LUCA:
Luca hated meetings where too many men believed they had the right to question him.
Power was something he built with time, patience, and blood. It was not something that could be taken away simply because a few old families suddenly decided to feel threatened. Yet as he stepped into the private hall, he immediately understood that this was not going to be a normal discussion.
The room was large, quiet, and cold in a way that made it clear only serious decisions were made here. A long polished table stood in the middle, surrounded by men who had spent years pretending to trust one another while secretly waiting for the perfect moment to betray each other. The heavy curtains were half closed, allowing only a thin line of sunlight to fall across the table. It gave the room the feeling of a place where nothing honest was ever said out loud.
Matteo walked in behind him, calm as always. Luca did not need to turn around to know Matteo was watching every single person in the room carefully. That was the reason Luca trusted him more than anyone else. Matteo did not talk too much. He did not pretend. And most importantly, he never showed fear.
Three families were present.
Moretti. Rossi. DeLuca.
Each of them powerful in their own way. Each of them careful. And each of them already looking at Luca like he was the one who needed their permission to survive.
That alone was enough to irritate him.
Vittorio Moretti was the first to speak. The man folded his hands calmly on the table, looking at Luca with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
"Thank you for coming," he said.
Luca did not sit immediately. He simply looked at him for a second before answering.
"I didn't come for polite greetings. Say what you called me here for."
The smile on Moretti's face did not disappear, but the atmosphere in the room changed slightly. Rossi shifted in his seat, while DeLuca leaned back like he was already prepared for a difficult conversation.
Luca finally sat down, placing one arm on the table and crossing the other over his chest. Matteo stood just behind him, silent but present enough to remind everyone in the room that Luca never came alone.
Moretti cleared his throat slowly.
"Ricci is becoming reckless," he said calmly. "And when a man becomes reckless, he becomes dangerous for everyone, not just himself."
Luca leaned back in his chair slightly.
"I already know that," he replied. "Tell me something useful."
The answer made Rossi look uncomfortable, but Moretti only nodded slowly as if he expected that reaction.
"What we want," Rossi said carefully, "is stability. Business depends on stability. The ports, the shipments, the routes… everything depends on trust. If Ricci starts a war, the rest of us will not remain unaffected."
Luca did not respond immediately. Instead, he watched each of them carefully, trying to understand what they really wanted. None of them were the type to worry about someone else's problems unless it affected their money directly.
"So what exactly are you suggesting?" he asked calmly.
Moretti smiled slightly.
"A permanent alliance."
For a second, Luca almost laughed.
There was no such thing as a permanent alliance in the world he lived in. Alliances lasted only as long as they were useful. The moment one side became stronger than the other, everything changed. Everyone in this room knew that, which meant they were not being completely honest.
But Luca allowed them to continue.
"We are willing to support you against Ricci," DeLuca said. "But support requires trust."
Luca tilted his head slightly.
"And you don't trust me?"
Rossi answered immediately.
"We trust your strength. That has never been the problem. The problem is that strength alone is not enough anymore."
Luca's eyes darkened slightly, but he did not react emotionally.
"What does that mean?" he asked quietly.
Moretti leaned forward a little.
"It means a man who stands alone can disappear overnight. A man with a family cannot."
The meaning behind those words became clear immediately.
Marriage.
Luca felt irritation slowly rise inside him, but he forced himself to remain calm. Showing anger would only make them believe they had power over him.
"I don't build my life around traditions that no longer matter," he said calmly.
Moretti did not look offended. Instead, he nodded as if he expected that answer.
"Traditions always matter," he replied. "Especially when power begins to change hands."
The room became quiet again.
Luca leaned back slowly, studying their expressions carefully. They were not joking. They were not negotiating. They had already decided what they wanted from him before he even entered the room.
"Say what you really want," Luca said coldly.
Moretti did not hesitate.
"We want you married."
Silence filled the room instantly.
Luca did not move. He did not speak. He did not even change his expression. He simply stared at Moretti like the man had just said something completely meaningless.
"A marriage alliance?" Luca asked quietly.
Rossi nodded.
"Yes. If you want a normal alliance with our families, you must prove that you are no longer a man who answers only to himself."
The words sounded calm, but the pressure behind them was clear.
Luca leaned back slowly, folding his arms across his chest. So this was not just one family making a demand. All of them had agreed on the same condition. That meant something much worse than pressure.
It meant fear.
They were afraid of Ricci. And instead of fighting him directly, they wanted Luca to prove his loyalty first.
"And if I refuse?" he asked calmly.
DeLuca did not hesitate.
"Then we remain neutral."
The words sounded polite, but Luca understood exactly what they meant.
Neutral meant abandoned. Neutral meant Ricci could attack him without consequences. Neutral meant he would be fighting alone.
He had fought alone before.
But this time, things were different.
Because this time, there was someone in his house who had nothing to do with his world.
Aurora.
The thought appeared suddenly, and Luca immediately pushed it away. This meeting had nothing to do with her. Nothing.
"I don't marry for business," Luca said calmly.
Moretti leaned back again, completely relaxed.
"Then you fight alone," he replied softly.
The silence that followed felt heavier than the conversation itself.
Luca stood up slowly, adjusting the sleeve of his jacket as if the conversation did not matter at all.
"I don't make decisions under pressure," he said calmly. "And I definitely don't let fear decide my future."
Matteo followed him without a word.
But just before Luca reached the door, Moretti spoke again.
"If you want loyalty, Luca," he said quietly, "you must first prove that you understand responsibility."
Luca did not respond.
But the sentence stayed in his mind even after he left the room.
LUCA:
The moment the car door closed, the silence between Luca and Matteo became heavier than usual.
Matteo waited until the driver started moving before speaking.
"That was not a negotiation," he said quietly.
"I know."
"They've already decided."
"I know."
Matteo exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That means Ricci is scaring them more than we thought."
Luca stared out of the window while the city moved quietly around them. People walked past the car like nothing was wrong. Lights from shops reflected on the glass. Everything looked normal.
But nothing was normal anymore.
"They don't trust a man who answers only to himself," Luca said calmly. "They think a married man becomes predictable."
Matteo did not respond immediately, because he knew Luca hated one thing more than anything else.
Being controlled.Matteo stayed quiet for a few seconds after speaking, as if he was trying to decide whether he should continue or not. Luca knew that silence very well. It was the kind of silence Matteo only used when he wanted to say something difficult.
"Say it," Luca said calmly.
Matteo looked at him briefly before answering.
"They are not afraid of Ricci alone," he said. "They are afraid of what happens if you refuse them."
Luca frowned slightly.
"That makes no sense."
"It does," Matteo replied. "Because if you refuse their condition, it means you are choosing to stand alone. And if you stand alone, they will assume you are planning something bigger. Something they cannot control."
Luca did not answer immediately. Instead, he leaned back in his seat, staring at the dark glass of the car window. He hated the idea of being controlled. He hated the idea of being forced into a decision even more. But what he hated the most was the fact that the families were not completely wrong.
A man with nothing to lose was dangerous.
And right now, that was exactly what they thought he was.
The office felt colder than usual when Luca stepped inside.
Matteo followed him quietly, placing a file on the table before sitting down opposite him. The room was silent except for the soft sound of the air conditioner and the faint noise of traffic outside. Normally, silence helped Luca think clearly. But tonight, the silence only made the pressure inside his head louder.
"Ricci has already started moving his men closer to the port," Matteo said calmly.
Luca nodded once.
"I expected that."
"He is not rushing," Matteo continued. "Which means he is waiting for something."
Luca's jaw tightened slightly.
"He is waiting for the families to abandon me."
Matteo did not deny it.
"Yes," he said simply.
The truth sounded even worse when someone else said it out loud.
Luca stood up slowly and walked toward the window. The city lights looked peaceful from this height. Cars moved quietly on the road below. People walked without fear. No one looking up would ever guess that a war was slowly getting closer.
"They think marriage will make me weaker," Luca said quietly.
Matteo looked at him.
"No," he replied. "They think marriage will make you easier to trust."
Luca let out a short, dry laugh.
"Trust does not exist in our world."
Matteo did not argue.
Because both of them knew it was true.
"There is another problem," Matteo said after a few seconds.
Luca turned slightly.
"What?"
Matteo hesitated again before speaking.
"The girl."
The room became completely silent.
Luca did not need to ask which girl he meant. There was only one person in his house who did not belong in his world.
Aurora.
"She has nothing to do with this," Luca said quietly.
"I know," Matteo replied. "But Ricci will not care about that. Men like him look for weaknesses. And right now, she is the only person in your life who is not protected by fear."
Luca felt irritation rise slowly inside him, but he forced himself to stay calm.
"She is just a nanny," he said.
Matteo did not answer immediately. Instead, he watched Luca carefully, as if he was trying to understand something deeper.
"Are you sure about that?" he asked quietly.
Luca did not respond.
Because the question made him uncomfortable in a way he did not expect.
AURORA:
Aurora did not know why, but the house felt different that evening.
The guards were quieter than usual. Even the maid who normally smiled at her every time she passed through the hallway seemed distracted. It felt like something had changed, but no one was explaining what it was.
Isabella was sitting on the floor with her coloring book, completely unaware of the tension around her. Aurora sat beside her, helping her choose the right colors, but her mind was somewhere else.
She kept thinking about Luca.
The way he looked at her sometimes confused her more than anything else. He was cold, distant, and quiet most of the time, yet there were moments when his eyes softened slightly, like he was trying to hide something.
Aurora did not understand him, and that was exactly what made her nervous.
"Do you think Daddy will be late again?" Isabella asked softly.
Aurora smiled gently.
"I don't think so," she said. "He will be home soon."
But the truth was, she was not sure.
LUCA:
When Luca entered the house later that night, the first thing he noticed was the silence.
Not the peaceful silence he was used to.
This silence felt different. It felt calm in a way that almost made him uncomfortable.
Then he saw them.
Aurora was sitting beside Isabella on the floor, helping her draw something with colored pencils. Her hair had fallen slightly over her shoulder, and she did not notice him at first. For a moment, Luca just stood there, watching them quietly.
Something inside his chest tightened slightly.
The house did not feel like a house anymore when she was there.
It felt warmer.
Safer.
Real.
Aurora finally looked up and froze slightly when she saw him.
"Oh… you're back," she said softly.
Luca nodded once.
But he did not speak immediately. Because the same thought that had been following him since the meeting suddenly returned again — stronger this time.
Marriage.
If the families only trusted married men…
If alliances depended on it…
If Ricci would hesitate before attacking someone with a family…
Luca's eyes moved back to Aurora again.
Just one second.
Just one dangerous thought.
What if—
He stopped himself immediately.
No.
Aurora did not belong in his world. Thinking about her like that was not just dangerous. It was a mistake that could destroy everything.
LUCA:
Later that night, Luca stood alone in his office, staring at the city lights in the distance.
The meeting with the families kept repeating in his head. Their calm voices. Their polite threats. Their condition.
Marriage.
He had never believed in marriage. Not after everything he had seen. In his world, marriage was not about love. It was about power, loyalty, and control. It was something men used to protect themselves or to gain influence.
Yet for the first time in years, the idea did not feel completely meaningless.
Because Aurora was not like the women he had known before.
She was quiet. Honest. Careful. And most importantly, she did not look at him like he was a powerful man. She looked at him like he was simply Isabella's father.
That alone made her different.
Luca closed his eyes slowly.
He was supposed to see her as temporary. Just someone who would stay for a short time and then leave. Someone who would never become part of his life.
But the fact that the idea of marrying her had crossed his mind even once meant something far more dangerous than Ricci.
It meant she was no longer just a stranger living in his house.
She was becoming something much harder to ignore.