Mag-log in~FIORELLA~I don’t think I’ve ever been this aware of my own heartbeat before.It’s loud, too fast, and too embarrassing.I keep my eyes forward, staring at the seat in front of me like it personally offended me, like if I focus hard enough, I can erase the last few minutes from existence.But I can’t.Because I still feel it….his hand on my arm. The warmth of his body pressed against mine.The way my fingers had fisted his shirt like I had every right to hold onto him.God.My stomach flips again, and I swallow hard.What the hell was that?What the hell was wrong with me?I shift slightly in my seat, creating distance….actual, noticeable distance this time. My arm pulls away from his. My thigh moves just enough so we’re no longer touching.I need space, air, and sanity.Because if I stay any closer, I might actually lose my mind.My fingers curl slightly against my lap as I try to steady my breathing.It was just turbulence.That’s all it was.People grab on
~LUCAS~I don’t know when I stopped seeing her as a problem to solve.Or maybe I still see her as a problem to solve.Maybe it started last night… when she stood in front of me, stripped of that sharp, untouchable arrogance she wears like armor, and said she was sorry.Fiorella Vincenzo doesn’t apologize.She fights. She provokes. She wins.But last night… she didn’t.And now, sitting here on this plane with her head resting on my shoulder like it belongs there, I realize something I’m not entirely comfortable with.I let this happen.No… not just let it.I made it easier for her.My jaw tightens slightly as I stare straight ahead, unmoving, hyper-aware of the soft weight of her against me.When her head first tilted, I felt it.That subtle shift. That moment of hesitation where she could have pulled back.She didn’t. And neither did I.Instead, I adjusted. I actually shifted my shoulder just enough to support her better.Why the hell did I do that?My eyes fli
~FIORELLA~The airport is too loud as voices overlap, wheels drag across the polished floor, announcements echo overhead in three different languages, and yet somehow… none of it reaches me.Because I’m aware of only one thing, and that's him.Lucas walks beside me like nothing has changed.Like last night didn’t happen. Like I didn’t stand in front of him and unravel in ways I still don’t understand.“Good morning, Fiorella,” he had said earlier.“Good morning, Lucas,” I replied.“How was your night?” he asks.“It was fine,” I reply. “And yours??”“It was fine.”And that was it….that was all.Now we’re here….walking side by side, boarding passes in hand, heading toward the same destination.We're going to Albania….a new country, a new case, and a fresh start.At least… that’s what I told myself.But right now? It doesn’t feel like a fresh start.It feels like something unresolved… stretched thin between us.We board the plane in silence and we walk to our seats
~FIORELLA~I slam the door behind me, just enough to shut the world out.And then I lean back against it, my fingers still curled around the handle like if I let go, everything that just happened will come rushing back at me all at once.My chest rises, falls, and rises again.What the hell just happened?I close my eyes, pressing my head back against the door.No, no, no.That didn’t happen.There is absolutely no way that just happened.“I apologized,” I whisper under my breath, like saying it quietly will somehow make it less real.But it doesn’t. If anything, it sounds worse.My eyes snap open, and I push myself off the door immediately, pacing straight into the middle of the room like I need space… air… something.“I apologized,” I repeat, louder this time, staring at absolutely nothing.To Lucas Santis.I drag both hands through my hair, turning sharply and pacing again, the same restless energy from earlier crashing right back into me….but worse this time.
~LUCAS~For a second… I’m convinced I misheard her.I actually tilt my head a little, eyes narrowing like if I look at her properly, the words will rearrange themselves into something that makes sense.But they don’t.“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry for everything.”Fiorella Vincenzo just apologized….to me.Silence stretches between us, thick and almost unreal, and I swear my brain refuses to process it properly. Of all the things I expected when she barged into my room….This?This wasn’t even on the list….not even close.I stare at her, waiting for the twist. Waiting for the sarcasm. The smirk. The punchline.It doesn’t come.Instead, she just stands there… stiff, frozen, like she regrets the words the second they left her mouth.Her fingers twitch slightly at her sides, like she doesn’t know what to do with them. Like she’s fighting the urge to take the apology back.And then, a sound slips out of me.A chuckle ... .It's quiet at first, almost accidental, li
~FIORELLA~I can’t sit still, and I try hard.God knows I try.But it lasts barely ten seconds before I’m up again, pacing from one end of the room to the other like something is clawing at my insides.I hear the sound of my footsteps, but it doesn’t quiet the noise in my head.Nothing does.Not the shower I took. Not the food I forced myself to eat even though I could barely taste it. Not the silence.Especially not the silence.I stop in the middle of the room and press my lips together, exhaling slowly.This is ridiculous.I shouldn’t feel like this. I don’t feel like this.Not over anyone. Not over him. And yet….My jaw tightens as I drag a hand through my hair, turning sharply and resuming my pacing again…. back and forth, then back and forth again.Like I’m trying to outrun something that refuses to stay behind me.His voice….that’s what it is.The way it cracked just slightly when he asked me if I had any idea how humiliating that was.The way he looked at me like I had done som
Alessandro stands in the middle of his father’s office, tall and impassive, hands in his pockets, face unreadable. His black shirt clings to his frame, sleeves rolled to the elbows, veins prominent, tattoos peeking at his wrists. The room is thick with tension.Behind the heavy mahogany desk sits
~ELENA~I walk toward Nico, grab him by his collar and crash my lips against his, kissing him hard and passionately.The kiss is hot, hungry…and for a moment, the kiss is all there is.Nico groans low in my throat, his hands immediately going to my waist as he pulls me clos
~ELENA~The whispers multiply until it feels like the entire hallway has turned into a low hum of excitement.“Who is he? Does anyone know?”“They say he is doing his masters.”“I heard he's transferred.”“Transferred? He looks like he walked straight out of a magazine.”“D
~NICO~The moment my fist connects with Alessandro’s jaw, the sound is louder than I expect. A sharp crack that silences even the shrieks around us.He stumbles, spits blood, and collapses onto the floor.The crowd roars….half in shock, half in awe. Phones are out, cap







