Chapter 2

I went back to my room alone.

The private line Adrian had installed for me was still lit on the bedside table. Months ago, he had told me that as long as I pressed that silver button, he would come no matter where he was. I pressed it. The light blinked quietly in the dark, but no one answered.

Cold air slipped through the half-open window, and I sneezed into my hand.

In the past, all I had to do was frown, and one of them would notice. Dante would call me spoiled while handing me whatever I needed. Matteo would tear into the guards, then carry me away himself. Adrian was always the gentle one, brushing my hair back and telling me not to cry.

Tonight, the room stayed empty.

I stared at that unanswered light until the silence became unbearable. Then I grabbed my coat and ran out.

The rain had not stopped. The stone path behind the estate was slick, and I crossed the back corridor too quickly, scraping my knee on the steps and tearing my skirt on the iron railing. By the time I reached the east guest house, I was soaked through and shaking.

I knew Adrian was there.

After Serena came to Vittori, Lorenzo gave her the guest house once reserved for important allies. The carpets, curtains, and security system had all been replaced. Even the guards at her door stood in a tighter formation than the men outside my wing.

I knocked with trembling fingers, but when the door opened, Dante stood inside.

His gaze dropped from my face to my bleeding knee and rain-soaked hair. Something moved in his eyes for one brief second before he buried it under coldness.

“What are you doing here?”

Dante had been the first man to come to my side. He was sharp-tongued, proud, and impossible to please, even when he still protected me.

“Aria, can you stop running around like a child?”

“Do you ever think before making trouble?”

His words were always harsh, but whenever I turned back, he was there. He handled the people who should never have reached me, climbed through my window when I cried too hard to breathe, threw tissues into my lap, and kissed my forehead like he hated himself for being soft.

I looked past him into the guest house.

Dante understood at once that I had not come for him. His hand tightened on the doorframe before he gave a cold laugh.

“Adrian,” he called without looking back, making sure I heard every word. “Did you fail counter-surveillance training? She tracked you all the way here.”

His eyes cut back to me.

“What are you going to tell Serena if she finds out?”

Wind pushed through the corridor. I had left in such a hurry that my coat hung open, and the cold sank through my wet dress.

Adrian came out soon after. His shirt was half buttoned, his hair slightly disordered, and near his collar was a faint red mark.

My stomach twisted.

He glanced at Dante first, displeased by the cruelty, then turned to me. In that short moment, I saw impatience before his face softened into the familiar gentleness I knew too well.

I stepped back.

Something warm settled over my shoulders. Dante had placed his coat on me without a word.

Adrian came closer.

“Aria, what happened?”

My throat hurt.

“Adrian, I won’t make trouble anymore.” Once I started, the words would not stop. “I won’t ask you to leave negotiations just to take me to the harbor at midnight. I won’t complain about the security detail. I won’t keep calling when you’re busy. I can learn to behave. I won’t make things difficult for you.”

Dante went quiet beside me.

I did not look at him. I only looked at Adrian.

“I just want you. If you’re still here, that’s enough. Please don’t leave me alone.”

Adrian did not answer right away. His eyes moved to my bloodied knee, and the slight crease in his brow made me reach for his hand as if that old concern could still save me.

“You said you would always stay with me. You can’t lie to me.”

My fingers touched nothing.

He avoided me with a movement so light it almost seemed kind, but the distance between us had already said enough.

Rain beat harder against the windows.

Adrian looked down at me, his voice still gentle.

“You’re freezing. Come inside first, and I’ll have someone treat the wound.”

He paused.

“We can talk after that.”