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Chapter eighteen – Shadows in Naples

Author: Vinapearl
last update Last Updated: 2025-09-22 17:20:33
The sky was pale when Emilia finally rose from the chair. Her body ached from the hours spent frozen by the window, her mind raw with the words she’d overheard. He wants her. The guards’ whispers clung to her like shackles she couldn’t shake.

She washed quickly, though her reflection in the mirror made her flinch. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, her skin almost translucent under the light. She looked less like a captive in silk and more like a ghost haunting her own body.

A knock sounded, firm but unhurried. Before she could respond, the door opened.

Dante stepped inside.

He was dressed in dark slacks and a crisp white shirt, sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms. There was no tie, no jacket, yet he radiated control, so absolutely the air seemed to tighten around him. His gaze swept the untouched breakfast tray, then rose to her face.

“You didn’t sleep,” he observed.

Emilia’s throat tightened. She wanted to ask how much he already knew—whether he’d placed those guards deliberatel
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