Chapter 2 Under the same roof
The house was too quiet,
Aria noticed it the moment she stepped inside. It wasn’t empty quiet, It was controlled quiet like the walls had learned how to listen and decided not to speak.
The driver sets her suitcase down and left without a word.
A woman in her late forties waited near the staircase. She wore black, her posture straight, her expression unreadable.
I’m Helena, she said. I manage the household.
Aria, she replied.
Helena gave a small nod, follow me.
They walked through wide halls and soft lights. Everything smelled clean, expensive, untouched.
This is your room, Helena said, opening a door.
Aria stopped,the bedroom was larger than her entire apartment floor to ceiling then the windows.
A king sized bed, a sitting area by the window.
It’s beautiful, Aria said quietly.
Mr moretti’s room is on the opposite wing, Helena added, as if answering an unasked question. That was part of the agreement. Of course it was.
Helena gestured toward a door inside the room. Bathroom closet.
Dinner will be at eight, Mr. Moretti prefers punctuality. And then she left.
The door clicked shut Aria exhaled slowly.
She walked to the window and looked down at the city glowing beneath her. Cars moved like tiny lights, somewhere down there was the life she had stepped away from.
One year, she repeated it in her head like a promise.
Dinner was formal without being warm.
A long table, two seats, too much space between them.
Luca sat already when Aria entered. He stood when he saw her, his movements smooth and practiced.
You’re on time, he said.
So are you.
They sat.
A staff member poured wine,neither of them touched it. They ate in silence at first.
Aria tried not to stare, but it was hard not to notice things.
The way luca held his fork. The scar near his wrist. The tiredness behind his eyes when he thought no one was watching.
This won’t work if you’re afraid of me, he said suddenly.
I’m not afraid, Aria replied.
You’re tense.
She shrugged, I just married a stranger.
He paused, then nodded. Fair.
He set his fork down, let’s be clear.
This marriage exists outside emotion, we perform in public, we stay distant in private at the end of twelve months, we walk away.
And if we don’t? Aria asked.
His gaze sharpened, we will.Something about his certainty unsettled her.
Why do you need this? she asked.
Luca leaned back slightly. My grandfather’s will requires it.
That’s it? That’s enough.
She frowned. People don’t fake marriages over nothing.
His jaw tightened, you agreed to the terms, not the reasons.
She nodded slowly,fine.
Dinner ended shortly after, they stood at the same time.
Goodnight Aria, he said.
Goodnight luca. Saying his name felt strange,she turned to leave, then stopped.
One question, she said.
He waited. Have you done this before?
For a moment, something dark passed through his eyes. No, he said.
Never!
Sleep didn’t come easily. Aria lay in the wide bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to a house that breathed without sound.Sometime after midnight, she got up for water.
The hallway lights were dim,she was halfway down the stairs when she heard voices.
Soft, urgent.
she’s here already? a man asked.
Yes, Helena replied. Mr Moretti insisted.
This is risky, So was the last one.
Aria froze,the last one? Her heart began to pound.
Make sure she doesn’t find the documents, the man said. If she learns why she was chosen.
A sharp pause.
Aria’s foot shifted, the floor creaked, silence dropped like a curtain.
Helena’s voice followed, calm but cold. Someone’s there?
Aria stepped back quickly, her pulse racing, and slipped into the shadows of the hallway before anyone could see her.
She waited until the voices faded, her hands were shaking when she returned to her room. She locked the door sat on the bed. Chosen, documents, the last one.
Aria looked around the room that suddenly felt less like a gift and more like a cage.She hugged her knees to her chest, this wasn’t just a contract, It was a setup. And she had no idea what she had been brought into.
