The rain had slowed to a drizzle, just enough to leave streaks across Alessandro's windshield. The city was nothing more than a blurred painting of neon smears and silent silhouettes. But in that rain, the silence felt heavier than the clouds.
"Time went by and exams came," I began, my voice quiet, as if testing its own weight. "We did great. But somewhere deep inside, this fear… it started growing. Like if I didn't behave, if I didn't score, I'd be abandoned."
The words came easier now, not because it hurt any less—but because he listened.
"Home began to feel like a prison. I made excuses to stay in the hostel during holidays. For the first time, I had real friends there. People who laughed with me. But after ten years... it ended. I had no choice in what came next. My future was decided without me."
My fingers curled around the fabric of my soaked hoodie. "I got hit for asking to stay out of the hostel. Got hit because I didn't cook well enough or entertain the guests. Got hit because sometimes I talked back. I've been slapped so many times... my ears don't work properly anymore. Loud sounds feel like knives."
I paused, waiting for the judgment. The pity. The usual script people followed. But Alessandro…
He didn't say anything.
Not for a long time.
Then, with a calm so intense it made my spine straighten, he said, "People like to say pain makes you stronger. That's a lie. Pain makes you cold. Clever. It teaches you how to hide."
I looked at him.
He wasn't trying to comfort me.
"You, girl," he added. "You were supposed to be protected, not programmed. And no amount of money, effort, or bloodline justifies what they did to you."
A card appeared in his hand like magic. Black. Clean.
"Come with me. Not forever. Not as a favor. Not for pity. Just... until you remember that breathing isn't a burden."
I stared at the card. Then at him.
"Am I getting human trafficked?" I deadpanned.
Alessandro smirked faintly, slipping the card back.
"If I wanted to traffic you, you'd already be unconscious in a van, not telling me your life story in the rain. I don't deal in bodies. I deal in power. And broken girls who still bite back mid-breakdown? They're useful."
His gaze sharpened.
"You're not a victim anymore. I'm offering you control."
I got into the car.
"Might as well. What more can happen? Rape me? Whisper some lies before they kill me? That'd be better than slow death. I'm already half gone."
The door clicked shut.
He didn't even look at me.
"Don't ever say that again."
No heat. Just steel.
"No one in my world gets to touch you without permission. Not even me. If they try, I'll bury them with their tongues ripped out."
The engine hummed.
"You're not half-dead. You're half-awake. And I don't recruit corpses."
We drove.
"By next week, I want to rejoin my classes," I said. "I'll tell them I had bad period cramps. You just need to sign the application."
He glanced at me.
"Period cramps, huh? Smart lie. Common, painful, and no one wants details."
He turned onto a smaller road.
"You write it. I'll sign it. But one condition: you don't disappear on me again. You want your life back? Act like it means something."
He added, almost like a joke, "And don't ever try dying in a school uniform again. Makes the cleanup a nightmare."
There was something sharp behind his words. Not cruelty. Just exhaustion.
I caught sight of the inside of the car now—simple, armored, worn but maintained. Like its owner: hardened, used to blood, but not broken.
"I'll drop you at the villa. No noise. One week. Food. Clothes. Then back to class. I'll escort you if I have to."
"Na, na," I waved a hand. "My friends will ask too many questions if I arrive in a car. Both my parents are professors. We had money, but I kept low profile. Fooled even the smartest. Don't ruin my streak. Drop me a few blocks away."
Alessandro actually looked... impressed.
"Low-key. Smart. I like that."
Then his eyes narrowed again.
"But remember, Lia. My world is masks. You're in it now. No slip-ups."
The road ahead blurred again into shadow. Then, just before taking a turn:
"Your friends. The girls you mentioned. Are they good people?"
That question surprised me.
"We fought a lot. Our batch was messy. But if someone from outside messed with one of us? They were dead. They tell me when I'm wrong—straight to my face. I hate them for it sometimes. But they never gossiped about me. Never abandoned me. Even with all my family trauma and anger issues... they stayed."
Alessandro nodded once, slowly. Like he was filing that information away.
Outside, the city waited. Inside, I sat in the eye of a storm I had never seen coming.
But for the first time in a long time, I wasn't bracing for the next slap.
I was bracing for something else.
Something dangerous.
Something that looked like freedom.