FAZER LOGINThe car moved away from Rome, leaving behind the bustle of the city that was beginning to fill with traffic. I looked out the window, watching how the landscape changed from tall buildings to vast green areas. The trip to Milan would last several hours, but I wasn't bored. My mind was too busy to be bored.The University of Medicine of Milan.I never imagined I would go there. Before, when I was still studying in the US, I had read about this university. One of the best medical schools in Europe. Many famous researchers had graduated there, but I never thought about studying in that place."You're nervous," Luca said.I turned. "What?""You're biting your lip. It's a sign that you're nervous."I stopped biting my lip immediately."I'm not nervous. I'm just thinking.""About what?""About whether this is really a good idea."Luca took my hand again. His warm fingers held my cold hand."If you don't like what he offers you, we can leave whenever you want.""It's the best university in I
The next morning, I woke up with sunlight filtering through the gap in the curtain. Luca was no longer beside me. I heard his voice in the distance, talking on the phone with his usual firm tone. Work, always work.I sighed and walked to the bathroom. I had just finished showering when Elena entered with two maids behind her."Good morning, ma'am. Mr. Luca asks that you be ready in an hour.""Where am I going?""Only Mr. Luca knows, ma'am. He only asked me to make sure the ma'am was ready."I sighed. I no longer had the energy to ask more. I was resigned. Resigned to being bathed, dressed, to others deciding my life.Elena and Aria helped me bathe. Not because I couldn't do it alone, but because they were used to doing it. I let them rub my back, wash my hair, pour warm water over my whole body. I didn't resist. I just stayed quiet, watching the steam rise to the bathroom ceiling.After the bath, Aria dried my body with a large white towel. Elena had already prepared a dress on the ha
At night, Luca came home.I heard the sound of his car in the distance, then the main door opened and closed. His heavy steps echoed in the marble hallway, went up to the second floor, closer and closer to our room.I was still lying in bed, pretending to sleep. I didn't want it to seem like I was waiting for him. I didn't want him to think I cared whether he came back or not.The bedroom door opened. Luca entered. I didn't open my eyes. I only heard his movements: he took off his suit, took off his shoes and then walked to the bathroom. I heard the water running. He showered.A few minutes later, the water stopped. The bathroom door opened. I still had my eyes closed, pretending to sleep, but I could hear his steps approaching the bed.He didn't get into the bed. He just stood beside me."Camila."I didn't respond."I know you're not asleep."I stayed silent."I can see how your eyes move behind your eyelids."I sighed and opened my eyes. I was startled.Luca was standing next to the
I was startled when I heard that word. Pregnant? Luca and I never used protection. Never. And we had made love many times: in the BDSM room, in the car, in the bed, in the hotel in Switzerland."That's impossible," I said, more to myself than to her."You never know, ma'am. Better to take the test," Elena said.Elena left and came back with a small white box. She handed it to me carefully, as if she were giving me a sacred object.I went back into the bathroom. My hands trembled as I opened the wrapper. I read the instructions, although I actually already knew how to use it: I was a doctor, or at least I once was. But my hands wouldn't stop trembling.I did it and left the pregnancy test on the sink.The result appeared 2 minutes later: only one line.I wasn't pregnant.I sighed with relief, but I also felt a strange disappointment in my chest. I didn't know what to feel. Relief? Sadness? All mixed together.I cleaned myself, washed my hands and left the bathroom. Elena was still wait
The trip back to Italy felt like the longest trip of my life.Luca was sitting in the seat next to me, but it seemed as if he were in a seat on another plane. He didn't talk. He just looked emptily out the window. Sometimes he closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. Sometimes he opened his laptop and looked at the screen without really reading anything.I was silent too.I was more afraid of Luca's silence than of his shouting. If he shouted, I could get angry in turn. If he threw something, I could face him. But the silence? The silence prevented me from knowing what was going through his mind. The silence prevented me from knowing if he was still angry, or if he was already disappointed, or if he no longer cared.The plane landed at the airport in the afternoon. The Italian sky was cloudy, as if it also felt my mood. Luca got off first, without offering me his hand as he usually did. I got off alone, gathering my long dress so I wouldn't step on it.Stefano was already waiting with th
I bit my lip. I had something in my chest, something that bothered me. I knew Luca had been honest and had shown me his whole life. But why did I still feel the need to hurt him?Maybe because I still couldn't accept the reality that my own father had sold me.And Luca, the poor man in front of me, had become the easy target of all my anger."Are you okay?" Luca asked.I sighed. I looked at his cold blue eyes. His eyes, which were now full of worry. He really cared."I still think about Ethan," I said.Luca stayed quiet."We dated for 5 years. It was a long time. He knew everything about me and I knew everything about him."Luca was still silent. His face changed, his smile faded."He's a great doctor. He was the best graduate of the medical school. He has very skilled hands. His patients adore him. His colleagues respect him. He's also a good man. Every birthday he always gave me a surprise. Every time I got sick, he never left my side. Every time I cried, he always knew how to make







