LOGINL A N AI stare up at him, my nerves climbing higher the longer he stands so close to me, his height alone enough to make me feel small, and for a moment, I do not even realise that I have been holding my breath until it finally leaves me in a quiet exhale, my fingers fidgeting against each other as I try to control my thoughts.I try not to focus on the intensity of his presence, but being this close to him makes my mind and heart race... I've only just met him, and it's one thing to find him attractive... but to feel this way just from being around him this quickly...I need to snap out of it, and fast.“I don’t know…” I finally answer, my voice barely above a whisper, and I hate how unsure I sound, and how it feels like every word I say around him carries more meaning than I intend.He doesn't react the way I expect him to. Instead, he watches me for a moment with a curious expression before letting out a quiet sigh, one that is not irritated or impatient, but thoughtful...“Come w
L A N AThe two of us stand there for a moment, staring at each other from across the room. The silence is the loudest thing in the room as everything that happened today continues to replay in my mind. I'm still trying to catch up to the version of him standing in front of me now, compared to the one I saw outside with Ezio...The tension of his shoulders, the way his eyes remained on me almost the entire time we were there... and the ferocity in his gaze...“Are you okay..?” Dante speaks up, taking me away from my thoughts. His voice comes out quiet and low as he takes a step further into the room.“Yes… I’m fine…” I answer, even though I am not entirely sure that is true. I shift my arms slightly, folding them across myself as if that might keep everything inside from spilling out.I hesitate for a second before asking, because part of me is not sure if I should even care this much, or at least not show it...“Are you okay…?” I finally ask, my voice softer than before, and I catch
L A N AI do not think when I run, I just move, my feet hitting the pavement faster than my mind can keep up, my chest burning as I turn corners without checking where they lead, because right now? Anywhere feels better than standing between Ezio and Dante while they decide what to do with each other. I can still hear their voices behind me, even after I have put distance between us, their words overlapping in my head, and my name tossed between them like something to be claimed. I hate that I ran without a plan because now I am just a girl sprinting through unfamiliar streets with nowhere safe to land.I barely register the sound of footsteps closing in behind me before a hand grabs me from the side and yanks me backwards, and the scream tears out of my throat before I can stop it, panic flooding my body as another hand covers my mouth.“Lana, shh, it’s me...” a familiar voice, softly urgent but not panicked, and I freeze long enough to turn my head.Daniella.She pulls her hand awa
L A N A“Why am I not surprised that I find you here?” Dante says, his voice walking across the street as he steps forward from the front of the Maserati, his eyes never leaving Ezio, not even to properly look at me, which unsettles me more than if he had stared.He does not shout; he does not need to because the anger in him is obvious in the way his jaw tightens and in the way his shoulders square as if he is already bracing for impact. I watch him, and I barely recognise the man who offered me a room in his home, who spoke to me with patience and gave me space to breathe when everything in my life collapsed. The man standing in front of us now looks harder, colder, like someone who has been waiting for this confrontation and is almost relieved that it is finally here.“I could say the same thing,” Ezio replies, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as if he finds this entire situation mildly entertaining rather than dangerous.His hand remains at my waist, not squeezing
L A N A“T-Tyler…” Elizabeth lets out, her voice small and trembling as she looks between the men filling the apartment and the one standing in front of me like he owns the air we are breathing.I can see the fear settling into her now, the reality of what this situation actually is finally sinking in, and even though part of me feels bitter satisfaction at her panic, another part of me feels exhausted by all of it. I step forward before I can think better of it, placing myself between Ezio and the chaos behind him, my chest almost brushing against his as I tilt my face up toward him.“Ezio… please…” I say quietly, my voice softer now, not just asking him not to hurt Tyler but asking him not to turn this into something that cannot be undone.His eyes slowly travel down to me, the anger in them cooling as he focuses solely on my face, and for a second, the room seems to narrow to just the two of us. He exhales through his nose and lifts his hand, his fingers sliding beneath my chin as
L A N A“Ezio, please, don’t hurt him,” I say quickly, my voice shaking more than I want it to as I reach out and wrap my fingers around his arm, my grip instinctive and desperate because I know exactly what he is capable of when he feels challenged...The fabric of his suit is smooth beneath my palm, warm from his body, and the moment I touch him, he pauses mid-step, his entire frame going still as he slowly turns his head to look down at me. For a second, the intensity in him changes, not disappearing but softening at the edges, and I feel the change ripple through him as if my touch alone is enough to pull him back from whatever line he was about to cross.“He is the one causing you pain,” he says, his gaze moving over my face again, lingering on the redness of my eyes, the tear tracks down my cheeks, the slight tremble in my lips. “I cannot allow that.”The way he says it makes my stomach tighten, because it does not sound like a suggestion or even concern in the ordinary sense; i
L A N A He is smiling back at me, a short glass of golden liquor in his hand as he carefully makes his way over to me."Look at you..." He says to me, and that's when I feel Fernanda nudge me towards Ezio, just as I gasp and begin making my way towards him. The music suddenly quiets down, and the
L A N AHe stops a few feet away from me, crouching slowly until we are almost at eye level, his gaze searching my face with an intensity that makes my breath hitch. I expect cruelty, a demand or another command that strips away what little control I have left.But instead, his voice comes out calm
L A N AThe silence in the car makes me sick to my stomach, so much so that I feel even my quiet breaths might be too loud for this space. I look out the window, much calmer now and watch as streetlights pass by in long, glowing stretches, their reflections sliding across the window beside me, and
L A N AI am painfully aware of how small I feel standing here.Not just physically, though that is impossible to ignore, the way Dante stands taller than everyone else in the room, the way his presence seems to take up space without effort, but emotionally too, like I am a child who wandered into







