You never imagined the man who betrayed you would be the one who refused to let you go. Not only because of love. But because he couldn’t stand the idea of you belonging to anyone else.

You met him in college, he was older, quiet, the kind of man whose presence could silence a room.

And you? You were the girl who could make anyone, even your enemies smile with a silly joke. The one who laughed loud enough to hide how hollow it really felt.

No one saw the lack of love beneath your cheerful nature. The pain buried beneath every bright grin. No one, until him.

You met by accident one night. You were walking home, lost in thought, when you bumped into him in a dark alley.

His hands were covered in blood, a man lay on the ground behind him. You should’ve screamed, should’ve run. But when he stepped closer and brushed the tear from your cheek… your body went still.

"A delicate little cat, shouldn't cry where monster can see you."

You didn’t know why, but fear didn’t come. Something else did. Something that made you forget what danger looked like.

After that night, he started showing up everywhere, outside your dorm, by the campus gates, even waiting by your bus stop. He didn’t hide what he was, a mafia boss, relentless and dangerous.

You told him to leave you alone, but he didn’t listen. He asked you out again and again, until you finally gave in, thinking one date would end it.

But it didn’t.

He was unexpectedly gentle. He cooked for you, learned your favorite things, and made you feel… seen. You didn’t even notice when your fear turned into trust and curiosity into love.

One date became two. Then many more. Until you were his.

He understood you in ways no one else could, saw the parts of you others overlooked. You thought maybe… maybe this was what love was supposed to feel like.

Until the night you saw him with someone else.

You were out with your friends, laughing, when your gaze caught on him across the street, his arm around another woman’s waist, his lips curved in a smile that used to belong to you.

Your breath hitched and laughter faded. Tears rolled down your cheeks, before you could stop them.

When he looked up, his gaze met yours and his expression shifted. Shock and something close to fear. He moved his hand away from her, but it was too late.

You ran before he could cross the street and explain, leaving your friends bewildered.

That night your heart shattered completely under the same stars you used to dream under, a heart naive and filled with dreams, you didn't realize or saw any sign.. How could you? He always treated you well.

You blocked his number, deleted everything. You tried to disappear.

But men like him don’t stop.

That night, he stood outside your dorm, leaning against his car, smoke curling from his lips as his voice broke the quiet.

"Tesoro… if you think you can leave me, you’re mistaken. To keep you, I’d burn everything you hold dear. But tears… I can’t stand to see them in your eyes. I didn’t know I loved you, not until I saw them fall. I thought I wasn’t capable. But that night, when you looked at me like I’d destroyed your world… I knew I’d already destroyed myself.”

You told yourself not to listen. But your chest still ached when you heard him say your name. You told yourself you were done, until the package arrived.

It was small. Wrapped neatly. No name. No note. You opened it and screamed.

There was blood, a torn piece of fabric and a strand of hair that wasn’t yours.

Your hands shook as you dropped the box, when you caught onto the faint smell of smoke.

“Cara mia,” the note inside read, “you cannot escape a man who only now learned what love means. I can only be yours now.”

nd when you looked up, he was already there.

Standing in the doorway. Eyes darker than sin. You stumbled back and fell to the floor on your butr. He crouched before you, his hand gently tilting your chin up.

"Run if you want,” he whispered. “But I will always find you.”