MasukAurora 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
Silence drags through the room, heavy enough that even Romero shifts.Then Dominic speaks.“Gianna. Do you know why you’re here?”She shakes her head slowly. “I’m not sure, but I suspect it has to do with my father’s activities.”Dominic’s gaze stays locked on Gianna, unblinking. “I’ll make it simpl
Dominic POV Dominic notices things. It’s what has kept him alive, what has carved his name into the bones of this city and the men who fear him.But lately, the things he notices feel different. Softer. More subtle.Tonight, it’s Romero.His second quietly enters the room, expression as unreadable
“When I first started classes,” I begin, “I met a professor who was smart and charismatic, and everyone around me had a crush on him.”Dominic’s expression darkens at that, but he stays silent. Waiting.“He took an interest in me, mostly because he’d seen a photo from our wedding,” I continue quickl
Aurora POVThe restaurant is elegant with warm lighting, velvet-curtained windows, the low hum of money and prestige rolling off every polished surface.It’s our one-month anniversary. A month of waking up tangled in Dominic’s arms, a month of being unexpectedly happy in a life I never pictured for







