LOGIN~LUCAS~The classroom never really returns to normal after everything that happened, even though it tries to.Voices rise again, chairs scrape, someone even laughs a little too loudly as if forcing life back into the room….but something has shifted. Something unseen, heavy, lingers in the air like a storm that hasn’t decided when to break.And I feel it.Even as Marcella’s fingers remain laced with mine, even as she stands close enough for me to still feel the warmth of her body… there’s a tension crawling under my skin.Not from her.From everything else.From the way the room had gone quiet earlier.From the way those men had listened to her.From the way Albert had looked…My jaw tightens slightly.I hadn't missed it.Not the door opening. Not the figure standing there. Not the silence that followed.I glance briefly toward the entrance now, but Albert is gone.Still… the echo of his presence remains.I exhale slowly, then look back down at Marcella.She’
Across campus, outside the main building, Albert doesn’t stop walking.His steps are sharp, precise, controlled, but the tension in his body is anything but controlled.His jaw is still locked, and his fist still clenched.Students pass him, some greeting him cautiously, some stepping out of his way entirely.No one is stupid enough to stop him right now.Because there’s something in his expression that makes it very clear he's not in the mood…at all.He reaches his car.The sleek black Lamborghini sits under the sun, polished and untouchable… just like him.For a moment, he just stands there breathing…. once, twice.Then suddenly, his fist slams against the roof of the car.A sharp, controlled hit.Not loud enough to draw attention, but hard enough to release something.“Damn it.”The word slips out low, rough, filled with restrained fury.His hand drags through his hair as he exhales sharply.That image….Marcella in Lucas’ arms.Marcella looking at Lucas like that.Marcella… choosin
The air between them is still warm from the embrace.Marcella’s fingers remain curled into Lucas’ shirt, like she’s afraid if she lets go, something will break again. Lucas doesn’t move either. His chin rests lightly against her hair, his breathing slowly evening out, but his mind… his mind is far from calm.Around them, the classroom is no longer silent.There are whispers, low murmurs, eyes watching and judging.And one pair of eyes in particular…burning.Albert Morrison is standing at the door.He had come back.No one notices at first, not properly. The attention in the room is locked on the couple in the center…..the emotional reunion, the confession, the drama.But Albert sees everything, every detail.The way Marcella clings to Lucas.The way Lucas holds her like she belongs to him.The way she looks at him… like he’s her whole world.Something dark flickers across Albert’s face.His jaw tightens slowly… dangerously.His hand curls into a fist at his side, knuckles whitenin
~LUCAS~I'm walking angrily back to the classroom, instead of attending my other lecture.By the time I reach the classroom door, I’m not thinking straight.My chest is tight.My jaw aches from how hard I’ve been clenching it.Coward.The word keeps echoing in my head.But it’s not just that.It’s her.It's Marcella at Xavier's house, putting herself in danger for me, and not telling me.I push the door open harder than necessary.It slams lightly against the stopper.A few heads turn, but I don’t care.My eyes find her instantly.She’s sitting there, exactly where I left her.But something is different.She looks… shaken.Like something already happened.My steps are heavy as I walk toward her….fat, purposeful, and dangerously controlled.“Marcella.”My voice cuts through the air.She looks up immediately, and the moment our eyes meet…she freezes.“Lucas…?”There’s hesitation in her voice, and that alone sets me off.“Stand up,” I tell her.Her brows knit s
~LUCAS~The hallway is quieter than usual.Most students are either in class or heading out.I adjust my bag slightly on my shoulder, walking toward the lecture hall.Marcella’s voice is still in my head.‘I don’t trust him.’I exhale softly.“She worries too much,” I mutter under my breath.But even as I say it, something doesn’t feel right.I slow down slightly as the feeling grows.Like I’m being watched.Then…..“Lucas.”It's an unfamiliar voice.I stop, and my shoulders tense instantly.I turn slowly to see two unfamiliar faces staring at me.“Who are you??” I ask them.They smirk before walking closer to me.“Xavier sent us to pass a message across to you, bastard,” one of them say.The mention of Xavier's name makes my jaw tightens, and I wonder why he's not here by himself, and why he sent the two guys staring at me sternly.The other guy walks to the wall and leans casually against the wall like he has all the time in the world.“I was wondering when
~MARCELLA~The moment Lucas disappears through the door, the air changes.It’s subtle, but I feel it.Like something just… shifted.I don’t even realize I’m staring at the door until Stephanie nudges me again.“Relax,” she says lightly. “He’s not going to war, he’s going to a lecture.”“I know,” I murmur.But my chest still feels tight….too tight.Stephanie stretches. “I’m going to grab a drink. You want anything?”I shake my head. “No, I’ll just wait here.”“Suit yourself, lover girl,” she teases me.She grabs her bag and walks off, leaving me alone in the classroom.Alone.And the second I realize that, my stomach drops.Because I’m not really alone.A chair scrapes, slow and deliberate.I don’t need to look up to know who it is.My fingers curl slightly against the desk.“Marcella.”His voice is calm….too calm.I inhale slowly before lifting my gaze.Albert is standing right in front of me now, and he's close….too close.“Albert,” I say, keeping my voice ste
Pain explodes through Giacomo's skull as Nico slams him against the wall. Blood runs down his face, pooling into his mouth—metallic, hot.His ribs ache, every breath a goddamn stab.Vincenzo’s eyes are pits of rage, his fists dripping with Giacomo's blood.“You think this is over?” Vincenzo growls.
~ELENA~“I want her next,” I hear Riccardo say.Vincenzo moves aside, eyes burning. “She's yours, fratello.”Riccardo grabs my hips. His injured hand doesn't stop him.He flips me onto my hand and knees on the couch, and without a word, slides into me…hard and thick and po
~ELENA~Vincenzo pins me to the door and takes my lips in his, kissing me hard and passionately.The kiss lingers for a moment, hot, raw and passionate before he abruptly steps back. Like he just crossed a boundary.“Leave now, please” he growls. “Now that I'm still able
~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







