Falling for the enemy || 18+

CHAPTER 9 : PREDATOR

I couldn't take my eyes off her.

Even as she walked away, her back straight, every movement deliberate, I was caught in a web I didn't see coming. My mind screamed at me to focus-to keep my attention on Alessandro De Luca, the man I had come here to confront. But none of that mattered anymore. Not in the way it had before.

All I could think about was Bianca.

She moved through the crowd, weaving in and out of conversations with that cold grace she'd shown the moment I saw her. She didn't falter, didn't so much as glance back at me, but I knew she could feel my gaze. Knew she was aware of my every move, just as I was of hers.

I should have walked away. Should have left her alone, let her disappear into the sea of meaningless faces. But I couldn't. The moment our eyes had locked, something in me shifted, something I hadn't felt in years. It was an obsession I didn't want, a fire I couldn't extinguish.

The world around me blurred as I watched her. Nothing else seemed to exist anymore-no enemies, no alliances, no plans for revenge. Just her.

I wasn't supposed to feel this way, wasn't supposed to let someone like her into my thoughts. She was Alessandro De Luca's daughter, a symbol of everything I hated. Her bloodline was soaked in the blood of my family, and yet... none of that seemed to matter anymore.

I downed the rest of my drink, the burn doing nothing to clear my head. This was madness. She wasn't just another woman. She was my enemy. And yet, the more I watched her, the more I wanted to know her-every detail, every secret hidden behind that mask of ice.

I hadn't expected this. I hadn't expected her. Bianca wasn't supposed to be anything more than another piece on the board, another reminder of what I'd lost. But now, she was all I could think about. The way she had met my gaze without flinching, the quiet strength in her voice when she challenged me-it had all hooked me in, and I was drowning in it.

She was unlike anyone I had ever met. Not the spoiled daughter of a mafia kingpin like I had imagined. No, she was something else entirely. She didn't belong here, not really. There was a distance in her eyes, a coldness that told me she had learned to live in this world, but didn't love it. Just like me.

I didn't know why that thought stuck with me. Maybe because for the first time, I saw something in someone else that mirrored the part of me I had spent years burying. That part of me that felt like I had been trapped in a life I hadn't chosen but couldn't escape.

Bianca. She was Alessandro's daughter, and I should have despised her on sight. But instead, I was losing myself in her, in the idea of her.

I shook my head, trying to clear the fog in my mind. I couldn't let this obsession take root. I couldn't afford it. But it was too late. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face-the way her lips had curved into that cold, knowing smile when she walked away from me. It had been a challenge. A dare.

And I wanted to take it.

I started moving again, my eyes following her through the room. She was surrounded by people, but she never seemed to be fully present in the conversations. Her expression was distant, her attention elsewhere, as if she was waiting for something-or someone.

I was drawn to her like a moth to a flame, knowing full well that I was on the verge of something dangerous. This wasn't just attraction. It was something darker, something consuming. An obsession I didn't understand but couldn't shake.

I found myself wondering what she thought of me. Did she see me as the ruthless killer her father no doubt described? Did she hate me for the rumors she'd heard, for the legacy I carried? Or was there something else, something deeper in those sharp, guarded eyes of hers?

I had to know.

The thought hit me with a force I wasn't ready for. I needed to know her. The real her. The woman behind the De Luca name. I wanted to know what made her laugh, what kept her up at night, what secrets she kept buried beneath that cool, untouchable exterior.

And that terrified me.

I wasn't supposed to want this. I wasn't supposed to want **her**. She was the daughter of my enemy, the woman I should have kept at arm's length, if not further. But every time I looked at her, that line blurred, and I found myself wanting to cross it.

I spotted her again, now near the balcony, her face tilted slightly as she listened to someone speaking beside her. She wasn't paying attention. Her thoughts were elsewhere, and I couldn't help but wonder if they were with me.

I had never believed in fate or destiny, but right now, standing here watching her, it felt like something had shifted. Like the world had rearranged itself in a way I hadn't anticipated. Meeting her had changed everything, and there was no going back.

I wasn't sure if this obsession would destroy me, but the deeper I sank into it, the less I cared. All I knew was that I had to get closer to her, had to know who Bianca De Luca really was.

And I would. One way or another, I would make her mine.

Even if it ruined everything. Even if it ruined me.