LOGIN~CAMILLA~Get a hold of yourself, Camilla.There must be a reason why he's staring at me like that.What if he finds me attractive??I look around the hall. There are lots of girls I think are way prettier than me….so why isn't he looking at them??But he has been staring at me intently even yesterday.Maybe I'm simply reading too much into everything because I've already become too aware of him.Whatever it is, I force myself to look away.I shouldn't be staring at him like this.I shouldn't be wondering about him.And I definitely shouldn't be wondering why his face seems so familiar despite the fact that I've only met him once.But the questions keep coming.Who is he exactly?And why does every single glance make me feel like my heart is doing something it has no business doing?I try to focus on the presentation again, and I'm soon watching him.The longer he speaks, the more impressed I become.And there's something about watching someone speak so confi
~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
~ELENA~Nico's lips graze my cheeks…almost a kiss.Almost.And then the gym door swings open.“Damn!” We both exclaim.Riccardo walks in, towel over his shoulders. He pauses, eyes flicking between our too-close bodies.“Everything okay here??” He asks, voice neutral, but b
~ELENA~I don't even know when we get home. I just feel someone pulling me out of the car and leading me to my room.I feel numb. My body, my senses, my mind….they all feel numb.The door to my room opens and I am led inside.“Take your bath and rest. We'll come to chec
Alessandro shouldn’t have come. Every instinct tells him to stay away.But curiosity, or maybe something darker…. drives him straight to the masquerade ball party.After what happened yesterday, he couldn’t stop thinking about them.The triplets.So he did what anyone with too much fear, curiosity,
~ELENA~Vincenzo doesn’t take his eyes off me as he shrugs off his jacket, tossing it carelessly onto my couch in the room.“Stand up,” he orders softly, but there’s no room for disobedience in his tone.My legs feel weak, but I obey, standing slowly from the bed.Riccard







