Mag-log inAdriana's POVThe elevator ride felt too quiet. Zayn stood beside me holding champagne that had gone warm and flowers that were starting to wilt, his jaw tight, the kind of tension I recognized. Something was wrong and he was pretending it was not.I unlocked my apartment and stepped inside, setting my laptop bag down by the door. He followed, placing the champagne on the counter with careful precision, like he was afraid it might shatter if he moved too quickly."Tell me what is wrong," I said, turning to face him."Nothing.""Zayn."He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. "How was your dinner?""It was fine. The work team, we were reviewing data models for the new project." I paused. "Why?""Who was the man you came home with?"Understanding hit me all at once. "You saw us.""I saw you laughing with him, and I can see you are comfortable around him.""That was Andrew. He is the marketing director leading the project. He walked me home because it was late and we had been
Zayn's POVThe plane touched down in Milan as the sun began sinking behind the skyline. I hadn’t slept during the flight, too wired with anticipation to close my eyes. Connor had tried calling three times before takeoff. I ignored all of them.The drive from the airport felt longer than the entire flight. Traffic crawled through narrow streets while I sat in the back of a hired car watching couples walk past cafés, their hands linked, their worlds small enough to fit inside a single moment. That was what I wanted. One weekend where nothing existed except her and me and the space between us finally closed.I had flowers in one hand, champagne in the other, and a reservation at the restaurant where we had our first real conversation months ago. The plan was simple. Show up, sweep her off her feet, remind both of us what this felt like when distance was not constantly pulling us apart.Her apartment building looked the same as I remembered. Clean lines, modern glass, the kind of place th
Adriana's POVMonday morning arrived with rain and that restless energy that always came before something new. The conference room filled quickly, voices overlapping as people settled into chairs with coffee and tablets. I chose a seat near the window where I could see both the presentation screen and the door.Paolo walked in first, followed by three people from marketing I recognized but had never worked with directly. Then Andrew stepped through, the consultant who had visited my office a few days ago. He carried the same easy confidence that filled a room without asking for attention.“Everyone, this is Andrew,” Paolo said. “He’ll be leading the consultant team for this project. Andrew, you already know Adriana, but for the rest of you… she’s our lead analyst.”Andrew smiled across the table. “Good to see you again, Ms. Moretti.”“Likewise,” I said, keeping my tone professional.The meeting moved quickly after that. Paolo outlined the project scope while Andrew added context about
Zayn’s POVThree days passed like slow erosion, each one wearing away at something I could not pinpoint, as our calls grew shorter but this is not from lack of wanting but because time itself stopped cooperating, her mornings clashing with my nights until even the hours refused to align.Marcus's condition remained stable but fragile, the kind of balance that required constant attention. The doctors used words like monitoring and observation, which really meant they had no idea what would happen next. I sat beside his bed most mornings, watching machines trace his life in green lines, my phone buzzing with emails I did not want to read.The empire was fracturing without me there to hold it together, Singapore wanting answers I could not give from a hospital room, London threatening to pull funding if I did not show up personally, and the board sending increasingly aggressive messages about my absence.I sent Adriana flowers anyway. Then books she had mentioned wanting months ago. Then
Adriana’s POVThe video call ended abruptly when a knock sounded at my door, and one of Reeve’s night staff stood there holding an envelope. “Message from Mr. Paolo,” he said. Inside was a note about a system glitch that needed my immediate attention.By the time I handled it and tried calling Zayn back, he had gone into his own crisis meeting. We exchanged quick texts instead, promising to talk properly tomorrow.The next morning, a knock on my door came before sunrise, quiet but insistent enough to pull me from sleep. I wrapped a robe around myself and padded barefoot across the cold floor, squinting through the peephole at a delivery man holding a white box."Adriana Moretti?" he asked when I opened the door."Yes."He handed me the box, tipped his cap, and left before I could ask questions. The box was warm in my hands, light but sturdy, with my name written across the top in elegant script.Inside, pastries layered between parchment paper, still steaming faintly. Cornetti filled
Zayn’s POVThe hospital smelled like bleach and waiting, and I watched the monitor trace Marcus’s heartbeat in steady green pulses, each one a small promise that today wasn’t the day I lose him.His breathing had evened out during the night. The nurses said he was stable, which in medical language meant he was not dying fast enough for them to worry yet. I took what I could get.My phone buzzed against the arm of the chair. Adriana's name lit the screen.They cleared me. I won.Something loosened in my chest, relief mixed with pride and the familiar ache of wanting her here where I could see the victory on her face. I typed back quickly.You did it. I'm proud of you.Her reply came seconds later.It's not over yet.That was her, always three steps ahead, never letting herself rest long enough to celebrate. I glanced at Marcus, his face pale against white sheets, then back at the phone. She deserved more than a congratulatory text message from three thousand miles away.Connor walked i







