Masuk~CAMILLA~It's another day of tutor lessons with Mr. Lucas, and I'm frowning slightly after he announced that we've come to the end of today's class."Already?" I ask, blinking rapidly at him.He gives me a look before glancing at his wristwatch. "Camilla, we've been studying for almost three hours.""Oh."I look down at my notes, suddenly wishing we'd started our lesson earlier. It's funny how I've gone from being someone who dreaded studying to someone who occasionally wishes our lessons wouldn't end.Well, perhaps it's not the studying itself that has become so enjoyable.It's the person teaching me.I quickly push that thought aside before it can develop into something embarrassing."All right, then." I close my notebook and put my pen inside it. "I'll review everything before our next lesson.""Good. And don't just read through your notes. Try to explain the concepts in your own words. It'll help you remember them.""I know, Mr. Lucas."He raises an eyebro
~LUCAS~It's been three weeks since Camilla started having her lessons at my apartment, and I've come to realise that the arrangement is working better than I initially expected.Not that I had any doubts about changing the location. The university was simply too distracting for her, and I couldn't keep spending half of our lessons bringing her attention back to whatever we were discussing.My apartment, on the other hand, offers exactly what she needs. There's no one walking past the study area, no students talking loudly outside, and, thankfully, no birds sitting on windowsills waiting to steal her attention.Although, knowing Camilla, she'd probably find something else to occupy her mind if she tried hard enough.What's surprising, however, is how much I've started enjoying these lessons.I wouldn't have admitted that a week ago.When I first took on the responsibility of tutoring her, I expected it to be a rather demanding arrangement. Camilla struggled
~CAMILLA~I have never been so excited about going somewhere in my entire life.But this is different.I'm actually going to Lucas's apartment.The thought alone has been making me smile like an idiot since I received his address last night. I've probably checked the message at least twenty times, even though I memorised the address after the third.And now, as I sit in the back of the taxi cab with my little study bag on my lap, I can't seem to stop looking out of the window.I hope he doesn't live too far away, and I hope his apartment is beautiful.I wonder what his bedroom looks like.My eyes widen slightly at that last thought, and I quickly shake my head.Camilla!I'm going there to study. Not to investigate his personal life.Besides, I don't even know why I'm thinking about his bedroom.I look down at the notebook resting on my lap and smile.I've brought everything I might need. My textbooks, two notebooks, pens, highlighters, a bottle of water and the l
~CAMILLA~My eyes sting before I can stop them, and a warm smile slowly spreads across my lips.I blink, trying to keep the tears from falling, but it's almost impossible when my heart feels this full.I don't think Mr. Lucas understands what he has just done for me.For as long as I can remember, I've been made to feel like there's something wrong with the way my mind works from the previous tutors my dad brought for me. I've heard the complaints, the comparisons, the disappointed sighs and the endless reminders to pay attention. I've been told to try harder so many times that I've almost convinced myself that my inability to do certain things is simply because I'm not trying hard enough.But Mr. Lucas...He's the first person who hasn't made me feel like a disappointment.He's the first person who has actually asked how I learn instead of demanding that I learn the way everyone else does.He doesn't look at me like I'm a problem he has to tolerate. He doesn
~LUCAS~I feel relieved now that I already know how to handle Camilla."Camilla, I want you to understand something. We're not going to spend the next few weeks fighting against the way your mind works."She frowns slightly. "What do you mean?""I mean I'm not going to sit here expecting you to become someone else before you can learn from me. We're going to find a way to work with your strengths while developing strategies to manage the areas you struggle with."She watches me carefully."And I think I have a few ideas." I turn the notebook around slightly, although most of what I've written is still just rough planning. "First, we're going to stop making every lesson an unnecessarily long battle."She smiles faintly. "That sounds good.""We'll use shorter study sessions. Instead of expecting you to concentrate continuously for an hour, we'll divide the lesson into manageable sections. We'll work for a while, take a short break, and then return to the material.""How short?" She asks.
~LUCAS~I don't know what to say immediately.Not because I don't understand what she's telling me, but because I'm beginning to realize just how much she's been struggling with something most people probably mistake for carelessness.I look at Camilla across the table.Her head is lowered, her fingers are intertwined, and there's a visible tremor in them. A tear has landed on the notebook in front of her, and she's staring at it as though she wishes she could somehow make it disappear."I'm sorry."Her voice breaks, and something tightens in my chest.I don't like seeing her like this.There's something particularly uncomfortable about watching someone struggle to explain a part of themselves they've probably spent a long time being ashamed of. Especially when that person seems convinced that they need to apologize for it.I lean back slightly, studying her.I remember the two lessons we've had so far. The countless times I've caught her staring at something ot
~NICO~“Dad, I'm not quitting school. I love it there” I say angrily to my father.Vincenzo, Riccardo and I are in my father's private office and he called us for a meeting because he heard I was at Elena's school yesterday.Yes, I get that father has eyes everywhere but wh
~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
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







