LOGINGIULIA’s POVI was still sitting on the kitchen floor, my phone started buzzing nonstop beside me, and notifications were popping up one after another. Each headline worse than the last.“Political Star Dating Mafia Princess?”“Santini Crime Family: Who Is Giulia?”“Dimitri Kostas’ Career in Jeopardy Over Mob Ties”I couldn't stop reading them. I couldn't stop scrolling. Each message felt like a knife twisting deeper into my heart.Suddenly, I heard the elevator arrive at the penthouse level, the familiar sound pulling my attention. My head snapped up to see the doors open.Dimitri rushed out, his jacket off, his tie loosened, and his hair tousled as if he had been running his hands through it. His eyes found me immediately as I sat on the floor in his robe, my face likely a mess from crying.“Giulia—” He crossed the space in three long strides, dropped to his knees beside me, his hands on my face. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”“I’m fine—”“I had to come back. I tried to give us both
“Running away,” I replied honestly. The wine was making me brave. “What about you?”“The usual boring stuff.”“Is Rome that boring?”“Trust me, it is.” He turned to face me, his eyes finding mine in the dim light. “But you’re not boring.”“You don’t know me.”“Not yet.” He stepped closer. “But I want to.”My breath caught. He was so close now, his body almost touching mine, his eyes dark and intense.“You’re… you’re so beautiful,” he said quietly. “Tell me this is a bad idea, and I’ll walk away.”I should have. I should have told him I didn’t do things like this, didn’t hook up with strangers on rooftops, and didn’t let myself get swept up in chemistry this intense.But I didn’t.&ldqu
FIVE YEARS AGO...One month in Rome, and I had hardly left my apartment.I came here to start over, to be someone other than a Santini, and to breathe without my family... Especially my father, watching every move. But mostly, I just sat in my apartment, staring at blank canvases and wondering what the hell I was doing with my life.Then I met Anne.She lived in the apartment next door and heard me crying one night through the thin walls. She knocked on my door with a bottle of wine and zero shame about inserting herself into my life.“You need to get out,” she said, pouring us both generous glasses. “You’ve been hiding in here for weeks.”“I’m not hiding—”“You are absolutely hiding. And tonight, that ends. We’re going out.”“I don't think—”“No arguments. Put on
I stayed in bed for a while after Dimitri left, just staring at the door. Finally I made myself get up. Sitting here feeling guilty wasn’t going to help anything. I grabbed one of Dimitri’s robes from the closet and put it on. It smelled like him and made my chest hurt all over again. The penthouse felt too quiet without him at the moment. I walked to the kitchen. Maybe if I did something normal, I could pretend this morning didn’t happen. Pretend I didn’t ruin everything by saying Luca’s name. Pancakes. I’d make pancakes. Dimitri loved my pancakes. I got out the flour, eggs, milk. Started mixing everything together while my brain kept replaying the hurt look on Dimitri’s face. ‘I deserve better than being your second choice.’ My phone buzzed on the counter. I ignored it. It buzzed again. Then again. Then it started ring
LOCATION: Parioli, Rome. Dimitri’s private penthouse. GIULIA's POV I woke up to a warmth between my legs, the slow movement of Dimitri’s tongue against me. My eyes were still closed, and my body was responding before my mind fully woke with pleasure building slowly. His hands were on my thighs, spreading me wider, holding me open as his mouth worked me. A moan escaped my throat as his tongue circled my clit, then flattened against it and applied pressure that alone made my hips lift off the bed. I was still half asleep, caught in that hazy space between dreams and reality. And then in that haze, my mind conjured the wrong face. Dark hair, sharp jaw, and blue eyes, I could recognize. Luca. “Luca,” I moaned, the name slipping out before I could stop it. Everything stopped. The warmth between my legs disappeared. The blanket was thrown back. Dimitri’s head came up, and his face was a mixture of shock and fury. “What did you just say?” My eyes flew open, reality cras
GIULIA's POV The doorbell rang at nine PM. I wasn’t expecting anyone. Hadn’t been for weeks now, not since I came back from Sicily and locked myself in this apartment, hiding from everyone and everything. I walked to the door with my bare feet cold against the floor, and looked through the peephole. Dimitri. My heart did something stupid in my chest. It always did anytime I saw him. I opened the door. He stood there in his work suit, looking tired but still unfairly handsome, holding flowers. White peonies and pink roses. The ones I’d told him I loved on our third date years ago. “Hey,” he said. “Hey.” I stepped aside. He came in, and the smell of his expensive cologne filled my apartment. The same smell that used to be all over my sheets, my pillows, and my clothes, back when we lived together. “How are you?” he asked, putting the flowers down. “Fine.” “Giulia—” “I said I’m fine.” He looked at me with those dark eyes that saw too much. “Come back home. To
I needed to clear my head. The garden had become suffocating after Nico left, the air too thick with questions I couldn’t answer, so I went back inside, wandering the halls with no real destination in mind. T
The car pulled up in front of a boutique I’d only ever walked past before, this place with a single dress in the window and no price tags because if you had to ask, you couldn’t afford it.Enzo got out first and opened my door, extending his hand like we were on an actual date instead of whatever t
He was taking me shopping. After three weeks of keeping me in lock down mode, after avoiding me, after that scene in his office… now he wanted to take me shopping for a dinner I’m not sure I want to go to? I looked at Nico. “Your brother is insane.”
ENZO's POV I shut the door to my office harder than necessary, the sound cracking through the room like it needed to feel what I was feeling, like the house itself deserved the impact. What the hell was wrong with me. I







