Page 82 of Taken By Sin
Sin appears at my side, his hand finding mine once more. His presence is grounding, pulling me back to the moment.
The night has already unfolded in a blur of music, masks, and hidden whispers, but it’s the quiet tension that follows the last dance that grips me. Sin’s hand rests against my lower back as he leads me away from the crowd, his movements still smooth, though there’s a sharp edge to his gaze I can’t ignore.
We step outside onto the balcony, the cool night air brushing against my skin. The stars above seem to mock the chaos brewing between us, their cold, distant light nothing like the warmth I felt only moments ago in his arms.
“I need to talk to you,” I say, my voice tight with the weight of what I’ve been holding back all night.
He glances at me, his eyes narrowed, his jaw set in a way that I know all too well. “Now isn’t the time, Magnolia. This is a night for celebration.”
I shake my head, my heart pounding. “No. This is exactly the time. We can’t keep ignoring it.”
His brows furrow, and he takes a step closer, his toweringpresence suddenly filling the space between us. “Ignoring what?”
“You,” I snap, frustration lacing my words. “You and this life you’re living. You can’t just keep pretending everything is fine, Sin. You’re a mafia boss, and you’re dragging everyone around you into it. Would you give it all up for me? For us?” I ask again.
His eyes flash with something dangerous, and for a moment, I wonder if he’s going to snap. But then he exhales, slow and controlled, his tone clipped. “I’m doing what I have to do.” He edges us to the emptier side of the balcony, but everyone is going back inside anyways. Giving us a private moment.
“No,” I retort, my voice rising. “You don’t have to. You could leave. You could walk away from all of this.”
Sin’s gaze hardens, the mask of control slipping just enough for me to see the anger simmering beneath the surface. “You think I haven’t thought about it? You think I haven’t wanted to leave this life behind? But it’s not that simple, Magnolia.”
“Why?” I demand, stepping closer to him, my chest tight with frustration. “Why isn’t it that simple? You have the power to change everything. You could be free.Wecould be free.”
The words hang in the air between us, heavy with meaning. I feel the weight of them pressing down on me, but I refuse to back down.
Sin’s lips press into a thin line, his nostrils flaring slightly as he holds my gaze. “You think I haven’t tried? You think I haven’t tried to walk away from all this blood and violence?From everything my father built? I can’t just walk away, Magnolia. It’s not a choice—it’s a responsibility. The Donati family isn’t just a name, it’s a legacy.”
“Then why don’t you break it?” I almost choke on the words, my voice cracking with the rawness of the emotion spilling out. “Why don’t you change it? Why do you have to keep going down this path? You say it’s about responsibility, but you’re killing yourself for it. For what? Power? Control? You don’t even get to have a choice.”
I can see the flicker of something in his eyes—guilt, maybe, or regret—but it’s gone in a flash, buried beneath a layer of resolve. He steps away from me, pacing slowly as he runs a hand through his dark hair.
“You don’t understand,” he mutters, the words coming out like a low growl. “You don’t know what it’s like. What it costs to walk away. I can’t just… stop. It’s not that simple, Magnolia. There are lives at stake. People I care about. People I’ve promised to protect.”
I stare at him, trying to make sense of the man I thought I knew. The man who held me in his arms just hours ago and spoke of a future, of dreams that were just ours. This man, the one standing in front of me now, is a stranger I don’t recognize.
“I don’t want to live in your world anymore,” I whisper, the words slipping out before I can stop them.
He freezes, his back still turned to me, and for a long moment, neither of us speaks.
“You’re asking me to leave everything,” he says quietly, his voice barely a murmur. “Everything I’ve built. Everything I’ve fought for.”
I reply, the words tasting bitter in my mouth, “I’m asking you to choose me over this life. Over the mafia.”
Sin turns then, his eyes locking onto mine, and in them, I see something raw and real—a vulnerability he’s never shown me before. “I can’t just walk away from everything, Magnolia. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you. I want you more than anything.”
“Then prove it,” I say, my voice breaking with the weight of my heart. “Prove it to me. Show me you can choose me. Choose us. I’m not telling you to quit your family, Sin.”
“Quitting this life is quitting my family, Magnolia. How do you not see that?” he grates out.
The silence stretches between us, thick and heavy, and I feel my chest tighten as I wait for his answer. But all he does is look at me—his gaze unreadable, the space between us charged with a thousand unsaid words.
I turn then, unable to look at him anymore. The distance between us is too much, and yet it’s only growing. I walk away, leaving him behind in the night, the weight of the unspoken hanging like a shadow over everything.
I escape through the crowd, dashing past Bria as tears rush down my cheeks. I walk into his room, pull a sheet of paper out and write a letter to him with trembling fingers.
Sin,
Books are the only thing that have made me understand the world.