CHAPTER SIX

Elena

I didn’t sleep.

Even when Damian finally lay down beside me, even when his arm wrapped around my waist like it always had, like muscle memory, my eyes stayed open, fixed on the dark ceiling above us.

The room smelled like him—clean soap, leather, something sharp underneath that I’d always associated with danger, even before tonight. I used to think that smell meant safety. Protection. Home.

Now it felt like a warning.

Damian’s breathing evened out beside me sometime after midnight. I could tell the exact moment he fell asleep—the tension in his body loosened, his grip on me tightening unconsciously, as if he were afraid I might disappear if he let go.

The thought made my chest ache.

I lay there, trapped between his body and my own thoughts, listening to the quiet hum of the estate. Somewhere down the hall, voices murmured low and serious. Men coming and going. Doors opening. Doors closing.

This house never slept. It just waited.

My mind kept replaying everything Luca had said. Everything Damian hadn’t said. The way his shoulders had squared, his voice had changed—harder, colder—when he talked about finding who did this.

That wasn’t the Damian I fell in love with.

Or maybe it was.

And that scared me most of all.

I turned my head slightly, just enough to look at him. His face was relaxed in sleep, lashes dark against his cheeks, jaw no longer clenched with grief or anger. He looked younger like this. Like the boy who used to steal my fries and swear he wasn’t hungry. Like the boy who used to promise me we’d leave this city one day.

A tear slid silently down my temple.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, even though he couldn’t hear me.

Because I already knew.

I wasn’t staying.

Morning came too fast.

Sunlight crept through the heavy curtains, painting the room in soft gold that didn’t belong here. I shifted carefully, trying not to wake Damian, but the moment I moved, his arm tightened around me.

“You okay?” he murmured, voice thick with sleep.

I froze for half a second before answering. “Yeah. Just… couldn’t sleep.”

He opened his eyes slowly, focusing on me like he always did, like I was the first thing he wanted to see. For a brief moment, everything felt normal again. Almost.

He brushed his thumb along my waist. “Rough night.”

I nodded. “Yeah….are you ok?”

He exhaled and sat up, rubbing a hand over his face. “I’ve got meetings today. Luca wants to go over security, territories… everything.” He hesitated.

I sat up too, pulling the sheet tighter around myself like it could shield me from what I was about to say. My heart was pounding so hard I thought he might hear it.

“I think… I should go back home.”

His jaw tightened. “Elena—”

“I just need some space,” I said quickly. “To think.”

Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.

“You said you were with me,” he said finally, his voice calm—but there was something dangerous underneath it. “You said just tonight.”

“And I was,” I whispered. “I am. But Damian… this isn’t just a bad night. This is your life now.”

He stood abruptly, the bed shifting beneath me. “So what? You’re just going to leave?”

I looked up at him, really looked at him. He was already different. Standing taller. Sharper. Like the house itself was shaping him.

“I can’t stay here,” I said. “I can’t pretend this doesn’t terrify me.”

“You think I’m not scared?” he shot back. “You think I wanted this?”

“I know you didn’t,” I said, tears burning my eyes. “That’s the worst part.”

He ran a hand through his hair, pacing once before turning back to me. “Then don’t leave. Stay with me. We’ll figure it out like we always do.”

I shook my head. “This isn’t something you figure out, Damian. This is something that changes you.”

His eyes darkened. “You don’t know that.”

“I do,” I said softly. “I’ve seen it before.”

He froze. “Your father.”

I swallowed hard. “Yes.”

The room felt smaller suddenly, the walls closing in. “I watched him disappear piece by piece,” I continued. “I watched the man he was turn into someone I didn’t recognize. And I swore I’d never live that life again. I swore I’d never love someone I’d have to bury before their time.”

“You think I’m going to end up dead?” His voice was sharp now.

“I think this world doesn’t let people walk away clean,” I said. “And I think loving you in it will destroy me.”

He stepped closer, stopping right in front of me. “So that’s it? After everything—after all these years—you’re just giving up?”

The word hit like a slap.

“I’m not giving up,” I whispered. “I’m choosing myself.”

His hands clenched into fists. “You’re choosing fear.”

“Maybe,” I said, tears finally spilling over. “But I’d rather live with fear than regret.”

He stared at me like he didn’t recognize me anymore. “If you walk out that door,” he said slowly, “this won’t be temporary.”

“I know.”

“You won’t be able to come back and pretend nothing happened.”

“I know.”

“And if I let you go,” his voice cracked just slightly, “I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same.”

My chest felt like it was splitting in two.

“I don’t expect you to wait for me,” I said. “I don’t expect anything. I just… I can’t stay.”

He looked away then, toward the window, toward the estate grounds stretching endlessly beyond it. When he spoke again, his voice was colder.

“Go.”

The word shattered what little strength I had left.

I slid out of bed, my hands shaking as I dressed. Every movement felt surreal, like I was watching myself from the outside. I grabbed my bag, my sketchbook—the one thing that still felt like me.

At the door, I paused.

“I love you,” I said, my voice barely holding together. “I always will.”

He didn’t turn around.

“If we ever cross paths again,” he said quietly, “I won’t let you go.”

The words sent a chill through me.

I left before I could change my mind.

The door closed softly behind me, but the sound echoed like a gunshot.

And as I walked out of the Moretti estate, my heart breaking with every step, I didn’t know that five years later… those words would come back to haunt us both