The passages in the Luciano mansion were very still and silent; the silence felt like someone was watching.
Sienna tried to walk through them without being seen, staying close to the walls as she usually did.
But one morning, when she came out of her room, she felt someone looking at her before she even looked up.
Dante was standing at the end of the passage.
He wasn't leaning against anything. He wasn't pretending to do anything else. He was just standing there, still like a statue, watching her.
Sienna stopped walking. His eyes showed something this time. Something he couldn't hide quickly enough.
She caught her breath.
They looked at each other for too long. She felt it in her chest first, that quick tightening under her ribs, which made her feel unsteady.
She didn't know what to say, or if she should say anything at all.
Dante looked away first, glancing to the side.
It wasn't embarrassing. It was… holding back.
"Morning," she said quietly.
It seemed silly to speak so quietly in such a wide passage, but the silence had suddenly become too much.
Dante nodded once. Nothing more. His eyes went back to her face for a second before he started walking, passing her with a light smell of cedar and something darker.
He didn't say anything else, but he seemed very tense, as if he was fighting something she couldn't see.
Sienna was both confused and scared.
She wasn't sure which scared her more, his attention… or how she felt about it.
Lorenzo's attention was different.
He didn't stare from far away; he just showed up.
Every time she turned around, he was just there.
When she went into the garden to take a breath for a moment, Lorenzo came out from behind a stone archway.
His shirt sleeves were rolled up, his hands in his pockets, and he was already looking at her.
"You come here often now," he said, his voice quiet.
"It's quiet," she answered.
He nodded as if he knew why she needed that.
Then he walked next to her, without being invited but it felt normal. They walked in silence for a while.
"You look more rested," Lorenzo said eventually, glancing at her in a way that made her feel seen.
"Not really," she said quietly. "But thanks."
He smiled slightly.
Later that afternoon, she went to the gym hoping to keep her mind busy.
She barely started on a treadmill before she felt someone behind her.
She turned around, and there was Lorenzo again, lifting weights as if he had been there the whole time.
He didn't say anything. He just… was near her.
And in the library? Same thing. She reached for a book; a few moments later, he was standing at the end of the aisle, lightly touching the shelf as if he also planned to be there.
It made her feel uneasy. But the odd thing was that it didn't seem dangerous.
It felt like it had a purpose.
And way down inside, hidden by fear and pretending it wasn't real, she knew she didn't hate it.
Not as much as she should have.
That night, she walked down another hall and stopped when she heard a quiet argument coming from a partly open door…
"Sienna isn't a danger."
Dante's voice, sharp and tense.
"You're not thinking clearly."
Lorenzo's voice was more harsh than usual.
"I'm thinking clearly for the first time in days," Dante shot back.
The strain in his voice bothered her somehow.
Matteo sighed next.
"You both need to stop. Getting emotionally involved is not allowed. We agreed to that. We protect her, keep her safe, and that's all."
A heavy silence took over the room.
Lorenzo broke the silence. "I'm not planning anything."
"You already are," Matteo said sharply. "Both of you."
Sienna's heart pounded in her chest. She held her breath, scared of getting caught listening.
Dante's voice was softer this time. "I just want her to be safe."
"And I want her nearby," Lorenzo said honestly.
Her stomach sank.
Someone moved their feet. For a second, Sienna thought someone was coming to the door.
She stepped back quietly, moving quickly but carefully, her heart pounding loudly in her ears.
They weren't supposed to have any feelings for her. And she wasn't supposed to feel anything for them.
But problems were already starting to surface.
She didn't sleep that night.
She kept hearing their voices, Dante's protective anger, Lorenzo's honest words, Matteo's warning.
She tossed and turned, became restless, trying not to think too hard about any of it.
Around midnight, she gave up and decided to get water. The house was quiet, the lights were turned down low.
The kitchen felt too empty.
She turned a corner, and almost ran into a wall.
She gasped, grabbing the edge of the counter.
Dante.
He stood in front of her, leaning slightly on the marble island, a glass of water half-finished next to him.
His shirt was open at the neck, and his hair was a little wet, like he had just taken a shower.
Sienna took a step back, breathing fast.
"Sorry, I didn't think anyone was awake."
"I couldn't sleep," he said. His voice had that same low roughness.
They stood there in the kitchen, outside the windows so dark it looked endless.
Sienna moved toward the sink, trying not to notice him so much.
But Dante stepped forward, slowly and quietly, until he was very close to her.
"You should sleep," he said softly.
Being so close made her shiver.
"I tried," she whispered.
Dante looked down at her mouth for a moment, barely a second, hardly anything, but she felt it everywhere.
"Then give it another shot," he stated, his voice getting even quieter.
He moved a bit closer, not making contact, but near enough that she could feel the warmth coming off of him.
"Or someone could snatch you."
Her heart skipped.
It wasn't meant to scare her.
It wasn't meant to be funny.
It was something different, something intense… something risky.
She had trouble breathing.
"Who would want to snatch me?"
Dante's eyes got darker.
"Someone who is already paying too much attention."
There was a moment of silence.
She took a breath.
"Is that what you think you are doing?"
He paused before answering, and the silence made things feel worse. Or maybe better. She wasn't sure.
She just knew the air felt changed, filled with something that made her chest feel tight.
Then Dante took a step back, his jaw tight, like he was making himself move away.
"Goodnight, Alexis," he spoke, but her name felt more important coming from him, as if he knew it wasn't true.
He moved past her.
But Sienna didn't move at a
ll.
She stayed in the kitchen a long time after he left, her hand on her chest.
She had come to this place to get away from danger.
She wasn't ready for the danger that was in her own heart.