CHAPTER 100: IVAN

Chapter 100

ROMEO POV

White.

Everywhere.

Too bright. Too clean.

Too quiet.

The silence pressed against my skull until I couldn’t tell if I was awake or still trapped in some new kind of hell.

My throat burned. My chest ached. My skin prickled under the sting of air-conditioning.

No smoke. No chains. No blood.

Just the rhythmic beep of machines. The faint shuffle of shoes. The whisper of fabric against skin.

I blinked once, twice but the world still swam, edges soft and shifting. Something heavy rested over my chest.

A hand. Warm. Familiar. Real.

I turned my head slowly. Every movement dragging pain through my neck and found her there.

Nonna.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face lined deeper than I remembered, like she’d aged years overnight.

Her hand clutched mine like I’d disappear if she blinked too long.

"Nonna?"

It came out cracked, foreign. Like someone else’s voice wearing mine.

"Mi amore..." The whisper trembled. Tears welled fresh as she leaned forward, brushing a shaking hand across my hair. "You’re here. You’re here with me."

I swallowed, my throat like sandpaper. "I thought..." my hallow voice whispered, breaking up. "I thought they—"

Nonna’s hand cupped my cheek, stopping the words. "Don’t. Don’t think back there."

But I was already gone.

Chains. Screams. The smell of burnt flesh. Mamma’s voice breaking.

My chest heaved.

"It was real...i..I saw them. I—" I rasped while she only nodded once. "I know."

Her voice shook but never broke. "But that’s not where you are now. You’re here. You’re safe."

Safe.

The word didn’t fit in my mouth.

Didn’t fit anywhere in my body.

I was like a little boy again, fearing my own skin.

My hands moved to my face— frantic and I froze.

My mask.

Where was my mask?

My fucking mask!

My pulse spiked. Breath hitched sharp.

My fingers clawed at the air, the sheets, my skin.

No. No, no, no.

I needed it. I needed it.

Without it, I felt naked. Exposed.

Like the whole damn world could see the scared boy underneath.

"Romeo, stop—" Nonna tried to grab my wrist but I pulled out, glaring back at her.

"Where is it?!" My voice cracked, "Where the hell is it—my fucking mask! Where—" The room tilted. White walls blurred.

My heartbeat thundered — too loud, too fast.

Too fucking sharp. The air wouldn’t go down my throat.

It caught, sharp, choking me.

A figure stepped closer — white coat, clipboard, calm voice. The doctor.

Her mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear her. Couldn’t focus.

My hands were shaking so bad I barely recognized them.Sweat slicked my palms. My vision blurred.

Everything pressed in.

Too much light. Too many sounds. Too much me.

"Breathe, Romeo. In. Out," Nonna’s voice wavered, reaching for me again. "You’re safe—"

"Don’t—" I jerked back, chest heaving. "Don’t touch me!"

My voice came out raw, a snarl — more wounded animal than man. Tears burned behind my eyes, but I couldn’t stop them.

I never cried. Never broke.

Not when they carved into me. Not when the fire came. Not when everything I loved turned to ash.

So why now?

Why here?

The doctor murmured something — soft, controlled — motioning for Nonna to give space.

But she didn’t move.

The old hag still pressed closer, stubborn, strong, the only steady thing in a world tilting sideways.

"Romeo, look at me," she said, firm. "Look at me, ragazzo. Right here. Breathe."

Her hand — warm, grounding — pressed against my chest. And somehow, through the ringing in my ears, I did.

In.

Out.

Air scraped my throat raw, but it moved.

Slow. Shaky. Real.

My body trembled, sweat and tears mixing, breath breaking on every exhale.

And when I finally stopped fighting, when I thought I would freaking have my senses back the door scraped open with a loud noise.

My eyes left my nonnas, looking over to the intruder and a man stepped in, his face-—ivan.

I flinched so hard and I didn’t know when my body moved.

A small knife was on a tray next to my bed. it flew before I even thought. A sharp whistle through the air — a thud — and a strangled grunt.

The man staggered back, hand clutching his shoulder as blood seeped through his white shirt.

His eyes widened, face twisting in shock. "Romeo—!" he gasped, voice strained. "It’s me—Antonio!"

No.

No, it wasn’t.

That voice — that face — it warped, melted, shifted. Scarred lips. A cruel grin.

Ivan.

My stomach dropped, the room spinning as my brain ripped open.

He was here.

He found me.

My pulse thundered.

My skin burned.

My breath came out as a growl.

"Get the fuck out of here," I snarled, crawling off the bed, my vision tunneling. "You’re not real. You’re not—"

My legs gave out, folding beneath me. I crashed to the floor, palms slapping the tiles, pain ricocheting up my arms.

Cold, slick, real.

"Romeo!" Nonna’s voice cracked, fear slicing through the air. "Stop! You’re hurting yourself—"

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" I roared, pushing against the ground, my muscles trembling, refusing to move. "WHERE’S MY GUN?! WHERE THE FUCK IS MY GUN?!"

He was coming. I could feel him,

his shadow spilling across the floor.

The smell of smoke and iron filled my nose.

Ivan.

He’d kill her.

He’d kill Nonna.

"I’m gonna kill you!" I shouted, voice cracking, "You hear me?! I’ll fucking kill you if you touch her!"

The room exploded in noise — beeping, shouting, footsteps.

Hands reached for me — white coats, blue gloves — all their faces wrong, all of them him.

Chains clattered in my ears. Screams echoed.

My throat tore with every breath. "No—NO—DON’T TOUCH ME—" I swung, fists colliding with empty air. "DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!"

"Romeo!" Nonna’s sob broke into a whisper. "Please, it’s not him—look at me, ragazzo—look at me!"

But I couldn’t. Her voice splintered. The light shattered.

The walls melted, stone and rust and blood dripping from every seam.

Ivan stepped closer, eyes black, teeth red.

"You think you can run?" His voice crawled inside my skull.

"Little boy. Little monster."

"Shut up!" I shouted, scrambling forward. My nails scraped tile, my knees shaking. "Shut up! I’ll kill you! I’ll—"

He raised his hand, iron rod glinting red.

"No..." I whispered, breath catching. "No, please... not her... not—"

I turned, reaching for Nonna.

"Run," I choked. "Nonna, run!"

Her hand touched mine, warm, trembling—

I flinched like she burned me, ripping away.

"No! Don’t—don’t touch me!"

Machines screamed. Alarms shrieked. Nurses rushed in. "Hold him—"

"Keep him down!"

"Antonio’s bleeding—someone get pressure on that—"

The world blurred. Ivan was laughing. "You’ll always come back to me."

I screamed. A raw, broken sound.

"GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HEAD!"

He was laughing. I heard him laughing.

"Stop!" Nonna’s voice broke. "Please, you’re safe!"

"He’s right there!" I pointed, arm shaking, eyes wide, wild. "He’s going to kill you!"

But no one else saw.

Just me.

"Hold him—!"

"Sedate him—quick—"

I thrashed, snarled, teeth bared. "Don’t touch me! Don’t you fucking touch me!"

"Romeo," Nonna cried. "It’s me. It’s Nonna. He’s not here, tesoro. He’s not—"

But her words faded—

Swallowed by the fire.

Smoke filled my vision.

Chains dragged across the floor.

Ivan’s boots stopped in front of me.

A shadow fell over my face.

Heat kissed my scar.

"Please," I whispered, a child’s voice clawing out of a man’s throat. "Don’t make me—don’t make me again—"

He lifted the iron.

The hiss split the silence.

"Don’t—!" I screamed but a sting hit my neck.

Sharp. Cold. Spreading fire.

My breath hitched. My vision fractured —

Nonna’s face — tear-streaked, praying —

Antonio slumping, blood soaking his sleeve —

Ivan smiling in the corner

My body seized, then slumped.

The world folded in on itself—white, red, black.

Nonna’s sobs echoed somewhere far, far away.

Hands held me down, but gently now.

Voices faded.

And then—

Nothing.

Just darkness.

††

Yo guysss, this Chapter took me one freaking day to write. I kept thinking how should Romeo emotions should be after his flashbacks and this was what I went with because well, y’all have seen him as a demon son but he’s human.

He had been bottling this up for so long and with him just waking up, no mask, his shield. He felt powerless and I’m sorry for last Chapter tears lol, I hope this Chapter brought more hahahahaha

And yooo guysss, we it 100 Chapters, I’m so proud of my self ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ