Se connecterAurora POVI sit in the lecture hall with my notebook open and my pen resting uselessly between my fingers.The professor’s voice washes over me without meaning. Words drift past but my gaze keeps sliding to the window toward the outside world where everything that matters is happening without me.D
My chest tightens.“There you are,” he says as his gaze instantly finds me.“Here I am,” I smile as I cross the room to him, feeling drab in my school clothes next to him. “Where else would I be?”His hand comes to my waist like it belongs there—because it does. When he looks at me, the weight of ev
Aurora POV The hotel room smells faintly of oud and sandalwood, the most trendy and expensive perfume of the moment. This is the kind of place that knows it’s expensive and doesn’t let you forget it.I sit cross-legged on the edge of the bed in jeans and a sweatshirt, my dress hung carefully so it
Aurora POVThe coffeehouse smells like burnt espresso and pastries, like safety in the form of routine.I sit in my usual corner between classes, my back to the brick wall, the small round table pressed close enough that no one, not even my usual friends, can slide in uninvited. I am too distracted
Then she looks past Dominic and the body to the other older man standing waiting, his face full of resigned dignity so unlike what had been Francesco’s final moments.“Can Gianna’s father live?” she asks hoarsely, her soft voice barely reaching him across the empty space of the warehouse.The words
Aurora POVGianna is finally still.The pill I offered her dissolved beneath her tongue, and within minutes the sharp edges of her panic soften. Her lashes flutter as she slumps against the pillow, breath evening out, the fight draining from her limbs.I brush her hair back from her face with shakin
Dominic POVDominic stands on unfamiliar ground, a territory more dangerous than any back-alley negotiation or blood-stained promise he’s ever made. Feelings rise in him like a tide he can’t control.He isn’t a man accustomed to being swept away by anything. But here he is, chest tight, breath unste
“That’s not good enough.”“I mean it,” Romero said, his tone harder now, defensive. “I don’t know. Ever since we pulled her out of Alek’s mess, I… can’t stop thinking about her.”Dominic leaned forward in his seat, his hands gripping his knees while he turned fully to study his second. “You’re telli
Aurora POVMy family’s estate feels different when Dominic isn’t beside me.Maybe it’s the silence from there being no sign of Camilla storming the halls, waiting for the next opportunity to strike. Or maybe it’s how none of the staff look at me when I pass them in the halls. Or maybe it’s just that
And besides, a part of him wanted to see her reaction.“I need to tell you something,” he said finally. “But you can’t say anything to anyone. I mean it.”She straightened instantly, searching his face. “What is it?”Dominic studied her for a beat, then let the words out. “Romero was… distracted. Al







