LOGINThis jerk. That was the first thing he could say to me? I stepped closer. “That’s the first thing you planned to say to me after five months?” His eyes stayed on mine. We were close enough now that I could feel his breath against my face, his chest rising and falling beneath his shirt. “I—” His hand lifted slowly, almost as if he was afraid I would disappear if he moved too quickly. His fingers barely reached my cheek before I pulled away. Then he stopped immediately. Something changed in his eyes. They were wet, close enough that I could see what he was trying to hold back. “I’m really glad you’re up, Tesoro.” His voice was quiet. Before I could respond, he pulled me into his arms. I went stiff. His arms tightened around me, his face pressing briefly against my hair. “You can resent me,” he whispered. “You can do whatever you want to me. Just give me this moment, please.” I didn’t hug him back. But I didn’t push him away either. He let out a dee
NINA’S POV I woke up in the middle of the night. The first thing I saw was a ceiling I almost didn’t recognize. I blinked slowly, trying to understand where I was, then turned my head and found a woman standing beside the bed with a tray in her hands. She froze. The tray nearly slipped from her fingers. For a second, she just stared at me. Then she dropped it on the table and rushed out of the room. I frowned. A few seconds later, she returned with a doctor. He came straight to the bed, checking my eyes, my pulse, asking me questions I answered with nods whenever I could. “Do you know where you are?” I looked around the room. I knew it. The room looked different from the last time I remembered seeing it, but I knew the walls, the curtains, the furniture. Enzo’s master bedroom. Only this room looked more like a hospital now, with machines beside the bed and wires attached to me. “How long have I been here?” I asked. The doctor looked at the nurse before turning back t
ENZO’S POV By the time we reached Milan, the sun was already beginning to sink. Bruno was waiting outside the station, standing beside the car with the engine running. From the look of it, the driver had been sitting there for hours, ready for the moment I arrived. I barely acknowledged them before getting into the back seat. Bruno handed me a bottle of water as he climbed into the passenger seat. “You should drink something, sir.” I twisted the cap open and took several long gulps. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was. “Is she still there?” Bruno turned slightly in his seat. “Yes, sir.” I looked out the window. It was a ridiculous question. Where else would Nina be? But after
Hello, my lovely readers! Okay… we’re back.If you’ve been wondering when we were going to return to Nina and Enzo, I KNOW. You’ve just spent quite a bit of time with Giulia, Dimitri, Nico and all the chaos happening around them, and I know some of you have probably been sitting there between comments like, “T. Hush… where is Nina?!”Trust me, I heard you.But now it’s time.We’re going back to Nina and Enzo.And this time, we’re not leaving them behind again.Before we jump back in, though, I want you to understand why I took the story through Giulia’s side of the world.What happened in Rome wasn’t just a random detour.The Russian situation, Ricci, Dimitri’s political plans, Gabby, Volkov, Nico, and everything that happened behind the scenes are all pieces of a much bigger picture.Some of those pieces may not seem connected to Nina yet.But they will.And that’s what I want you to watch for from this point forward.Because while everyone in Rome was dealing with their own proble
Author’s POVThe second evidence against Ricci hit the news before Dimitri had even finished his coffee.Larson walked into the office with his phone in his hand and dropped it on the desk.“You should see this.”Dimitri picked it up.A financial record filled the screen, followed by photographs of Ricci meeting with men Dimitri recognized from files he had seen before. Men who had no business being anywhere near a politician, yet somehow kept appearing around Ricci. Nico had released it earlierHe scrolled.Another document.Then another.“That’s everything?” he asked.“For now.”Dimitri handed the phone back.“Release the rest.”Larson didn’t move.“Is it not too soon.”“I said release it.”“You know what happens if we do.”Dimitri looked at him.“Ricci wanted me in the Senate because he thought he could use me.”Larson’s expression tightened.“And if I stay in this race after knowing that, I’m no better than him.”“You didn’t know.”“I know now.”Larson took his phone and left the
ENZO’S POV Two hours into the drive, I was already beginning to hate every road between Rome and Milan. Not because of the distance. Because of the traffic. We had barely managed to make good time for the first hour before everything slowed down. A long line of cars stretched ahead of us, brake lights glowing red beneath the pale morning sky. I checked my watch, then the road, then my watch again. “How long?” The driver glanced at the traffic ahead. “Hard to say, sir.” “That wasn’t what I asked.” He hesitated. “Maybe forty minutes before we get through this section.” I leaned back against the seat and exhaled slowly. Forty minutes. It sounded insignificant. It wasn’t. Not anymore. I picked up my phone and called Bruno. He answered almost immediately. “Sir.” “Tell me everything.” There was a brief pause. “About Miss Nyx?” “Yes.” I looked through the window as another car crawled past us. “Did she ask for me?” “No, sir.” My jaw tightened. “What?” “She hasn’t







