- 11 minutes ago
Welcome to Persian Drama - your ultimate premium destination for the hottest trending short dramas and the newest viral drama shorts in stunning HD quality!
Immerse yourself in powerful stories that deliver full emotional journeys in just minutes. From heart-pounding revenge plots, passionate romances, emotional family sagas to billionaire twists and thrilling betrayals – every short drama is crafted to keep you hooked from the very first second.
We bring you the most talked-about and newest short dramas from around the world, updated daily with the freshest viral hits. With seamless multi-language support (English, Spanish, Arabic and more), you can enjoy every moment without language barriers.
Perfect for your busy schedule or when you need a quick, powerful emotional escape. Join millions of viewers who start and end their day with the best short dramas on the platform.
Turn on notifications now so you never miss the latest viral sensation!
Immerse yourself in powerful stories that deliver full emotional journeys in just minutes. From heart-pounding revenge plots, passionate romances, emotional family sagas to billionaire twists and thrilling betrayals – every short drama is crafted to keep you hooked from the very first second.
We bring you the most talked-about and newest short dramas from around the world, updated daily with the freshest viral hits. With seamless multi-language support (English, Spanish, Arabic and more), you can enjoy every moment without language barriers.
Perfect for your busy schedule or when you need a quick, powerful emotional escape. Join millions of viewers who start and end their day with the best short dramas on the platform.
Turn on notifications now so you never miss the latest viral sensation!
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00The ruthless mafia heir Alessandro had money, power, blood in his hands, but not one woman in his bed.
00:07The rumors said the future Dawn was either impotent or gay.
00:11The old matriarch worried about the Moretti bloodline, so she gave the order to me, the maid who sold herself
00:16because of the family debt.
00:18Strip down and climb into Alessandro's bed. Teach him desire. If you succeed, your family's debts will be cleared.
00:24If you fail...
00:26Her voice pressed down on me.
00:28Don't bother coming back alive.
00:31I'd heard that other failed models and celebrities disappeared without a trace after they failed.
00:36Let alone a girl like me, with nothing to my name.
00:39That night, I crept into his room in nothing but a thin lace slip kneeling at the foot of his
00:43bed, shaking.
00:45Alessandro was on the bed, idly toying with a gun.
00:49Bianca, what are you doing?
00:51He didn't expect it, me.
00:53Your grandmother ordered it.
00:54I whispered.
00:55She said I'm to teach my master about... sex.
00:59He sat up against the headboard, dark silk pajamas loose at the collar.
01:03He tilted my chin up, his gaze lingering over my face.
01:07His voice was low and teasing.
01:09Teach me then.
01:10I swallowed and took out a sex manual his grandmother had prepared for me.
01:14Techniques, positions, all of it.
01:17I read the first page in a flat, steady voice, like a prayer.
01:20I tried my best to ignore the illustrations.
01:24Alessandro nodded slowly.
01:25Not one word wrong.
01:27Impressive.
01:28But what about the pictures?
01:30I looked up.
01:31What?
01:32He suddenly pulled me onto the bed and wrapped an arm around my waist.
01:36Then he pointed at the illustrations.
01:40If you don't explain the picture, how am I supposed to know what it means?
01:44My face burned hot.
01:45My ears going red instantly.
01:47His pajamas hung loose at the chest.
01:49His burning skin pressed against me.
01:51I looked down.
01:52The picture was explicit.
01:55I knew the rough idea.
01:56I had no idea two people could even bend that way.
01:59They're, um, they're together.
02:02Alessandro pressed my head toward him, his lips almost touching mine.
02:06He whispered,
02:07Couldn't follow.
02:08Be specific.
02:09The text on the page had been one thing.
02:11The heat of his breath against my face was another.
02:14My face went hot.
02:15I shoved the book at him and put some distance between us.
02:19I don't know how to describe it.
02:20Mr. Moretti can see for himself.
02:22He didn't take the book.
02:24His gaze stayed on me, soft and sly.
02:27You don't even know.
02:28How are you supposed to teach me?
02:30Go back and learn properly.
02:32Come back tomorrow.
02:33A quarter hour later, I was outside his door, sniffling.
02:37Day one.
02:39Failed.
02:41The next day, the matriarch found out I'd failed.
02:44She lost it.
02:45Stay here on your knees until you figure out how to seduce him.
02:49I was punished to kneel in the garden under the rain.
02:52The stone slabs scraped my knees and the heavy rain soaked me through.
02:56I'd been born to a poor family.
02:58My father had gambled away a fortune in debts, and my mother couldn't afford to raise both me and my
03:03younger brother.
03:04So when I was still a child, she sold me to the Moretti family.
03:07It was there I met Alessandro 16 back then.
03:11I'd never known a man could be like that.
03:13Handsome.
03:14Intelligent.
03:15Violent yet elegant.
03:16He'd pulled me out of the dirty and back-breaking kitchen and made me his only personal housemaid.
03:21Ten years had passed.
03:22I pressed his suits.
03:24I poured his wine.
03:26I organized his files for him while he was working.
03:29And somewhere in there, somewhere I shouldn't have, my heart had started leaning toward him.
03:33But I had never once thought the matriarch would order me to strip and crawl into his bed like a
03:38whore.
03:39I felt the tears coming.
03:40I was still a virgin.
03:42How was I supposed to teach anyone?
03:44Alessandro came through the front gate just then.
03:47He saw me kneeling in the rain, crying.
03:49What's going on?
03:50I almost passed out from the pain in my knees.
03:53He didn't ask twice.
03:55He swept me up into his arms and carried me into his room.
03:59He checked my knees.
04:01Your skin is raw.
04:02He found a small jar of ointment and started working it gently into the skin.
04:06The most powerful air in New York kneeling in front of me.
04:10His fingers were long and careful, drawing slow circles on my knee.
04:13You're always so reliable.
04:16My grandmother only punishes you when you've done something wrong.
04:19Was it last night?
04:20I was so tense I twitched against the bruise and let out a hiss.
04:24But underneath, my heart was leaping because of his concern.
04:27Alessandro caught my finger and suddenly kissed my cheek.
04:30His voice didn't give anything away.
04:33Tell my grandmother I learned slowly.
04:36Come back tonight.
04:37Keep teaching.
04:39That night, Alessandro was already in bed holding the book when I came in.
04:43Somehow his pajamas was even more open than yesterday.
04:45I could see every line of his abs.
04:47He saw me and padded the bed next to him.
04:49Shoes off.
04:50Up here.
04:51I climbed up beside him, leaned against the pillows.
04:54Then, I realized what he was reading.
04:56The sex manual.
04:57My heart started slamming.
04:58He didn't seem to notice and laid the book open between us.
05:01His arm wrapped around my waist just like in the picture.
05:04Is this how the people in the pictures do it?
05:06I nodded, blushing.
05:07He flipped to the next page as if he were really a student.
05:10Time passed.
05:10He handled me like a toy, following every position from the manual.
05:13The only sound in the room was the rustle of paper and Alessandro's breathing, which
05:17was getting uneven.
05:18Bianca.
05:21Yes?
05:23I'm uncomfortable.
05:25What's wrong, my master?
05:27Alessandro suddenly snapped the book shut, threw it aside, and pulled me against him.
05:31I wanted to see you blush.
05:33He said into my hair.
05:36Now I can't take it anymore.
05:39I'd known I was pretty since I was small.
05:41The other servants used to tease me about it.
05:44They said with my face and my figure, I didn't have to do a thing to make a man want
05:48me.
05:49Alessandro caught my earlobe between his teeth.
05:51His breath was hot against my ear.
05:53I went stiff.
05:54I didn't know what to do with my hands.
05:56Take it easy.
05:58Alessandro kissed his way down my neck.
06:00His fingers slipped one of my straps down, and his kiss landed lower.
06:03His other hand slid under my dress, and I shuddered.
06:06Then he stripped off his shirt, revealing a perfectly sculpted body.
06:09His eyes locked on me.
06:10Your virginity is mine, and now I'll take it.
06:16His perfect body moved against mine in steady waves.
06:19It hurt.
06:20I started to cry.
06:22He laughed soft.
06:24Don't even know how to do it.
06:26But you were going to teach me?
06:29Aren't you the one who doesn't know?
06:30I whispered miserable.
06:32Sweetheart.
06:33There's no man alive who doesn't know.
06:35He kissed the corner of my mouth, gentle, turning to fierce.
06:38When it's the right woman, the body just figures it out.
06:42That night, he didn't let me go.
06:44Now I knew just how ridiculous those rumors were that he was impotent, or that he was gay.
06:49Once a man's tasted blood, he wants more.
06:51For the next two weeks, Alessandro wanted me in his bed every night.
06:55He was fierce and dark behind closed doors.
06:57He had mastered every trick in that manual, except self-restraint.
07:00After being teased by a few servants about the marks on my body, I tried a careful approach.
07:05I heard that even good things shouldn't be overdone.
07:07That too much of it isn't good for the body.
07:10I stopped his kiss at my neck.
07:12Alessandro laughed.
07:13You know a lot for someone who knew nothing.
07:15But he let me sleep, that night at least.
07:18The matriarch heard it and nearly broke into tears of joy.
07:20Thank God.
07:22The Moreggi bloodline is saved.
07:25Then she turned to me.
07:28Bianca, you're a sharp girl, and you've got your head on straight.
07:32When the right wife comes into this family, I'll have Alessandro keep you on as his mistress.
07:37That was when I realized the matriarch was already arranging Alessandro's marriage.
07:42The candidate was Cassandra Santoro, daughter of the Santoro family.
07:47Of course, the most powerful mafia heir deserved a wife from a respected mafia bloodline.
07:52Not someone like me.
07:53A small-town girl.
07:54A maid.
07:55Being kept on by a man like him was a kind of miracle, and I was already half in love
07:59with him.
07:59And he'd told me he liked me.
08:01I never imagined there could be more.
08:02My face burned.
08:04I knelt and thanked the matriarch.
08:05Good girl.
08:06Take this as your reward.
08:08She handed me my family debt bondage.
08:09It meant I was free of my servant bond or the debt.
08:12I almost wept with joy, but Alessandro was the only one who wasn't happy.
08:16That night in his bed, he gripped my jaw.
08:19Your man is taking a wife.
08:21And you're happy?
08:22My chest squeezed, but I made myself smile.
08:25You and the Moretti girl are a perfect match.
08:27Why wouldn't I be happy for you?
08:29His face darkened.
08:30Each word came clipped.
08:31She's the wife.
08:33You're the mistress.
08:34The other woman.
08:35From now on, I'll be staying with her in this bed every night, using all the ways you once
08:38taught me to treat her well.
08:39If you cross her, she has the right to scold you, scream at you, do reasonable things she
08:44likes.
08:44It hit me then.
08:45He was warning me.
08:46He was afraid I'd get too comfortable, that I'd cross his new wife and bring down trouble.
08:51He was reminding me of my place.
08:52Yes, Mr. Moretti.
08:54I know what I am.
08:55I'll stay in line.
08:57Somehow he got even more angry.
09:00And if she's cruel?
09:03If she goes out of her way to hurt you?
09:05Do you really understand?
09:08The men around the table howled.
09:10Glasses clinked.
09:11The whole booth erupted.
09:13The coat crushed in my fist.
09:14So the love he whispered in my ear was just some trick.
09:17A move on a board.
09:18I couldn't bring myself to pull back the curtain.
09:20I turned and stumbled out, the coat slipping from my fingers somewhere along the way.
09:24Alessandro's car was waiting at the front of the club.
09:27The driver was there.
09:28I should have walked back to the car.
09:30Instead, my stomach turned.
09:31I turned into a narrow side hall.
09:33I bent over and retched.
09:34Nothing came up.
09:35I'd counted the days and I was already two weeks late.
09:38This was a sign of pregnancy.
09:40The worst possible time.
09:41I looked around.
09:42I was in the back street behind the club.
09:44Nobody could see me.
09:45My debt bondage were folded in my bag.
09:47No debt.
09:48No service.
09:49I was a free woman.
09:50I'd never been brave.
09:51I was the most careful person I knew.
09:53But somehow, in that minute, I decided, I'll leave.
09:57I wouldn't be going back to the Moretti estate.
09:59I ran out into the rain around the alley and flagged down a cab.
10:03Take me away from this part of the city.
10:05As far as you can.
10:09Alessandro finished his last drink and stood to leave.
10:12That's when his eyes landed on the coat I'd brought.
10:14The brooch on it was a gift I'd saved up for months to give him.
10:17He snatched it up from the floor, eyes flaring with panic.
10:21Who's been here?
10:24The cab rolled through the storm.
10:26And my time at the Moretti estate played back in my head, scene by scene.
10:30The first day I'd come to work the estate, one of the family's men had cornered me.
10:34Simply because of my face.
10:35Just as that filthy hand was about to tear my clothes off, an arm hauled him off and sent
10:40him sprawling.
10:41That was the first time I saw him.
10:43Tall, sharp, like a blade drawn from its sheath.
10:46He'd looked up and his eyes had gone stunned just for a second.
10:49What's your name?
10:50I lowered my eyes.
10:51Bianca.
10:53It suits you.
10:54He'd said.
10:55You're fair as fresh snow.
10:56Of the dozen girls who'd come to work the estate that season, I was the only one Alessandro
11:00had chosen to be his personal maid.
11:02I'd been over the moon.
11:03I worked twice as hard as the others.
11:06When I cleaned the front rooms, I caught myself watching for his figure across the grounds.
11:10By the time I noticed what I'd done, the feeling had its roots in too deep to pull.
11:14I'd loved him so carefully.
11:15So afraid someone would catch on, that they'd laugh at the kitchen girl who thought she had
11:20a chance with the air.
11:21Being his maid had been enough.
11:22I never thought of more.
11:24But I couldn't be one bottle in his collection.
11:26I couldn't stand him watching me bleed for him and finding it amusing.
11:30And the very least, I didn't want my child to suffer for it later.
11:33I didn't want her called a bastard.
11:35I looked back at all his odd behavior the last few weeks.
11:38His harsh words.
11:39The way he'd stopped calling me to his bed.
11:41He'd been pushing me away on purpose, hoping I'd get the hint and back off.
11:45And here I was, an idiot, daydreaming about our future.
11:48Is that it?
11:49The driver took the next turn.
11:51The cab rolled on into the rain.
11:55I'd been in this little out-of-the-way town nearly a year.
11:58I'd had my daughter.
11:59I'd named her Penny.
12:00Even out here, gossip from the Moretti family filtered through eventually.
12:04People said the Santoro girl had been married in spectacular fashion.
12:07The display had gone on for blocks.
12:09Cars, jewels, the whole show.
12:11Alessandro had won her.
12:12He'd be high on himself now.
12:14He wasn't my match.
12:15He'd never been my match.
12:16Cutting him out of my life had been the right thing.
12:18I'd opened a small restaurant on the main road, using the money I got from pawning a diamond necklace he'd
12:24given me.
12:24When Penny was three, she ran a fever in the middle of the night.
12:27I rushed her to the hospital through the pouring rain that night.
12:30The doctor looked at me with pity.
12:32Just you raising her?
12:33Where's her father?
12:34Dead.
12:35Caught an STD and died young.
12:37Penny was burning up, half awake.
12:38She mumbled at me from under the blanket.
12:40Mama, what did he catch?
12:42A sickness people get when they don't keep clean.
12:44I stroked her hair.
12:46Penny keeps clean.
12:47So Penny will get better fast.
12:50Aunt Marge was trying to set me up again.
12:52I'd turned her down a dozen times.
12:54She wouldn't quit.
12:55You've got a child.
12:56You can't go through this life alone.
13:02Penny and I are enough.
13:03We're our own family.
13:04That's different.
13:06Now, this Ethan.
13:08His father had once owned a large farm.
13:10He never amounted to much, but he owns a house.
13:13He lost his wife a few years back, looking for a kind, steady woman to settle down with.
13:17She stroked Penny's head.
13:19He says he doesn't care that you've got a child.
13:20He'll treat Penny like his own.
13:22So, if yes, I'll make it happen.
13:25Don't be shy.
13:26He'll come to your restaurant tomorrow for lunch.
13:28Brown jacket.
13:29Far corner table.
13:30Just walk over and look at him.
13:33If you like him, I'll keep going.
13:34If not, no embarrassment.
13:37I never got a word in.
13:38The next afternoon, a brown jacket sat down at the corner table, just as promised.
13:43I'd tell him I wasn't interested.
13:44I walked over carrying the beef stew.
13:46Sir, try the beef stew.
13:49His hand shot out and locked around my wrist as I set the bowl down.
13:53The broth nearly splashed.
13:54I jerked my eyes up, ready to snap at him.
13:56I met a pair of stunned eyes.
13:58A familiar face.
14:00The kind of handsome I had spent four years trying to forget.
14:03Now his face was wrenched with shock and fury.
14:05How could it be?
14:06Mr. Moretti.
14:08I caught the word before it left my mouth.
14:11I turned my face away and forced my voice flat.
14:13Sorry.
14:14Wrong table.
14:16That order was for someone else.
14:17His hand wouldn't let go.
14:19His voice was shaking.
14:20Bianca.
14:22Why are you here?
14:24Half the room was looking at us now.
14:26I had made up my mind four years ago that I would never let this man back into my life.
14:30Let go!
14:31I slapped him across the face.
14:33Hard.
14:36You've got the wrong person.
14:37Get a grip, sir.
14:39I bolted for the back.
14:41Alessandro caught up in three strides and cornered me against the far wall of the back lot.
14:45He had me pinned, anger pouring off him.
14:47So you've got some nerve now.
14:49Running from the estate and even slapping me.
14:51I held the line.
14:52I really don't know you.
14:54He laughed once, sharp and cold.
14:56His eyes dropped to my collar.
14:58Is that so?
14:59Let me settle this.
15:01His fingers yanked my collar down.
15:02There was a scar on my shoulder.
15:06Alessandro turned his head.
15:07He seized Ethan and hurled him against the wall like he was garbage.
15:12She's mine.
15:13Get out.
15:14Ethan scrambled away as best he could.
15:16The lot went quiet.
15:17Alessandro's face was iron.
15:19You were meeting that?
15:20Women grow up.
15:21Women marry.
15:22There's nothing wrong with it.
15:23What does he have?
15:24He's vulgar.
15:25He's twice your age.
15:26That was what you wanted?
15:28Who I marry is none of your business, Mr. Moretti.
15:31He bent down, hands on my shoulders, putting himself eye to eye with me.
15:34You took your debt's bondage and you ran.
15:38After everything I did for you.
15:41Do you have any heart at all?
15:42From his side of things, yes.
15:44He had been good to me.
15:45He had never cursed me.
15:46Never humiliated me.
15:47Never even raised his voice.
15:49He paid me well and slipped me extra on holidays.
15:51For hired help, a boss like that was a blessing.
15:54But the problem was, I loved him.
15:56I fell into silence.
15:57He thought he scared me and softened his voice.
16:00That day, they said you'd come to the club with a coat for me.
16:03I asked the valet and the driver.
16:05Neither of them saw you leave.
16:06I even thought it was my rival who had taken you.
16:08But I tore this city apart looking for you.
16:10I couldn't find a trace.
16:11He cupped my face.
16:15Four years.
16:17Tell me why.
16:18Why did you go?
16:21He said it as if I'd mattered to him.
16:23I was confused.
16:25Maybe it was just that he'd never found another maid who served him as well as I had.
16:30Bianca.
16:31Tell me the truth.
16:33The truth?
16:33How was I supposed to put it?
16:35If I said he'd broken my heart, I'd been the fool.
16:37If I said he was unfaithful, what right did the help have to throw that at him?
16:41So all I said was,
16:42A mistress is an object.
16:44No dignity.
16:45No feelings.
16:46Loyal because she has to be.
16:48The man wants company.
16:49She strips and lies down.
16:50Nobody asks whether she wants it.
16:53I wiped my eyes and made myself smile.
16:57Mr. Moretti.
16:58Bianca didn't want to serve anymore.
17:00Will that do?
17:01I wouldn't make you the mistress.
17:03No.
17:03I cut him off.
17:04A restaurant.
17:05My own food.
17:06My own roof.
17:08It suits me fine.
17:10Alessandro stood there a long time.
17:11He gave a small, bitter laugh.
17:14I see.
17:16I underestimated your pride.
17:18Letting me touch you?
17:19Letting me have you?
17:20That was a humiliation to you.
17:25After he was gone, I hung the closed sign on the front door early.
17:29By dusk, the rain had started.
17:31I went to pick up Penny.
17:33When the restaurant was busy, I left her at Aunt Marge's,
17:36who watched her along with her grandson, Tommy.
17:38I was halfway to the door when it creaked open.
17:40Penny had walked herself home.
17:42Mama, I saw a man on the street.
17:45He didn't have an umbrella.
17:46He was just standing in the rain.
17:48He looked so sad.
17:50I gave him my candy.
17:51The one Tommy gave me.
17:53Her hair was misty wet.
17:55I unclipped it and dried it with a towel.
17:57You don't walk home alone in the rain.
18:00You wait for Mama.
18:01Did he take your candy?
18:03Yes.
18:04She blinked her big, serious eyes at me.
18:05He said he messed something up.
18:07I told him not to be scared.
18:09And if there's something he can fight for, he should fight for it with everything he has.
18:13I sighed, half laughing.
18:15She remembered everything I'd ever told her.
18:18My little brave girl.
18:20I tucked her in and coaxed her to sleep.
18:22Then someone was knocking at the door.
18:24The second I opened it, a wet shape pushed inside and pulled me into his arms.
18:30Her hair was loose, eyes blurry, feet bare on the floor.
18:33I bolded up and scooped her inside my voice shop.
18:36You should be sleeping.
18:37What are you doing out here?
18:39Mom, is this bad man hurting you?
18:42Alessandro stepped inside after us, dripping.
18:45He looked at the two of us and forgot how to move.
18:48She called you Mama.
18:50I didn't answer.
18:51He looked at Penny.
18:52What's your dad's name?
18:53Hmm.
18:54My dad caught something dirty.
18:56He died.
18:57Alessandro took one slow step toward us, then another.
19:01His voice was unsteady.
19:03How old are you?
19:06A child can't keep a secret.
19:08Three.
19:09I scrambled for cover.
19:12Mr. Moretti, don't get the wrong idea.
19:14She's adopted.
19:15I found her in a dumpster three years ago.
19:18That's why I called her Penny.
19:20Found a penny in the gutter.
19:22Alessandro didn't move.
19:24Bianca, don't you think you're explaining too much?
19:27Penny was glaring at me.
19:29Mama, you said I came out of your belly.
19:31And my name means a small thing that grows into a great thing.
19:35It doesn't mean you picked me out of the trash.
19:39Penny had Alessandro's eyes and his mouth.
19:42The shape of her face was mine.
19:45There was no walking this back.
19:46I clutched her tighter, terrified he'd take her the next breath.
19:50Alessandro knelt down in front of us.
19:52He started to reach for Penny's cheek and then remembered his hand was wet and stopped his fingers an inch
19:57away.
19:57I knew you the second I saw you.
19:59That's why I took the candy.
20:01Penny, I'm your father.
20:04Penny stuck her hand out, palm up.
20:07You hurt my mama.
20:09Give it back.
20:11I didn't hurt your mama.
20:13Alessandro's voice was so gentle.
20:14He looked at her like he couldn't believe she was real.
20:17I ate the candy.
20:19It was sweet.
20:20Thank you for the encouragement.
20:22Penny puffed up her cheeks.
20:24Mama was right.
20:25There are a lot of liars out there.
20:28Alessandro's mouth opened, but nothing came out.
20:30Penny squinted at my mouth.
20:32Mama, what happened to your lip?
20:35I burned it on some soup.
20:38You had soup?
20:41Uh, yes.
20:42Yes.
20:44Tasted good.
20:46I went hot with shame and rage and would have hit him if my daughter hadn't been watching.
20:51He then changed the subject in a perfectly cheerful voice.
20:54My clothes are wet.
20:56How do I shower here?
20:58Can't you see mama's wet too?
21:00Mama goes first.
21:02Right.
21:03You're right.
21:04My mistake.
21:06A spoiled heir who'd been waited on his entire life.
21:09Less considerate than my three-year-old.
21:12Bianca, take a hot shower.
21:14I'll watch the child.
21:16Don't catch a chill.
21:18Penny gave me a sage look.
21:19Mama, I'll keep an eye on him so he doesn't try anything.
21:23I came out from the shower to find that the watchful Penny had fallen asleep.
21:27In the warm lamplight she lay curled with her little flowered blanket pulled to her chin.
21:32Dark lashes resting on her cheeks.
21:34Alessandro was hanging over the side of the bed, eyes fixed on her like he couldn't look away.
21:39How is she this pretty?
21:40She looks like you and like me at once.
21:43I can't get over it.
21:45My restaurant doesn't keep guests overnight.
21:48You should go.
21:49He looked like a big wet dog.
21:51In this rain, where am I supposed to go?
21:54He had nowhere to go.
21:56That was actually true.
21:57So why had he shown up here completely alone?
22:00No entourage.
22:01Not one bodyguard.
22:03He plucked at his wet shirt, gave up, and went to take a shower.
22:08My hair was thick and long.
22:09I'd just gotten it half dry and was reaching for the lotion when I heard him come back.
22:13I turned and froze.
22:15Alessandro was standing in the middle of the room with absolutely nothing on.
22:19I whipped my head back around.
22:21What are you doing?
22:22He kept his voice down.
22:24Don't wake the kid.
22:26Don't read into it.
22:27I didn't mean anything.
22:29Do you have a change of clothes?
22:31I lived alone with a three-year-old girl.
22:33Where would I have men's clothes?
22:35And if I did, he'd have torn the house apart trying to figure out whose.
22:39He was right behind me now.
22:41I couldn't keep dodging.
22:42I turned and faced him.
22:44You have clothes.
22:46Wet.
22:47Uncomfortable.
22:48Broad shoulders.
22:49Narrow waist.
22:50Not an extra ounce on him.
22:52The kind of body that would have stopped my heart at 18 and was still stopping it now.
22:56I refused to look any lower.
22:58He leaned in.
23:00His voice had dropped.
23:01Where do we sleep tonight?
23:05There was no chasing him out, so I took the next best option.
23:08Penny and I sleep in the inner room.
23:10You sleep out here.
23:11Don't come in.
23:12Alright.
23:12I'd half expected him to refuse the cottage outright.
23:14He didn't.
23:15He looked around at my small furniture, my plain shelves, and just said,
23:20Tight, but warm.
23:22The rain came down all night.
23:23I slept hard.
23:24When I got up to make Penny's breakfast, Penny was already up.
23:29Alessandro was not.
23:30She was on his bed.
23:31My dad already died, so how come you came back to life?
23:35You'd never seen me before, so how do you know I'm your daughter?
23:40Alessandro was lying flat under the blanket, laughing helplessly.
23:44I scooped Penny off his bed and gave him a look.
23:47Sun's been up for hours.
23:49Why aren't you?
23:50He looked pained.
23:52My clothes are still wet.
23:53I couldn't leave him under the covers all day.
23:56I went downtown and bought him clothes.
23:58Four years on, I still knew his measurements without thinking.
24:01I felt ashamed of myself.
24:03I came back from the store and tossed the bundle at him.
24:06Get dressed.
24:08He sat up pulling on the shirt and watched me.
24:11Bianca.
24:13You've changed.
24:15It hit me then.
24:16He wasn't angry.
24:17He was smiling.
24:19Bossy.
24:19I like it.
24:22He liked it.
24:23The ice over my heart cracked.
24:25But I knew a man's affection for a stray cat.
24:27He didn't mean anything by it.
24:29Alessandro insisted on coming with me to the restaurant.
24:32To help.
24:33In one morning, he broke three bowls, burned a hole in the bottom of the stockpot and nearly
24:37set fire to the kitchen.
24:39I spent the rush apologizing to my regulars and giving away meals.
24:43I lost money.
24:44The pampered young heir was streaked with soot, ducking my eye, looking guilty for the first
24:48time in his life.
24:49Stop.
24:50Just go watch the child.
24:52He nodded vigorously and informed me that he was extremely good with children.
24:56Toward dusk, Penny tugged on my sleeve.
24:58Mama.
24:59Some people came to talk to the bad man.
25:02They're whispering.
25:04I crept around the side of the restaurant, light on my feet.
25:07Behind the kitchen, two of Alessandro's men.
25:09I caught fragments.
25:10While Bianca isn't looking, take the child.
25:13A mother's instinct went cold in my chest.
25:15Penny was his daughter.
25:16He clearly adored her.
25:18He was going to take her from me.
25:21We worked together like a tiny conspiracy.
25:24Penny's job was to throw out his clothes.
25:26With no clothes, he couldn't chase us right away.
25:28My job was to gather the valuables.
25:30Finally, we locked the door.
25:32Gone.
25:32He had found me in the most out-of-the-way town in the state.
25:35Wherever I went next had to be smarter.
25:37It came to me.
25:38The most dangerous place is the safest place.
25:41His own city.
25:42He would never imagine I'd run straight to the heart of Moretti territory.
25:45I had practice now.
25:46The road went smoothly.
25:48We caught a ride with a small moving convoy heading north.
25:51The lead driver was a kind, big-shouldered man who took a few bills and let us ride in
25:55the back of an empty truck.
25:56The truck was clean.
25:58We took the main highway.
25:59Barely a bump.
26:00A young woman named Tessa looked after me.
26:03Every stop she brought a tray of rich, hearty food to the truck.
26:06I tried to refuse.
26:08She waved me off.
26:09Eat up, ma'am.
26:10The company has cash to spare.
26:11By the time we made the city, the heat had thickened.
26:15Midsummer.
26:16The driver recommended a clean, modestly-priced hotel.
26:19I took the cheapest room on offer.
26:21I'd just dropped my bag when the clerk came up.
26:24Apologies, ma'am.
26:25This room's already been booked.
26:26Let me move you.
26:27He moved me to the best suite in the house.
26:29If the clerk had so much as asked for an extra dollar, I might not have caught on.
26:33There's no free lunch.
26:34A single mother and a child in an unfamiliar city were the easiest targets in the world.
26:39Every alarm in me started ringing.
26:40I grabbed Penny.
26:41Penny, we're leaving.
26:43The door wouldn't open.
26:45They had locked us in.
26:46From behind the partition at the back of the suite, a slow figure stepped out.
26:50Alessandro Moretti in a fresh tailored suit, hair pushed back, standing like a blade.
26:55His grip was crushing my shoulder.
26:57I twisted in pain.
26:59You're hurting me.
27:01It didn't register on him.
27:02His eyes were rimmed in red, wet, like a creature betrayed.
27:06Threw away my clothes.
27:08Locked me in that cottage.
27:09His voice cracked.
27:11Should I do the same to you?
27:12Would you like that better?
27:14I pictured the inversion.
27:16Cold dread went through me.
27:17That's why the road was so smooth.
27:18You had the convoy from the start.
27:19I walked straight into it.
27:21I felt my nose start to burn.
27:22You can have a wife and a dozen children.
27:24I only have Penny.
27:26You take her from me and I have nothing left.
27:28His face caved.
27:29Aren't I family to you too?
27:31Or do I not even have a place in your heart?
27:34I stared at him.
27:35Lost.
27:36Was that what he was actually asking?
27:38Let me ask it differently.
27:39He pulled himself together.
27:41Held my eyes.
27:43Bianca.
27:45Do you love me?
27:47Yes.
27:48It was out before I knew I was going to say it.
27:53I regretted it instantly.
27:55I had spent four years building a wall around that one word and one question from him and
28:00I'd handed it over.
28:01Floozy.
28:02I scolded myself.
28:03Cheap.
28:04A man who could betray me once could betray me a thousand times.
28:07I had to remember.
28:09Alessandro's face had lit up.
28:10I cut him off with the next sentence ice cold.
28:13But I don't only love you.
28:14There's a whole world of men out there.
28:18Like wine.
28:20You have to taste every variety before you die or what's the point?
28:23You have to coax them, stroke them, see them melt when you string them along, watch them
28:27go from joy to despair on a single word.
28:29It's quite a lot of fun.
28:30I had never in my life seen Alessandro Moretti look like that.
28:34His eyes went bloodshot, his fury so hot I thought he might catch fire.
28:39What did you say?
28:41I smiled and didn't answer.
28:42You wouldn't dare.
28:44He went berserk.
28:45I watched him from the couch, calm.
28:47He swept his arm across the side table and sent the glasses crashing.
28:51The one thing he didn't do was raise a hand to me.
28:53When he had spent the worst of it, he stood there breathing hard, pointed at me, then at
28:58the door.
28:59Get out.
29:00All right.
29:00I stood up smoothly, thinking, good.
29:03Finally over.
29:05The door was right there.
29:06The whole world on the other side.
29:08My chest hurt anyway.
29:10Wait.
29:12That line.
29:13Why does it sound familiar?
29:16I stopped.
29:17I didn't turn around.
29:19Mr. Moretti, you remember now.
29:21You're already married.
29:23Taking Penny and me home would just poison your wife.
29:26Go be good to her.
29:27Don't be the philanderer you were.
29:29Alessandro caught up to me.
29:30His voice was thin with panic.
29:32That day.
29:33The club.
29:34You came to bring me the coat.
29:36You heard me, didn't you?
29:37I heard everything.
29:39In my head, you were the perfect man.
29:42Sharp and untouchable.
29:43The reason you couldn't bear to let me go wasn't love.
29:46It was that I'd begged for crumbs.
29:49I worked to please you.
29:50I was useful.
29:51I was happy to serve as your maid.
29:53I wouldn't serve as your plaything.
29:55That's not what it was!
29:59Four years ago, the woman I wanted to marry was you.
30:04Alessandro took my hand carefully, like he was afraid I'd pull it back.
30:08His palm was hot.
30:10Not a mistress.
30:11My one and my wife.
30:13Will you?
30:16If I'd ever done something to hurt you, you could have told me and I could have explained.
30:21The help doesn't question the boss.
30:23A servant's rule was that the master was always right.
30:26Anything wrong was always on us.
30:28But I wasn't the help anymore, so I would say it.
30:31If you wanted to marry me, why didn't you ever once give me a sign?
30:35If I'd known I mattered to you, I wouldn't have been so easy to wound.
30:39I wanted it done.
30:40Then I wanted to surprise you.
30:43And I was scared it wouldn't work.
30:45I didn't want to raise your hopes and then watch them fall.
30:49You have a mouth.
30:50You could have used it.
30:51I thought maybe we were even now.
30:53He wasn't done.
30:55Second question.
30:56Why did you run a second time?
30:58There was no point hiding now.
30:59I told him.
31:00The line I'd overheard.
31:03Take the child while Bianca isn't looking.
31:06The actual sentence had been...
31:08Take the child while Bianca isn't looking and force her back to the city.
31:11That plan is no good.
31:12Don't try it.
31:15Don't try it.
Comments