LOGIN~LUCAS~“Lucas, that's a wrong order.”I blink and look down.I stare at the cup in my hand like it personally offended me.“That was supposed to be a caramel latte,” Daniel adds, watching me.I glance at the label again.Americano.Right.“Yeah,” I mutter, already dumping it out. “Got it.”First mistake.Fine…..whatever.It happens.I start over, forcing my attention back to the machine, to the rhythm I’ve done a thousand times before.Grind. Steam. Pour.Except halfway through, my phone buzzes.My head snaps toward it instantly.Too fast. Too eager.Daniel notices. I can feel it.I ignore him, grabbing my phone from the counter, my chest tightening slightly as I check the screen.Nothing.Just a notification from some random app.Not her.Of course not her.A quiet, almost irritated breath leaves me as I drop the phone back down.Focus.I need to focus.But it’s like my brain didn’t get the memo.Because a second later, I’m staring at the milk frothing o
~LUCAS~I still remain frozen.I still don’t move.Not when she walks away.Not when her heels echo down the hallway like each step is carving something out of my chest.I just… stand there.Like an idiot.Like someone who just got hit by something he didn’t see coming—even though every sign was right in front of him.She said she’s done chasing me.The words replay in my head, over and over again, each time hitting harder than the last.Done.Marcella Nico… done chasing me.A humorless breath leaves my lips.That shouldn’t bother me this much.It shouldn’t feel like something just shifted in a way I can’t control anymore.But it does.God, it does.I drag a hand through my hair, exhaling slowly, trying to steady whatever the hell is happening inside my chest.It feels… wrong.Everything feels wrong.The hallway still feels too quiet. Too empty.Like something that was just here… something loud, chaotic, alive… just disappeared.And I didn’t stop it.I didn
~MARCELLA~I don’t look back, but I can feel it though.The weight of his eyes on me.The way the air behind me feels thicker, like something is trying to pull me back… like he’s trying to pull me back without actually moving.But I don’t stop.I can’t.Because if I do…if I give myself even a second…I know I’ll break.And I refuse to break in front of Lucas.Not again.Not for him.My heels click against the tiled hallway, sharp and steady, echoing louder than they should. Each step feels forced, like I’m dragging myself forward when every part of me is screaming to turn around.He likes me.A shaky breath slips past my lips.God.Of all the things he could’ve said… that is what he chooses now?After confusing me.After pushing me away.After making me feel like I imagined everything between us.Now he likes me?I let out a quiet, bitter laugh under my breath.“Of course you do,” I murmur to myself. “Of course you do now.”But it’s not funny.Because the worst pa
~LUCAS~“Then why did you tell me to forget everything?” Marcella asks.My expression shifts, and I don’t answer her.Not because I don’t have an answer.But because every possible answer sounds like a confession I’m not ready to make.The silence stretches between us, thick and suffocating. I can feel her eyes on me….waiting, searching, demanding something real for once.And God… I want to give it to her.I want to tell her everything.That I told her to forget because I was scared.That I pulled away because I already like her too much.That every time I look at her, I feel like I’m reaching for something I was never meant to have.But instead, I clench my jaw.“Lucas.”Her voice is softer now, but somehow that makes it worse.I exhale slowly, dragging a hand through my hair, buying time I don’t deserve.“It’s complicated,” I finally say.The moment the words leave my mouth, I already know I’ve messed up.Her expression changes instantly.Not dramatic
~MARCELLA~Stella is staring at us with a slow, wicked and satisfied smile on her lips.And in this moment, I feel like punching her hard in the face and dragging her hair out of her thick, empty skull.She's very lucky that I am not Fiorella, my elder sister, or she would have been hospitalized by now because Fiorella would have made a good mess of her.Lucas and I continue to stare at her without saying anything, and I begin to regret why we didn't have this conversation in my car.“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Stella says lightly. “But this is getting really interesting.”My jaw tightens.Of course.Of course she would show up now.Lucas’s entire body goes rigid beside me.“Stella,” he says, his tone cold, but she ignores him.Her eyes are on me.“Did he tell you?” she asks sweetly.I don’t respond.I won’t give her that satisfaction.But she doesn’t need it.Because she continues anyway…..“He didn’t come back to me because he wanted to,” she says.She pauses,
~LUCAS~I never expected to see Marcella out in the public as I walked into school this morning.Yeah, we have a joint class and I knew that I must definitely see her, but I was hoping it would be in the class with the lecturers already lecturing so the full attention wouldn't be on us, and we wouldn't have enough time to speak with each other.In other words, I was trying to avoid her.I almost didn't want to come to school this morning because I wasn't ready to face Marcella, not after the cold way I spoke to her about forgetting everything.Because knowing Marcella, she might likely approach me, most especially if the students are watching.I just had to come to school because I'm not the type of person that misses lectures.I had barely slept since friday's night.Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured her face—confused, hurt, trying to hide it but failing.And the worst part?I was the reason for that confusion.I kept replaying my own voice in my head, the way I had told her to
~RICCARDO~The second Elena asks the question, the atmosphere in the room changes.The lightness in Nico’s smirk vanishes.The teasing gleam in his eyes? Gone.Silence slams into the room like a thunderclap.Vincenzo stops cleaning the cut on Nico’s foot. His hands still, his ex
~ELENA~The rulebook is stained with blood and I wonder whose blood it was.The thought makes me panic.My hands start to shake. I can't control it.And then the book falls to the ground with a loud thud.I let out a soft cry in fear as I stare at the big book on the floor
~ELENA~I freeze, my heart slamming against my ribcage.That voice… it's soft.Familiar.Trembling.I slowly turn around, and there she is.My mom.She stands a few feet away in her nightgown, barefoot, arms folded tightly like she's trying to hold herself together. Her eye
~ELENA~I am walking to the gym this Saturday morning because I know I will find my stepbrothers here.I have been trying to get all of them together at once, and the gym is the perfect place.When I get to the gym, I take a deep breath.Am I doing the right thing by reachi







