Entangled love: His Mistress

Author's POV'

Three girls walk side by side down the high school corridor, the sound of their sneakers echoing off the linoleum floors. Rows of metal lockers line both sides, some decorated with magnets, photos, and bright stickers. The faint scent of floor wax and perfume hangs in the air.

One girl, tall with a confident stride, flips her ponytail over her shoulder as she laughs at something on her phone all dressed in pink like it was her favorite color. The second, with headphones around her neck and a sketchbook tucked under her arm, listens quietly, smiling. The third, carrying an overstuffed backpack, juggles a stack of textbooks while trying to keep up with the others. The nervous one amongst them was Sophia.

Students move around them — lockers clanging open and shut, conversations overlapping, the bell ringing faintly down the hall. The corridor feels alive with the rhythm of another school day, and the three girls move through it together, a small, inseparable team in the swirl of teenage life.

The two happily chatted while Sophia remained unfazed, almost out of daze. It was like her body was present there, but her mind was somewhere else.

"I'm so excited about working after graduating. My dad wants me to take over his company."

Elisia exclaimed while her eyes blimming with excitement.

"Like your mother would let you step into your father's shoes, Elisia."

Gianna rolled her hazel green eyes at her.

"Don't start now, gigi. I'm not in the mood to fight you."

Elisia sulked.

Meanwhile, Sophia just smiled watching their bikering. Her mind wasn't co-operating because of nervousness. Taking out her phone, she opened the notes where she wrote.

'I hope he won't come to fetch me.'

She has a habit of writing down things whenever she's nervous or anxious about anything. Soon their laughter died down when the heartthrob of their college entered the corridor with a girl by his side.

He had the kind of face that made people hesitate—a balance of beauty and danger that felt almost unnatural. His jawline was sharp enough to suggest precision, discipline, and maybe even cruelty; a line cut clean through shadow and light. Dark stubble traced the edges, softening nothing.

His eyes were pale and steady, the color of storm clouds before lightning—unreadable but electric. When he looked at someone, it felt less like attention and more like assessment, as if he were deciding what to do with them.

He moved like someone who understood power intimately—not loud or showy, but controlled, deliberate, dangerous in his restraint. He was untouchable. He looked less interested in the girl beside him. When his eyes moved towards Gianna, he smirked, making her heart race.

"I swear he's doing it on purpose, Gianna, just to get your attention."

Elisia stated disappointed, while Gianna only rolled her eyes.

"I don't care what he does, but he won't get it."

"Really wanna bet?"

Dominic asked, coming straight to her.

"I'm not interested into anything you are offering. So leave."

"Ouch that hurts."

He said dramatically while placing a hand on his heart.

His eyes turned serious, like he wasn't being funny before.

"Let's get straight to the point."

"What do you want?"

Gianna asked, folding hands against her chest.

"If I win today's match you'll kiss me in front of everyone."

He demanded, making her shock, her hands instantly coming down her sides. Meanwhile, Elisia smiled, finding it amusing.

"You are joking, right?"

Gianna glared at him. The fire in her eyes was burning hot, but he matched her stares nonetheless. They are both like spice and tea, oil and fire.

"Do I look like a joker to you?"

Gianna rolled her eyes again.

"Keep on doing that and see what will happen to you, wildflower."

His words were a low growl, a warning laced with something far too intimate to be just anger. He threatened, making her gulp like she knew he wasn't faking the threat. Something was going on between them.

The nickname should’ve sounded mocking, but the way it rolled off his tongue made her pulse skip. He stepped closer, and she could feel the heat radiating off him — the kind that burned, not comforted.

"Why would I kiss you? You are not even my boyfriend and I don't play silly games."

She asked while he leaned down to her ear before whispering in his deep voice.

"Then make me your boyfriend. What's stopping you?"

Her eyes widened while he left her ablaze.

"He really likes you, gigi."

Elisia exclaimed happily while Sophia looked around before returning her gaze towards her friends.

"But I don't!"

Gianna declared.

"Come on, you guys make hot couples."

Elisia added.

"Will you please stop, Elisia?"

Gianna was done with her.

"Okie fine!"

She raises her hands in surrender.

"Hey Sof, you seem quiet today. What happened?"

Finally, they shifted their attention towards Sophia, who was quieter and that was not usual. Usually she would keep up with their banter and be part of it by teasing Gianna.

"It's nothing. Don't worry."

She waved her hand off with a forced smile, but suddenly, her heart quickened — a wild, trembling rhythm beneath her ribs — as the sound of those familiar footsteps echoed closer. Each step carried the weight of memory, stirring something deep within her, she had tried so hard to forget.

Elisia made an O face before asking.

"Is that your hot brother-in-law again?"

She blushed like the teenager she is while Gianna rolled her eyes. Meanwhile, Sophia turned stiff at the mention of him.

"Honestly, Sof, you are so lucky to have a handsome brother-in-law. Oh my god, he's so hot!"

Elisia fanned herself while drooling over him.

"Stop it Elisia. He's a married man!"

Gianna gave her a reality check.

"So what? Can't I compliment him? He's my crush, okay?"

She exclaimed, making Gianna scoff.

"Right, a married guy. Don't forget he's way older than us."

Gianna tried to make her understand but our Elisia wasn't ready to accept. She was his fangirl.

"Sof what is his age?"

They moved their attention towards frozen Sophia.

She gulped before answering.

"Thirty!"

She declared.

"See? That makes him hotter."

Gianna shaked her head.

"You are impossible."

All the three girls looked over to where her brother-in-law got out of his Lamborghini, the door lifted upward with a sleek hiss, and he stepped out —all tall, muscled, confident, and devastatingly composed. The late sunlight caught the edge of his jaw, tracing the sharp lines of his face as though the day itself wanted to linger on him.

His suit clung perfectly to his frame, sculpted by motion and power, the kind of presence that didn’t need to announce itself — it simply was. Even the air seemed to shift around him, heavy with the quiet magnetism of someone who knew exactly the effect he had on the world.

Meanwhile, Sophia's breath got stuck in her throat. All she wanted was to run away from him. Her insides were screaming to calm down, but her racing heart made it impossible. Every step he took towards them was making it difficult for Sophia to calm down and compose herself.

Elisia and Gianna greeted him with a smile.

"Hello Mr. Moretti!"

Both gritted him while Elisia tucked her hair strand behind her ear, which made Gianna nudge her to get her attention. Elisia sulked but composed herself.

"Hello beautiful ladies!"

He gritted them back with an innocent and polite smile which didn't go unnoticed by Sophia. Soon his eyes moved towards Sophia, and she quickly looked away like she wasn't looking at him earlier.

"Sophia, let's go home?"

He spoke to het her attention properly. He felt that she was trying to keep a distance from him, and he didn't like it.

Sophia's POV'

I don't want to see him, not after what happened last night. After bidding goodbye to my besties, I went straight to the car. I don't want to go with him, but I have no choice.

The laughter of my friends still lingered in the air, soft and fleeting, but inside me, silence had already taken root. My heart was a storm contained within fragile ribs—anger, hurt, and something unnamed twisting together like tangled threads I couldn’t smooth out.

Every step toward the car felt heavier than the last, each one a small betrayal of what I truly wanted. I felt his dark presence behind me. The memory of last night burned at the edge of my thoughts, sharp and unwelcome, making the tension tenfold between us. I didn’t want to see him—not his eyes, not the way his voice might softened, as if nothing had broken between us.

Yet the world, indifferent and unyielding, left me no escape.

So I straightened my shoulders, painted calm