Adriana’s POVI was still sitting there curled on the edge of the couch like I had been for hours, though I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Nathan left. The silence of the house had grown into something oppressive. I kept waiting for it to collapse in on me or to crush the breath out of my lungs. My thoughts had twisted into a thousand aching knots looping back on themselves over and over again. I felt raw and stripped down to something childlike and trembling. And then I heard the low hum of an engine outside. Not loud or aggressive like I’d expect from Rafael. But I recognized the sound instantly. Even before I saw his silhouette through the front window I felt it. That pull in the center of my chest. That tightening in my throat. My body so fucking traitorous and weak already knew he was near. That familiar tension returned like an old enemy I never quite managed to destroy. The air shifted the moment he stepped inside.He didn’t say anything at first. Just walked in l
Adriana’s POVI sat down in front of him dragging the wooden chair backward with a screech that made my teeth grit. The living room was so still that the sound felt like it echoed. He was seated on the armrest of the couch with his elbows braced on his knees and face hanging low like the weight of the world was tied to his neck.He didn’t say anything for a while Just kept staring at the floor and I kept staring at him. I was tired. Not physically no. Emotionally mentally and spiritually. Tired of secrets. Tired of men with half truths and eyes that couldn’t look directly into mine. Tired of being yanked around like my life wasn’t even mine to begin with.So I waited. Eventually he exhaled like someone squeezing the last breath from his chest and slowly lifted his head. His eyes met mine and they weren’t filled with fear exactly. Just hesitation. Like he was about to say something that would permanently change the direction of everything.And then he said it.“I’m your brother.” He bl
Adriana’s POVThe house was quiet almost too quiet. I tiptoed around making sure Isabella was deep in sleep before I let myself breathe again. Her little fingers curled around the edge of her blanket, her lips slightly parted like she was dreaming something sweet. Maybe something warm or something I could never give her.I backed out of the room gently and closed the door behind me with a soft click then turned around and stared at the hallway like it might open up and swallow me whole.God. This place was too perfevt.Every stupid little thing in this house screamed ME. From the color of the walls to the cozy throws folded neatly across the arm of the couch. The tea cups in the kitchen, the soft cream curtains, the stupid candles lined up by the windowsill like I used to babble about years ago. Things I never thought he was even listening to but he was. Rafael remembered it all. He never missed a single word I said back then and it hit me like a punch to the gut. He bought this hou
Adriana’s POVThe music was loud and toooo loud. People were laughing and clinking glasses and swirling champagne like this was the celebration of the century but my head was somewhere else. I stood near one of the tall glass doors half inside the party and half out of it with a drink in my hand I hadn’t even touched. My eyes scanned the room like I was looking for someone but I wasn’t. Not really. I was just stuck in my own fucking head. Because all I could think about was Adriana and Isabella.No matter how much I tried to focus on the conversations, on smiles, on pretending to give a shit and I couldn’t stop replaying that moment from earlier. Her face followed by her silence. The way she avoided my eyes when Isabella kissed my cheek. That tiny twitch in her jaw. That flash of panic she tried to hide like it didn’t matter.But it did because it was all too strange., like too fucking strange. That little girl named Isabella! She looked at me like she knew me. Like she was used to
Adriana’s POVMy walk of shame back to my room was exactly that,,, shame. The halls were quiet but not empty. The shadows weren’t doing enough to hide me and even if they were, nothing could hide the aftermath written all over me. Hair undone my lips probably swollen anx Rafael’s shirt clinging to me like a confession. My steps were slow and dragging like my body knew I was walking away from something I shouldn’t have touched in the first place. I felt raw and exposed at the same tome. Like every wall I’d spent years building up just cracked under the weight of that one night.Then I saw Anna at the end of the hall. She was coming down the hallway probably on her way to check something or pretend to. She froze when she saw me. Her eyes ran down from my messy hair to the shirt I wore then to my bare legs and bruised pride. She knew what happened instantly. Of course she knew. Her lips tugged up into the smallest tightest smile. But not the friendly kind or the judgmental kind either
Rafael’s POVI left the party before anyone else could stop me, didn’t wait for the last toast or fake congratulations. I couldn’t breathe in there. The air was heavy with perfume and power and damn lies. I needed to see her and needed to see her face her eyes and the storm she was hiding from everyone but me.My driver didn’t ask questions and I didn’t offer answers. The mansion came into view quickly, all sharp corners and silence. I didn’t go to my room and didn’t even check the time. I headed straight to her wing in the estate.Adriana’s room was empty and my chest tightened instantly but I knew where else she’d be. I turned to Isabella’s room.She wasn’t sleeping beside our daughter. She was just… lying there with her eyes open awake and too still, like her soul was somewhere else. I stepped in without a word and reached for her gathering her into my arms. She didn’t protest and didn’t speak. She just let me carry her like something inside her had finally cracked and left her ho
Adriana’s POVIsabella stirred just a little in her sleep turning onto her side and clutching her stuffed bear to her chest like it was her only anchor in the world. I stayed sitting on the edge of the bed my eyes fixed on her peaceful little face and without meaning to, my mind drifted. It started with a simple thought how content she looked right now and then it pulled me backward like a tide. Dragging me to memories I didn’t ask to remember.The day I told her we were leaving Marco came flooding in witj sharp and vivid like it had only happened yesterday. It was raining that morning. One of those weird, warm rains that made everything feel heavy and slow. I remember standing by the window staring out at the gray sky gathering the courage to say the words out loud. My heart was pounding so loudly it echoed in my ears. Isabella was sitting on the floor in her pink pajamas, surrounded by coloring books and dolls and completely oblivious. She was humming softly her little fingers gri
Adriana’s POVThe drive back to Rafael’s mansion felt like it stretched for hours, though in reality it couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes. The silence in the SUV was comfortable in a way I didn’t expect. Ardian didn’t try to talk and didn’t ask questions. He just drove like he knew the road like he’d done it before many times. By the time the sleek black car pulled up to the familiar iron gates of the Romano estate, my eyes were heavy and my heart? Eeven heavier. The guards at the gate took one glance at the car then their eyes flicked to Ardian’s face as he lowered the window.“Ardian Basha.” He said calmly like he has every right. That was it with no explanation or extra details and he looks bored too. The guards looked at each other then nodded and stepped aside to open the gates like he was on some kind of pre approved list I didn’t know existed. That was strange but then he is Rafael’s soon to be brother-in-law so it makes sense. I didn’t have the energy to think abou
Adriana’s POVThe air outside was cold. Not the kind of cold that bit at your skin but the kind that settled heavy on your chest like disappointment. I hugged my arms to myself as I stepped down the marble stairs of the Capo’s mansion my heels clicking against the stone and echoing faintly beneath the distant sound of music that still floated through the walls. The grand ballroom was still alive full of violins and laughter and clinking glasses and secrets the dangerous and expensive ones. The kind of secrets that left you breathless when they slipped out in front of the entire underworld.I didn’t realize my steps were getting slower until I missed one entirely. My heel twisted awkwardly and before I could even catch myself, my ankle gave out and I hit the ground with a soft ungraceful thud. My palms scraped against the concrete and the sting immediate. The hem of my gown pooled around me like melted green velvet. My hair fell into my face.Perfect.I sat there for a moment too stun