INICIAR SESIÓNIreneThere is a specific stone ledge overlooking the Tiber River that almost nobody knows about.It sits just far enough away from the chaos near Ponte Sisto that the tourists thin out completely after sunset. No couples taking blurry photos. No loud university students spilling beer onto the pavement. Just the steady rush of black water beneath the bridge and the occasional distant hum of a Vespa somewhere deeper in Trastevere.It was my emergency exit.My decompression chamber.My leave me the hell alone location.Thursday night found me exactly where I wanted to be: completely off-grid.I had a sweating bottle of Peroni balanced against my knee, a half-finished slice of cold mushroom pizza resting on top of the bakery box beside me, and a carefully curated playlist blasting through my headphones that contained absolutely no tragic Italian opera.I hadn’t answered work emails.I hadn’t told Alessia where I was.I hadn’t even looked at my phone in nearly two hours.For the first tim
RomeoThe operating theater was designed to eliminate human error.The temperature never fluctuated beyond sixty-eight degrees. The lighting was engineered to erase shadows completely. The airflow was filtered down to microscopic precision. Every instrument was sterilized, counted twice, and arranged in the exact same sequence for every procedure.Nothing was accidental in this room.Nothing was left to chance.And when I scrubbed in, I became part of the machinery.I dictated the pace.I controlled the variables.I decided who lived.“Dr. Rossi, pressure is dropping.”The anesthesiologist’s voice cut sharply through the steady mechanical rhythm of the monitors.“Eighty over fifty. Heart rate one-forty. She’s becoming hypotensive.”I didn’t look up.The patient was thirty-four weeks pregnant. Severe placental abruption. Massive concealed hemorrhage. We had delivered the infant six minutes ago—a tiny, screaming boy currently being stabilized across the room by neonatal—but the mother’s
IreneBy 6:00 PM on Tuesday, I had successfully formatted three commercial zoning permits, finalized the CAD renderings for a boutique hotel in Milan and managed to go an entire eight hours without thinking about the Galante family.It was a personal best.I was currently packing my tote bag when Luca dropped a stack of blueprints onto my desk. Luca was one of the junior architects. He had a nice smile, wore a lot of navy blue, and possessed exactly zero brooding, tragic billionaire tendencies. He was safe. He was normal."Tell me you are escaping this hellhole." Luca said, leaning against my cubicle wall. "Because if Signor Bianchi asks me to revise the lobby dimensions one more time, I am throwing my monitor out the window.""I am officially off the clock." I confirmed, slinging my bag over my shoulder.Luca smiled, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Good. Then let me buy you dinner. There is a new Sicilian place around the corner. Carbohydrates and wine. No spreadshee
IreneBy 6:00 PM on Tuesday, I had successfully formatted three commercial zoning permits, finalized the CAD renderings for a boutique hotel in Milan and managed to go an entire eight hours without thinking about the Galante family.It was a personal best.I was currently packing my tote bag when Luca dropped a stack of blueprints onto my desk. Luca was one of the junior architects. He had a nice smile, wore a lot of navy blue, and possessed exactly zero brooding, tragic billionaire tendencies. He was safe. He was normal."Tell me you are escaping this hellhole." Luca said, leaning against my cubicle wall. "Because if Signor Bianchi asks me to revise the lobby dimensions one more time, I am throwing my monitor out the window.""I am officially off the clock." I confirmed, slinging my bag over my shoulder.Luca smiled, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Good. Then let me buy you dinner. There is a new Sicilian place around the corner. Carbohydrates and wine. No spreadshee
RomeoPain, at least, is useful.Pain tells a physician the body is still fighting. A screaming nerve ending is proof of circulation, proof that something inside the patient is still alive enough to resist damage. I understand pain. I manage it every day.Numbness is what terrifies us.When tissue suddenly stops responding, when sensation vanishes entirely, it means blood flow has been compromised. Oxygen has stopped reaching the cells. The damage is no longer temporary.The tissue is dying.Standing in the dark kitchen with Irene looking at me as though I were nothing more than an inconvenience in her evening, I realized I had mistaken her anger for the worst possible outcome.It wasn’t.This was worse.“I’m ignoring you. There’s a difference.”The words settled somewhere beneath my ribs with horrifying precision. If she had yelled at me, I would have known how to respond. I could have fought with her. Matched her fire. Absorbed the impact of her rage and survived it.But this calm d
Irene“You do realize Dante has antique Venetian daggers displayed at exactly toddler height, right?” I asked, tossing a grape into the air before catching it between my teeth.Alessia groaned dramatically from the velvet armchair. “Do not remind me. I pointed it out yesterday, and his solution was to assign future security personnel to follow our daughter around like a presidential motorcade.”“That’s actually impressive,” I said. “Overprotective parenting before the child is even born.”“He has already lost his mind,” Alessia muttered, though the smile tugging at her mouth betrayed her completely. One hand rested over the curve of her stomach. “This little girl is going to destroy him. I am serious. She hasn’t even entered the world yet, and Dante already acts like she personally signs off on his decisions.”“As she should." I replied solemnly, lifting my glass of sparkling water in salute. “Long live the Queen.”Alessia clinked her tea mug against mine.It had been nearly two hours
Recommended song: Falling in love (Cigarettes after sex)Dante’s POVHer question was completely innocent.Can I see your wife? She had asked. I stared at her. At her wide, curious eyes, the soft flush still dusting her cheeks, and the way her fingers nervously picked at the hem of the white blank
Isabella’s POVDante was there, on his knees.And he wasn't alone.I held my breath, my eyes adjusting to the dim light of the corridor. Standing directly in front of the terrifying, tall man was a tiny little girl.She looked no older than six to seven. She was wearing light pink silk pajamas wit
Isabella’s POVI spent the first twenty minutes of the car ride trying to read my husband's face. But I found nothing. His face was completely blank. In the backseat, Elara was happily swinging her legs, clutching her 'Family Hero' poster, entirely in on whatever secret my husband was keeping."Da
Three weeks Later Mateo’s POV Three weeks. For three weeks, I couldn't find Isabella anywhere. She wouldn't take my calls. She would keep her phone switched off. She wouldn't give me her address. She only sent short emails that made my heart bleed. “I’m so tired, Mateo.” “I dreamed of E







