FAZER LOGINPoor Lucas.🥺🥺💔💔
~CAMILLA~I don't know when I start shifting in my seat.One minute, I'm sitting normally with my hands folded over my lap, listening to the man at the front of the hall explain something about law that I barely understand.Next, I'm crossing one leg over the other, then uncrossing it.Then shifting my body slightly to the left…then straightening again.And it's actually because of him.The man standing at the front of the hall.The same man from yesterday.The same handsome stranger whose face I couldn't erase from my memory despite the fact that I was in a rush yesterday.And right now, he's making it extremely difficult for me to pretend I don't notice him.Because he keeps looking at me, over and over again.At first, I think I'm imagining it.Maybe he's simply looking at the audience.There are hundreds of students in this hall, after all. It would be ridiculous to assume every time his eyes move in my direction, he's actually looking at me.So I ignore i
~LUCAS~I'm staring at Camilla, and she's staring back at me.The students are still waiting. Even one of them coughs softly, but I still don't move.What the hell are the odds?Out of every university in Milan.Out of every student in this enormous city.Out of every possible place she could have gone this morning...She had to walk into mine.I swallow hard.This cannot be happening now.Not when I'm supposed to be the calm, professional law firm representative giving a presentation to one of the most prestigious universities in Italy.My eyes remain fixed on Camilla.The third woman with the same impossible face.The woman I prayed I wouldn't see again.And apparently, God has decided my prayers are optional.Because she's here.And judging by the way she's walking toward an empty seat...she's not leaving anytime soon.My mouth goes dry.I slowly look at the students, then back at her, then at the presentation screen.But I honestly can't comprehend anything o
~CAMILLA~I should have known Esmeralda was lying.I really should have.My best friend had never been particularly good at lying to me, especially when she was excited about something, but this morning, she had sounded so serious that I didn't even think twice before believing her."Camilla, get up! We have an impromptu class this morning."Those were literally her first words when she called me this morning by 7:30am.An impromptu class for psychology students.Naturally, I panicked.I practically jumped out of bed.I brushed my teeth so quickly that I almost swallowed toothpaste, threw on the first decent clothes I could find, dragged a comb through my hair, grabbed my bag, and rushed out of the house without even having breakfast.I was convinced our lecturer had finally decided to punish us for all the times we'd complained about his early morning classes.Only to discover, barely twenty minutes after arriving at school, that there was no psychology class.T
~LUCAS~I woke up the next morning before my alarm.For a few seconds, I lie completely still, staring at the ceiling of the hotel room while my mind slowly catches up with reality.I'm in Milan, Italy. And in a few hours, I have a presentation at the university of Milan.I look around me, and thoughts of Fiorella hit me hard again.Back in our hotel room in Scotland, whenever I woke up and looked around, I always saw Fiorella either sleeping in her bed on the other side of the room, or sleeping in my own bed.Now, it's just me in the room with no second bed.I sigh heavily, then reach for my phone on the bedside table and check the time.Six thirty-two in the morning.I have plenty of time so I should be relaxed, prepared and focused.Instead, I'm lying in bed thinking about the woman who should have been beside me this morning.If Fiorella had come to Italy with me, we'd probably be arguing over something completely ridiculous by now.She'd complain that I w
~CAMILLA~Oh….this is bad.So bad that it makes me stare at a question paper and suddenly wonder whether dropping out of university and opening an ice cream shop is a better career option.I mean….I know how to make great ice creams, right??I stare at the question again, blinking hard.But there's absolutely nothing coming to my head.My brain is as empty as the classroom would be if Professor Cosmos suddenly announced that the test was cancelled.I read the question again, hoping the words will rearrange themselves into something I understand….but they don't.I look at the second question, but it's even worse.By the time I reach the fourth question, I'm beginning to suspect Professor Cosmos has personally designed this test to ruin my life.I swallow hard.“Okay. Calm down, Camilla,” I whisper to myself. “You know something. You must know something.”I have attended most of the lectures.I've listened…. Well, sometimes.I've opened the course material at lea
~CAMILLA~The moment the cab stops, I shove money into the hands of the driver.“Keep the change!” I tell him.“Miss, you gave me too much,” he says.“I don't have time! Just keep the change,” I say and jump out before he can argue.Then I start running again.I run across the campus with my bag bouncing against my side. My Crocs slap against the pavement.Students turn to look at me, but I don't care.Someone says something, but I don't even bother to know what is being said.A professor walks past me, and I nearly crash into him.“Sorry, professor!” I yell, and keep running.My lungs are burning. My heart is pounding.My hair is probably worse than it was in the cab.But then I reach the building, and I race up the stairs.“Please don't let him start,” I mutter as I keep racing the stairs.Finally, I reach the classroom door, and when my hand closes around the handle, I stop, taking breaths to calm myself down.I straighten my top, fix my hair as much as pos
~LUCAS~The box is the first thing I notice when I wake up.It's there…. right where I left it before going to bed last night.Like it knows I haven’t made peace with myself yet.It's pushed neatly against the wall like it hasn’t been silently haunting me all night. Like
~ELENA~“Help!” I cry out in tears. “Somebody please help!”The sound of my own voice echoes back to me, useless.A man slams the door shut. The engine roars.And just like that, they’re gone.Two of my daughters.Gone.I crawl after them, knees scraping against metal and s
~MARCELLA~I take one slow step closer to him, letting the bass roll through my body.I stop just close enough for him to smell my perfume—warm, sweet, dangerous.Up close, he’s even better. Sharp jaw. Long lashes. Lips that look like they’ve never learned how to beg. Calm
~TWENTY TWO YEARS LATER~ ~MARCELLA~I weave my way onto the dance floor with Stephanie, my best friend, finding the beat as I sway my hips and lose myself in the groove, erupting loud cheering noises from the hungry crowd whose hungry eyes are ravaging all over my body.I'm







