Bella's POV
"I own you now, Rosa Mia."
His words rang like a death sentence. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe as the shock came in waves.
The world narrowed to the man before me—the stranger with molten gold eyes and a voice that sent heat coiling around my spine.
Sold. The word kept echoing in my head, over and over again.
Sold by the man who lifted me onto his shoulders and called me his little princess.
"No.." I whispered. "No, no, no—this can't be happening, it has to be some sort of joke, right?"
I knew things were rough. But it wasn't supposed to be like this.
But it was. And the glint in this stranger's eyes told me he was enjoying every second of my undoing.
"I'm not a thing to be sold," I said, trembling, "You can't just own me. I'm not some... object."
He stepped closer. I backed up instinctively, only to hit the fireplace. He didn't stop, he leaned in till our noses touched.
"No, bella," he murmured. "You're not a thing, you are a possession. Mine now. And I take very good care of what belongs to me."
I flinched. He knew my name, but I hadn't told him. My heart pounded. "How do you know my name?" He smiled. It was slow. Dangerous. Like a wolf playing with its prey.
"I know everything about you," he said. "Your school, your schedule. Your best friend. Your red hair under all that black dye."
He reached out and tucked a strand behind my ear. I jerked away from his touch as it burned.
"Don't," I hissed. Hitting his hands away.
He chuckled, but there was no hint of humor in it. "You'll learn, Rosa. That resistance is exhausting, and submission, on the other hand." his gaze dropped to my lips. "Is intoxicating."
I slapped him hard. The sound resounded through the room like a gunshot. Even I was shocked at what I did.
The guards behind him stiffened, reaching for their guns. But he didn't flinch.
His head turned slowly, his eyes burning. But now with something much darker.
"Ohh, little Bella," he said with a whisper of amusement. "You're going to be so much fun."
Then, without warning, he grabbed my wrist, yanking me towards him. I struggled, kicked, and clawed, desperate to get away from him, but his grip was unbreakable.
"Let her go!" My father yelled, staggering to his feet. "This wasn't part of the deal!"
"Deals change," the man said, not even looking back. "Especially when you owe the kind of debt you do, old man."
"Take me instead," my father begged. "Please—just let her go. She's innocent."
The stranger turned then. His smile vanished, and his voice turned to ice. "There's no such thing as innocence in my world. Only leverage. And she," he yanked my face closer, "Is priceless."
Two of the guards grabbed my father and forced him to his knees.
"Don't hurt him!" I screamed, twisting in this stranger's grip.
"I won't," he said smoothly. "As long as you come quietly."
I looked back at my father. He was crying tears—real tears. The first time I'd seen them since my mum died.
"Bella, I'm sorry," he said, his voice cracking. "I had no choice." But that was the thing, there's always a choice, and he chose them. I know there isn't going back now. Or Dad would be killed, even if I'm so mad at him right now, I wouldn't want him dead, he's my only family, so I gave up resisting, but with a newfound resolution, I was going to fight this strange man every step of the way.
A bag was yanked over my head, leaving me in darkness, and my world spun. I screamed. Kicked, and thrashed but my screams were muffled, strong arms wrapped around me, hauling me through the front door. The last thing I heard was my father's sobs.
Then I heard a car door open, and I was placed inside the seat, polished cold leather. The hum of an engine pulling into the road.
The drive was long. Or maybe it felt that way. I lost track of time, my senses robbed by fear and the stench of cologne mixed with something darker—gunpowder.
At some point, the car halted. I heard the gates opening. Then close, and sounds of gravel under tires. My heart pounded against my chest, of the fear of not knowing where I was taken to.
When the bag was ripped from my head, I blinked, my eyes adjusting to having my sight back. That man stood before me again, flanked by guards in black suits and guns.
Behind him loomed a mansion-polished stone sprawling like a cathedral, and behind its windows, shadows watched like hawks. Just where the hell was I?
"Welcome home, Rosa mai," he said. My mouth opened, no sound came out. Then he offers his hands like this was some twisted fairy tale. Like a princess being ushered into a nightmare castle.
I didn't take it, so he grabbed me anyway. The guards open the door. And I was dragged into hell.
***
He didn't let go until we where Inside the mansion. Even then, I could still feel his grip like a brand on my skin—cold- firm and possessive.
The grand doors closed behind us with a soft thud echoing, I spun, trying to memorize every possible exit or turn. The foyer was of glinting chandeliers, brutal marble, and a staircase that swept upward llike a castle.
I hated that I was shaking, and I hated that he noticed.
"Release her," he said to the guards who held me. Voice commanding. Immediately The men stepped back, I snatched my arm free and stumbled a few paces away, my heart hammering. I turned to him, chest heaving, eyes locked in his.
"I want to go home," I said, a slight tremor in my voice.
He stepped forward, eyes glinting. "you are home." My throat thightened. "This isn't real."
"It's the only reality that matters now," he said, with the chilling certainty of a man who always gets his way.
"I don't belong to you, just because you bought me doesn't make me yours."
"You are my possession." He said, letting it sink in.
" I want to leave."
"You are not going anywhere, my Bambolina, this is your home now."
I turned and ran, I didn't care about the consequences or where i was running to—but anywhere apart from him, away from the smug look on his face and the terrifying calmness in his eyes.
I only made it halfway down the hall, before arms caught me from both sides. I looked up to see huge men, holding me.
"No!" I screamed, kicking and trashing as they dragged me back. "Let me go!"
They didn't, and this man watched, silently, his eyes never leaving me. I fought like hell, even when I knew I have lost. But I never begged. I wouldn't give him that satisfaction.
Eventually, he gave them a nod, and they released me, and I dropped to the floor, grasping, my arms wrapped around myself.
He crouched next to me, his voice low. "You think your fire would protect you. But fire dies Cara Mia. I'm the one who decides when to fan the flame —or snuff it out.
"Go to hell," I choked out.
He smiled like the devil himself. "I already own it.
He stood, turning to this other strange man, beside him. "Prepare the south wing, lock down the floor, guards station at every entrance. And have Magdalena clean her up," he said all this like I wasn't even there.
A few hours later, I was sitting on a giant bed in a room that was too perfect, fit for a princess. But it lacked warmth.
I wrapped myself in a silk black robe I had found in the closet. The old clothes I had worn had vanished. I hadn't said a word to the housekeeper after she scrubbed and washed me like I was filthy, I hadn't touched the food. And I hadn't cried, because if I did, he'd win.
The door opened without warning. I stood up, arms crossed, And the devil came in, his gaze ran over me like he was memorizing how I looked. "what do you want from me."
"You."
My mind scrambled for footing. "I'm not sleeping with you if that's what you think this is."
His smile vanished. In a flash, he was right in front of me. I backed up instictively.
He didn't touch me, just leaned in so close that his breath grazed my face. " I don't take what isn't offered," he murmured. "And when I touch you, bella, it'll be because you begged me to."
My skin pricked, heat rushing up my neck, "Never."
He tilted his head like he already saw the cracks forming. "You can scream, fight, run. But it won't change anything. You are mine."
"And I never lose what's mine."
"I'm not yours, never will," I said, my voice wavered.
He glanced back, that dark smile curling across his face again. " sleep, Rosa Mai. You'll need strength."
"For what?" my heart racing.
"For when the real game begins." then he was gone. The door closed behind him with a soft click that sounded too much like my fate sealing shut.
And I was alone, in his cage, in his game. But I wasn't playing to lose.