Chapter 5 - The Confrontation in the Hallway
The powder room was quiet, smelling of expensive soap and crushed lavender. Sadi leaned against the marble vanity, splashing cold water onto her wrists, staring at her reflection in the gilded mirror.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright. She looked alive in a way she hadn't felt in years.
The heavy wooden door opened behind her.
Sadi turned, expecting to see her mother or Chloe, but it was Derek who stepped into the private hallway outside the powder room doors. He had a glass of scotch in his hand, his hair slightly rumpled, his eyes wild with frustration.
"Derek?" Sadi frowned, stepping back. "This is the women's restroom hallway. You shouldn't be here."
"Who the hell is he, Sadi?" Derek demanded, closing the distance between them. "Where did you find him? You've been working as a maid for two years, and suddenly you show up with a guy who drives a fifty-thousand-dollar custom vehicle and buys you Cartier rings?"
"It's none of your business," Sadi said coldly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Leave me alone."
"It is my business!" Derek snapped, setting his glass on a nearby table. "I know you, Sadi! You're simple, you're quiet, you like staying home and watching old movies! You don't belong with a guy like that! He looks like he kills people for a living!"
"He treats me with respect," Sadi spat back, her eyes flashing with a sudden, fierce anger. "Which is more than you ever did!"
"Respect?" Derek laughed bitterly. "He's using you as a trophy! A guy like that doesn't want a girl like you long-term, Sadi! Look at him, then look at yourself! He's going to get bored, he's going to throw you away, and you're going to come crying back to your mother!"
Derek reached out, gripping Sadi's upper arm tightly. "Come back inside, tell everyone it was a joke, and stop making a fool out of yourself—"
"Take your hand off her."
The voice didn't come from the hallway. It came from the shadows near the entrance archway.
Roman stood there.
He hadn't made a sound as he walked down the carpeted hall. He stood motionless, his hands tucked casually into his trouser pockets, but the air in the narrow hallway suddenly felt so thick it was hard to breathe.
Derek froze, his hand dropping from Sadi’s arm as if he had touched hot iron. He turned, trying to stand tall, but he was instantly dwarfed by Roman’s massive frame.
"Mr. Rossi," Derek stammered, stepping back toward the vanity. "I was just... we were just having a private family discussion—"
Roman walked forward. He didn't rush. He moved with the slow, terrifying grace of an apex predator that knew its prey had nowhere to run. He stopped inches from Derek, leaning down slightly so his eyes were level with the smaller man’s face.
"If you touch her again," Roman whispered, his voice so low it sounded like grinding stones, "I will break your fingers one by one, put them in an envelope, and send them to your fiancée as a wedding gift."
Derek’s knees visibly trembled. "You... you can't threaten me—"
Roman took a single step closer. The raw, terrifying aura of the Chicago underworld poured off him, suffocating the room. "Try me."
Derek didn't say another word. He turned, practically tripped over his own feet, and bolted down the hallway toward the main dining room.
Roman didn't watch him leave. He turned his gaze to Sadi, his eyes softening just a fraction as he looked at her flushed face.
"Did he hurt you?" Roman asked softly.
Sadi shook her head, her chest heaving. "No. I... I was fine."
Roman stepped closer, his broad hands coming up to frame her face. His calloused thumbs brushed gently against her cheekbones, tilting her face up toward his.
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"You don't ever have to take shit from a weak man again, Sadi," Roman murmured. "Not while I'm breathing."
Sadi stared up at him, her heart beating a wild, dangerous rhythm against her ribs. In the dim light of the hallway, she realized with absolute terror that she didn't want the night to end.
