Chapter 4. The Habits We Leave Behind

Someone knocked on Andrea's office door while she was reviewing the documents related to Elio's company's case.

She had been staring at the same page for several minutes, although she could hardly remember what she had just read. The unexpected encounter that morning had left her more unsettled than she wanted to admit. She had prepared herself for many things in life, but never for the possibility of seeing Elio Cruz again, especially not as a client sitting across from her conference table.

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing Diana standing in the doorway. She didn't enter immediately. Instead, she studied Andrea for a few seconds, her expression suggesting that she had already noticed something was wrong.

Andrea lowered the document.

"What's wrong?"

Diana stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

"Greyson told me your ex has come back."

Andrea let out a short, humorless laugh before leaning back in her chair.

"I didn't expect to see him again either. Apparently, he's one of my clients now."

She turned her chair toward Diana, who had settled onto the long sofa beside the glass wall. The ivory curtains were drawn, softening the evening light that filtered into the office.

"So, what are you going to do?" Diana asked.

Andrea shrugged. She hadn't thought that far ahead. All she had managed to do since the meeting was replay the encounter in her head, particularly the way Elio had looked at her as though no time had passed between them.

"Honestly, I don't know. After everything that happened, I don't think I can simply accept his presence in my life again. I was caught off guard. I couldn't even think straight when I saw him."

Diana watched her quietly.

She knew the truth about Andrea's marriage to her younger brother, Greyson. It had been a contractual arrangement, built on clear terms and boundaries rather than romance. But that arrangement had given Andrea a chance to rebuild her life when she had almost lost everything.

Diana had been there when Andrea needed someone most. She remembered visiting her in the hospital, seeing a woman who had once been full of life reduced to someone who could barely find a reason to keep fighting. Offering Andrea a place in the Palermo family had been one of the easiest decisions she had ever made.

"I heard Mr. Cruz is the rightful heir to the Orsanti family," Diana said. "One of the oldest mafia dynasties in Sicily."

Andrea's brows drew together.

"Where did you hear that?"

Diana stood and picked up the tablet lying on Andrea's desk. After a few taps, she opened a news article and turned the screen toward her.

"Here."

Andrea took the tablet.

The headline was accompanied by a photograph of Elio standing beside an elderly man in an impeccably tailored suit. Another clip showed a press conference, with the family patriarch formally announcing Elio as the legitimate heir to the Orsanti dynasty.

Andrea stared at the screen.

The footage was from five years ago.

She pressed play. The video showed Salvatore Orsanti addressing the media before Elio stepped forward to stand beside him. The man on the screen was unmistakably the same person she had once loved, yet the name attached to him now carried a weight she had never imagined.

Elio Cruz Orsanti.

She had known him as Elio Cruz. She had never known there was an entire family, a dynasty, and a legacy hidden behind that name.

"He's a dangerous man now, Rea," Diana said, breaking the silence. "He's part of the mafia. My father knows the Orsantis, even though our families have only had business dealings with each other. Their reputation in Sicily is well established."

Andrea lowered the tablet slightly.

"A mafia heir..."

The words felt strange coming from her own mouth. She had spent seven years with Elio, sharing a home, making plans, and believing she knew the man she intended to marry. Yet there was an entire part of his life she had never seen.

Why hadn't he told her?

What had happened that made him leave without a single explanation?

And why had he returned now?

She placed the tablet back on the desk. The questions kept coming, but none of them brought her any closer to an answer.

"What's done is done, Diana. Elio and I are over." Andrea rose from her chair and joined her on the sofa, picking up a cushion and holding it against her stomach. "But if he thinks he can come back and make up for everything he did, he's mistaken. It's not going to be that easy."

Diana turned toward her.

"Do you hate him?"

Andrea fell silent.

She looked down at the cushion in her arms, running her fingers over its fabric while she considered the question. It would have been easier if the answer were simple. Easier if she could say she felt nothing, that Elio had become just another stranger from her past.

But she couldn't lie to Diana.

"Yes. I hate him for what he did to me, and for everything I had to go through afterward." She paused, swallowing the lump in her throat. "But the more I try to hate him, the more I realize I haven't been able to replace him with anyone else."

The admission came out quietly, almost reluctantly. It was the truth she had kept to herself for years, one she rarely allowed herself to examine.

Seven years with Elio Cruz had shaped so much of her youth. He had been there for her first kiss, her first date, and the first time she had fallen in love. He had been her first lover, the first man she had trusted enough to share her bed with, and the person with whom she had once imagined growing old.

They had experienced so many firsts together that even now, remembering them felt like reopening a door she had spent years trying to keep shut.

Diana didn't press her for more. She simply moved closer, resting a hand over Andrea's.

For the rest of the evening, they talked about everything Andrea had tried not to think about since that morning.

And when Diana finally left, Andrea still had no answer for what she would do if Elio refused to stay in the past.

**

The following morning, Andrea arrived at Preston Firm later than usual.

She had spent most of the night talking with Diana, and the conversation had kept her awake long after they had said goodnight. By the time she finally managed to sleep, the morning had already crept in.

She was not in the mood for another surprise.

Unfortunately, the man sitting in front of her desk seemed determined to make himself a regular part of her mornings.

Andrea opened the door and immediately recognized him. She wouldn't have needed to see his face to know who he was. Even if Elio Cruz had turned to ashes, she suspected she would still recognize him.

She closed the door behind her, walked to her desk, and placed her handbag beside the computer. Only then did she turn toward him.

"Mr. Cruz. What brings you to my office so early?"

"I brought you your favorite coffee."

Elio nodded toward a takeaway cup sitting on her desk beside a vase of sunflowers. The cup was still warm, and the familiar scent of espresso lingered around it.

"Thank you, but I don't drink coffee in the morning."

Andrea took her seat, her expression giving nothing away.

"You can have it later. I thought you still did."

She glanced at him.

"Still did what?"

Elio held her gaze.

"Drink espresso before starting your day."

His voice was calm, but his eyes lingered on her face as though he were waiting for her to remember something. He still remembered the way she used to reach for a cup of espresso before leaving their apartment, sometimes taking only a few sips before rushing out the door.

Five years had passed, yet those ordinary details had never left him.

Andrea turned toward her computer, deliberately breaking eye contact.

"I stopped doing that after I got married. There are habits we don't need to hold on to forever, even if they used to be part of our daily lives. People change, Mr. Cruz."

"Yes," Elio replied. "But I haven't."

He made no attempt to pretend otherwise. He had no interest in convincing her that he had moved on when he hadn't managed to do so for a single day.

Andrea's lips curved into a faint smile, though it held no warmth.

"That's your business, not mine."

The words landed harder than she intended, but she made no effort to soften them.

Elio's fingers curled against his palm. He looked away for a moment, drawing a measured breath before shifting the conversation toward ECO Construction and the ongoing dispute.

Andrea welcomed the change.

They discussed the documents her team still needed, the company's position regarding the disputed concession, and the information ECO's legal department had gathered since their previous meeting. By the time they finished, they had agreed to meet at ECO Construction's headquarters to review the matter in greater detail with Elio's legal team.

Andrea was reaching for her pen when her phone began to ring.

Greyson's name appeared on the screen.

Elio noticed it.

Andrea answered without giving it much thought.

"Hello?"

"Andrea, it's me Katy." Cathrine's voice came through the speaker, sounding unusually pleading. "Greyson and I are at the police station. We've run into a little trouble. Can you come here? Please save us."

Andrea closed her eyes and exhaled, pressing two fingers against the bridge of her nose.

What had her contract husband gotten himself into this time?

"All right. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Oh, thank you, Andrea! You're the best, my lovely sister in the whole wide world, so pretty, so generous, so—"

Andrea ended the call before Cathrine could continue her increasingly ridiculous praise.

She set the phone down and reached for her handbag.

"Mr. Cruz, something has come up. I have to leave."

Elio stood as she gathered her things.

"Is everything all right?"

"Just a personal matter."

She offered him a brief nod, then walked toward the door without elaborating.

Elio followed her out, watching as she disappeared down the corridor. He had barely begun to understand the shape of her new life, and already there were names and people he knew nothing about.

**

Inside a black sedan parked outside Preston Firm, Elio watched Andrea's Audi pull away from the building.

He had caught the name on her phone. Greyson.

The way she had reacted to the call suggested familiarity, perhaps even an intimacy that made him uneasy. He had no idea what sort of trouble the man had gotten himself into, but Andrea had sounded accustomed to dealing with it.

Elio's gaze remained fixed on the departing car.

"Follow that Audi," he ordered.

Diego glanced at him through the rearview mirror but asked no questions. He simply signaled, pulled away from the curb, and kept a reasonable distance behind Andrea's car.

Elio leaned back against the seat, his expression unreadable.

There was clearly more to Andrea's life than he had expected.

And he intended to find out.