conquest and seduction.

And it worked. For a while. But there was always something missing.

None of them could hold a candle to her. None of them could ignite the same spark, the same fever in my blood that Sofia always has, from the very first moment I laid eyes on her.

It was at a funeral, of all places. I was nineteen, already jaded and cynical. I stood by my father’s side, a dutiful son paying his respects to a fallen comrade.

And then I saw her.

Sofia Marino, just fifteen years old and achingly beautiful in her black dress and veil. She walked into the church on her father’s arm, her head held high and her eyes dry, despite the solemnity of the occasion.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her. How had I never seen her before? Our fathers were allies. How had I never realized a literal angel walked among us?

I couldn’t look away from the curve of her cheek, the fullness of her lips, the way the light seemed to catch in her dark hair and make it glow like a halo.

But it wasn’t just her beauty that captivated me. No, as I watched her throughout the service, as I listened to her murmur condolences and offer words of comfort, I saw something else.

She was smart, quick-witted, and funny. She had a way of putting people at ease, of making them feel heard and understood.

And when she laughed? It was like the whole world lit up. Like everything else faded away and there was nothing but the sound of her joy, the sparkle in her eyes and the dimple in her cheek.

I knew then, with a certainty that I’d never felt before, that I had to make her mine, had to find a way to win her heart, to make her see that we were meant to be together.

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