Chapter 97

CASSANDRA’S POV

The first thing I felt was the pain.

Deep, all-consuming. It curled through my chest like fire, making my ribs feel like they were caving in, like my lungs had forgotten how to breathe. Every part of me screamed in silence, too tired to cry, too broken to fight.

I groaned, barely able to move, and the moment I stirred, something tore inside me, a hot, piercing pain that made me wince and gasp.

“Hey… hey, easy…” a voice rushed out, frantic and low, the sound of it dragging me back to reality like a lifeline. “Amore, don’t move. Please, just stay still. The stitches… they could tear open again…”

Adriano?

I froze. Every muscle tensed despite the pain. Slowly, like I was afraid of what I’d see, I turned my head toward the voice.

And there he was. He was Sitting right beside me, his eyes fixed on mine like he couldn’t believe I was real. Like if he blinked, I might disappear.

God… those eyes.

That dark, unreadable gaze that made most men tremble… it was soft now. Tender. Br