Masuk~LUCAS~I have seen a lot of things in my life.But nothing…absolutely nothing….has prepared me for this.For Fiorella Vincenzo clinging to me like her life depends on it… because of cockroaches.I stand there for a second after setting her on my bed, staring at the door like if I look long enough, the entire situation will rearrange itself into something that makes sense.It doesn’t.A slow breath leaves me as I drag a hand down my face, my lips pressing together.I turn my head slightly, glancing at her.She’s still curled up on my bed, legs tucked under her, eyes darting toward the floor every few seconds like she expects something to crawl out and attack her.Her hair is slightly messy, her chest still rising and falling unevenly, and…. She's wearing that.I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek.She's wearing a short, silky nightwear that barely covers anything, and she’s completely unaware of how she looks right now.She's completely unaware of how a
~FIORELLA~My scream doesn’t even sound human.It’s loud, sharp, high-pitched…like something inside me just snapped completely.I scramble backward on the bed so fast I nearly trip over myself, my heart pounding so violently it feels like it’s trying to claw its way out of my chest.“Oh my God….oh my God…what the hell is that?!”The cockroach just sits there like it owns the place, and like I’m the intruder.My entire body recoils in disgust, my face twisting as pure horror floods through me. It’s huge…absolutely huge. Its disgusting little legs twitch, and I can swear with my life that he's looking at me.“No. No. No. No.”I shake my head rapidly, backing further away until my legs hit the edge of the bed and I nearly fall off.“This is not happening. This is not happening!”I have never.…never….seen a cockroach up close before.I’ve heard about them, seen pictures, and watched people complain about them.But this? This is a personal attack.The thing sud
~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.
~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
~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







