Deadly Vows

by Haley Stuart

  I have no idea which room he is in inside this massive place we live, but he always seems to be close enough for me to hear the screams. Luca’s whole attitude and demeanor have been sour lately. He has been on a shorter fuse than usual. He constantly walks around with a scowl on his face and jumps at every little thing. He has even come out of a torture session pissed beyond reason because he has “killed the man too fast.”

  Not only has he been grouchy, but he has also barely spoken to me. He doesn’t even look my way. He wakes up before I do and goes to bed after I am already asleep. If he sees me around the house, he only stares for a moment before walking away. I know I should be upset about it, seeing as I am his wife, but I am actually very happy about it. I figure he must still be angry at me for aiming that gun at his head. But if that is all it takes for me to get some space from his insanity, I should have hurt his feelings a long time ago.

  I flinch as another wail echoes through the massive halls. It is crazy how much pain Luca knows how to inflict on a person. I remember the conversation he and Nicolai has had together when they have talked about how Luca knows everything about the human body. And it is scary realizing I am married to someone who studies the human body so thoroughly just to know how to inflict pain on it and kill it.

  I stand and walk to the door with my instrument in hand. The clock reads 12:30 p.m., which means I have rehearsals in an hour. The thing that sucks about my rehearsals is that they are just me and the director. Luca doesn’t want me practicing with the full band until it is absolutely necessary.

  I walk to the front door, about to push it open. Usually, I just have someone drive me to the rehearsal, or Luca does it, but he hasn’t been in the mood to talk to me lately, so I decide to just go on my own.

  “Elise.” My name echoes off the walls of the grand entryway, and I freeze. I turn to see Luca standing in the middle of the double-staircase balcony, staring at me. I want to vomit at the sight. Not because of Luca, but because of what is on Luca.

  There is blood. On his shirt. On his pants. On his face. Even matted in his hair. He doesn’t seem to notice or care.

  “Where are you going?” he asks as his gray eyes level me. He is watching me with that calculating expression again, and I can feel myself growing squeamish under his gaze.

  “I have rehearsal in an hour,” I whisper, trying not to meet his eyes. Or his body, for that matter. I truly wonder how he is able to stand there and speak to me so normally when he is coated in blood.

  “Come here, Elise.” His voice breaks through the silence, and I feel my heart sink.

  This means he isn’t ignoring me anymore or grumpy. I set my violin case down by the door, wanting it nowhere near Luca or his bloodied self. He continues to watch me, and as I get closer to him, I realize there is something off about him. I can’t put my finger on it, but something is different. I slowly walk up the stairs and keep my eyes trained on Luca the whole time. I watch him because I am scared he’ll do something when I am not looking. But he is watching me with an indescribable expression.

  I get close enough to him to see how the blood has dried up on some parts of his body, and some of the blood is still fresh. He watches me like a hawk.

  “Luca, are you okay?” I ask him, and my voice is small and shaky. And I do want to know if he really is okay. Something is going on, and I don’t know what. But I am too frightened to find out.

  He takes ahold of my hand. I let out a small squeal as some of the blood oozes into my palm. He doesn’t speak a word, only drags me along the long corridor. I can feel my body starting to tense in fear that he is taking me back to that awful room that he has had me chained up in, but I am surprised when he drags me into a warm room with a fog in it. It is a bathroom. Actually, it is like a shower room. The whole room is designed just for bathing. There is a massive glass shower in one corner of the room and a pool-size bathtub in the other.

  The warm mist is already fogging over the full-body mirrors. Luca has apparently turned on the shower before he has come to get me, the steam from the shower wafting underneath the glass door. He turns to me and begins to peel off his saturated shirt. Even when he takes the shirt off, there is still blood on his bare skin. I have no idea how he can stand it.

  After a moment of his staring at me, a smirk finds its way onto his face.

  “Don’t tell me the blood is making you queasy.”

  I still don’t respond to him; he is seriously freaking me out. He only laughs and shakes his head when he realizes I won’t respond to him. He completely strips his clothing off and stands in front of me in all his naked glory. I quickly look away from his body, blushing. I hear him laughing under his breath.

  He lightly places an arm on my shoulder and turns me around. The sound of the zipper being undone echoes throughout the room, mingling with the shower. He pushes the dress off my shoulders, and it falls at my feet. I can feel myself shaking. Luca traces his fingers over the whelps that are now on my back from his torture. His hands come around. I can feel him tracing his name on my side.

  I close my eyes, and I can feel my body vibrating in fear. I don’t know what he is about to do to me. I feel a tug on my hand and open my eyes. He is pulling me into the shower. I step over the rise on the floor and into the shower with him. The way the showerheads are is like a constant rain overhead, so once we step in, the water immediately encompasses both of our bodies.

  Even though the heat envelops me, I can’t help the shivering my body is doing. Luca is watching me closely with those eyes. I just wish I know what he is thinking. People usually say someone’s eyes are the windows to the soul, and if that’s true, then Luca must not have one.

  The water cascades over him, washing the blood off his body. I can see the color as it flows down the drain. He steps closer to me and pulls me into his hard body, looking into my eyes as he speaks.

  “Why are you shaking, baby?”

  I have to crane my neck to look up at him. I open my mouth to tell him some lie, but he cuts me off.

  “It’s okay, you don’t have to answer.” He reaches above me and pushes my hair out of my face. It is clinging to the back of my neck due to the length he has cut it at. He leans in and nuzzles my neck.

  “I don’t want you practicing today. Stay with me.”

  “Okay,” I whisper. In this moment, I feel like Luca is so close to snapping. And even the smallest thing may send him over the edge.

  “Every time I look into those beautiful eyes, I get so heartbroken. You look so innocent. So pure.” He pulls back from me, meeting my eyes head-on. “But you’re not. You tried to kill me. Me. Your husband. The one that spared your life when he was ordered to end it. Not only did I spare it, but I saved it as well. Your father was planning to kill you in cold blood for his own fucked-up gain.” He cups the side of my face, making me immobile, unable to move my head. His gray eyes look genuinely curious. Like he has no idea why I’ve tried to take my freedom.

  “Why would you do that to me?”

  I don’t open my mouth, and he continues.

  “I think over and over in my head. If you were anyone else, I would have killed you for thinking you could do something so trivial. But I’d never do that to you.” After a moment, he pulls me in for an embrace.

  “My father is having a party tonight. You’re coming with me. I had a dress bought just for the occasion. I think it’ll look lovely on your skin.”

  He trails his fingers down my ribs, where his name is etched in. I say a silent prayer, hoping he hasn’t gotten a dress that reveals this lettering to satisfy his sadistic desires.

  “Don’t forget whom you belong to, baby.”

  * * * * *

  The car is silent. Luca hasn’t spoken a word to me since we’ve left the house. He has walked in, told me I look beautiful, and led me to the car, not saying anything else. We have been driving for quite a while now.

  The dress Luca has gotten me is beautiful, to say the least. It is white with a one-shoulde
r that stands out in gold. He has picked it stealthily too. It covers up my side and my back, so none of the scars or bruises are visible.

  I cut my eyes to see him focused on the road. He looks handsome, as always. Tonight, instead of wearing the usual black, he matches me with a white tux and gold undercoat. I am guessing this is a really formal party his father is throwing; otherwise, he wouldn’t have worn white.

  We finally arrive at some gates, and Luca pulls up, pressing the four-digit code, and the gates open. He drives up a winding driveway, and I can’t believe what I am seeing. This home is huge. Bigger than the home I share with Luca. There are lights at the front and music pouring out of the windows. Luca doesn’t at all seem fazed. He pulls up and turns the car off, looking at me.

  “Do not do anything stupid.”

  I only nod.

  We enter the house with his hand possessively wrapped around my waist. As soon as we step in, boisterous laughter fills the air. It doesn’t take long for Luca’s father to spot us.

  “Ah! There’s my son! And his lovely wife!”

  I look up and see his father across the room, shouting at us, with a champagne glass in hand. It is obvious he is happy to see his son.

  He makes his way over to us and envelops Luca in a tight hug. “Glad you could make it, mi figlio!”1 He turns and sees me on Luca’s arm and greets me as well by taking my hand and placing a kiss on it.

  “Glad to be here, Father.”

  I look up at Luca and see the joy radiating off his face. A smile that isn’t sadistic or has some conniving motive behind it, but just a smile that means he is happy for pure reasons. I wish more than anything that he will smile at me that way. That I am lucky and have married a man that loves me and wants me to be happy. Not some psychotic man that enforces his will upon me and has no idea what the first thing about love is.

  “Come, figlio,2 there are people I want you to meet!” He drags his son away from me, and Luca doesn’t even take a glance back as his father drags him deeper into the room. I am left all alone in a group of people I don’t know, in a home I am unfamiliar with.

  I turn and look around. I see people staring at me. Some women with scowling expressions on their faces, some with disbelief. The men try to sneak glances. They know who I am. They won’t be caught looking, or they’ll be dead the next moment.

  I make my way into an empty corner and stand, just watching the people around me. I envy them. The women look so carefree and happy. Especially the ones that have a man on their arms that adores them. It is moments like this that I wish Ari were here with me. We’ll probably make fun of a few people together, or we’ll just pretend we are anywhere but here. She always knows how to make me feel better.

  “Mrs. Pasquino.” I look beside me as a woman startles me out of my thoughts. She is standing uncomfortably close to me and has a not-so-friendly look on her face. She has on an unreasonably tight dress, and her chest is pushed up high out of the thing.

  “You don’t mind if I call you that, right? I mean, you are married to him, after all.” She says it as if she is being sarcastic.

  “No, I don’t mind.”

  She scoffs at me. “Do you know who I am?”

  “No,” I say, trying to keep my voice even.

  “Of course you don’t. I know he wouldn’t tell you. How does he treat you? I hope like dirt.”

  I am completely taken aback by her bluntness. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. The only reason he’s with you is that this was a forced arrangement. But don’t you worry. I’ll have him back in my good graces in no time.” She snarls in my face.

  I have no idea how to respond. I am hoping she will take the hint, but she still doesn’t leave.

  “He hates you, you know. You should have seen how angry he was when he found out he had to be married to someone.” She runs a finger over her hair, as if remembering. “He was a little rough that night.”

  I gasp, appalled that she is saying all this to me. I turn to leave, not wanting Luca to catch her talking shit to me, but she snatches my arm.

  “He’s going to ruin you. You can’t handle the man he is, the man he is destined to be. You’re nothing but a forced burden on him that he can’t get rid of. But you’ll see. He’ll come back to me. And I’ll make sure to make your life a living hell when he does. Who knows? Maybe he’ll slip up and have a little ‘accident.’” She rubs her belly suggestively while smirking at me.

  I roughly jerk my arm out of her grasp and stand my ground. I am sick of being pushed around by his whores.

  “You know, some other woman came to me, preaching the same thing. And even though I tried as hard as I could to save her, Luca shot her in cold blood on the floor of the dining room. He shot her because she had choice words to say to me. His wife, whom he believes in his twisted head that he loves. If I could, I would give him to you with open arms. He’s cut me open, beat me, and this?” I wave to my short tresses. “This is his doing. So get out of my face and don’t tell me how much you want him.”

  Her face is pale, and I can feel my confidence growing as I continue.

  “So you can try to win him back, I will hope that you do, but you can do so at the risk of your own life. He told me himself he would kill anyone that got in the way of our marriage. And if you know him as well as you say you do, you’ll know that he wasn’t bluffing.”

  She looks stunned and doesn’t move for a moment. I take that as my cue to leave and have turned to walk to another corner when I feel her yanking me by the arm. I turn just in time to see her bringing her hand back, her face red with anger, about to slap me.

  Out of nowhere, someone catches her hand, wringing it behind her back, and grabs the back of her head, smashing it into the wall. She cries out in pain, and I cry out in shock. She falls to the floor in a heap, holding the front of her forehead. Luca squats down in front of her.

  “If I ever catch you speaking to my wife again, I will kill you.”

  I hear her gasp, and she flinches away from Luca. He grabs my arm, and we both turn to face the crowd. They are all staring in shock and silence. But as soon as Luca locks eyes with them, they go back to their evening as if nothing has happened.

  Luca pulls me away from the massive hall and into a study. I keep my eyes trained on the ground, afraid of what I may see if I look up. I hear him slam the door, and his footsteps are pacing hurriedly. I feel Luca snake his hand around my throat and push me back so that my back is flat against the desk. I cry out in shock from the abruptness of it. He immediately leans in and pushes the bottom of my dress up.

  “Luca, wait.” I try, but he is already yanking my underwear down. I try to sit up, but he tightens his hold around my throat, pinning me to the desk.

  “Luca!” I shout, but he is not listening.

  He enters me in one swift movement, and I cry out in pain. He leans over the desk so that his body is lying on top of mine as he stays buried and still inside of me.

  “You look so sexy in this dress,” he whispers. He traces a hand over the side of my face. He slowly begins moving inside of me.

  “Do you know who that woman was?” he asks.

  I can’t speak from the hold he has on my neck, so I only shake my head.

  “She was my past. They all are my past. You’re my future, Elise. You’re the one. They all mean nothing.” His thrust speeds up, and his grip tightens. I can feel his large erection inside of me moving back and forth. I open my mouth to let out a cry, but it comes out as a muffled groan.

  “You’re mine, Elise. I only love you, do you understand that?” He begins literally fucking me against the desk, the loud slaps of our skin colliding echoing off the walls. Pleasure starts to emit from my core from the pace he is going, and I can feel myself reach toward my peak.

  He threads his fingers through my hair and pulls my head into his shoulder. “You’re all I want. You’re all I need. Just say the word, and I’ll kill any of those bitches that approach you.”

  I
can’t do anything but gasp. Luca doesn’t let up at all. I can feel his thick length getting larger inside of me, and at that moment, an orgasm rips through my body. I open my mouth to cry out, but no noise comes out.

  “Fuck,” I hear Luca ground out, and I can feel him as he spills his release inside of me. Even then, he stays positioned inside of me as we both catch our breathing. He sits up over me, looking me in the eyes.

  “None of them will ever be you, Elise. You’re the only one.” He cups my face in his, locking me in place so that I am forced to look in his eyes. “You’re everything.”

  * * * * *

  After we clean ourselves up, we arrive back at the party. No one seems to notice our absence. Either that or they pretend not to notice, seeing as Luca has smashed a woman’s face into the wall an hour earlier.

  Luca stands beside me, speaking to someone about his thoughts on expanding. I just tune the conversation out. I keep my arm wrapped in the crook of his elbow, because that is proper etiquette, but deep down, I wish I can just go back to my corner in the room. But Luca doesn’t want to leave me alone again because he is worried another one of his “conquests” will approach me.

  The sound of a glass being tapped with silverware quiets the room. We all look to see a man in a tux standing at the fore.

  “Dinner is served!” he announces.

  This must be a really special party, because it is now a dinner party. I am too afraid to ask the occasion. I am afraid to do anything with Luca, and I hate it. I have been weak all my life. And now even more so due to who my husband is.

  We sit at the head of the massive table, Luca’s father at the head and Luca at the right. I sit next to Luca. Dinner is served, and his father next stops talking. He is a boisterous man that is proud of his son’s accomplishments. Halfway through, he stands up, catching everyone’s attention.

  “My friends and my family, thank you for coming tonight. This dinner was in honor of my son’s newlywed status. I know it’s long overdue, but with everything that’s happened lately, well, we haven’t exactly had the time. But no one could be prouder than me of my only son. He has proved himself more than worthy to take over as the head of this family when the time comes. He has faced death and danger head-on without hesitation, and he has accomplished so much at such a young age. He has always listened to me and done what I’ve asked of him.” He pauses.