All Chapters of Got Too Close: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

The party dragged on well past midnight, leaving me bone-tired, yet I couldn’t catch a wink on the flight back to Calabria.Excitement mingled with dread. I couldn’t wait to fall into Nico’s arms, to let him hold me through my complaints and mood swings that had wrecked my day. But dread gnawed at me for what lay ahead. After the night ended, if he caught a whiff of Alexa, would I hurt differently? No, I’d hurt worse—that much was clear. Even after being burned once, I hadn’t learned my lesson.At four the next morning, we pulled into the manor. I was the first out of the car, shutting out the wild chatter behind me. Like a zombie, I shuffled into the house, my bag clutched in my right hand, drawn to the sound of his voice in the kitchen.Nico stood over a chopping board, wearing a black apron, while his mother tended the stove. Why did I miss him so much it ached? Why did days away from him make life feel bleak? Why couldn’t I function without him?I wanted to cry despite their laug

The last three days, the manor was a whirlwind. Every corner buzzed with preparations—lights swapped for festive colors, decorations growing more vibrant by the hour. Everyone I saw was buried in work, complaining about being swamped.Maya had ordered me not to lift a finger, Nico had backed her up, and Clara never skipped our daily check-ups. I was feeling better, just bored out of my mind.One evening, Maya snuck into our room with a dinner tray. I pounced on it with squeals of gratitude I’d only ever used for my parents. Halfway through my plate, Maya, standing by the wall and studying some photos, murmured, “When are you going to tell him?”I didn’t need a fortune-teller to know who she meant. My fork clattered to the plate as I chewed, staring at my hands. “I don’t know.”“You should,” she said, crossing the room to sit beside me on the bed. “It’s getting harder to hide. You’re glowing, Elena. Nico’s going to figure it out soon.”She was right. I needed to tell him before he di

Cheers erupted. Applause, whoops, and laughter filled the hall. From the corner of my eye, I saw Derinem holding Maya, who wiped tears from her face, glowing with pride.My cheeks burned. Nico had said he loved me. He’d said… was I dreaming? If I pinched myself—“I need you,” Nico murmured, nuzzling my shoulder. “I want to sleep and wake up beside you, watch you model lingerie by the windows, tease you about being a Sardinian girl who can’t swim.”A laugh spilled out, tangled with a choked sob. “That’s not romantic…”He straightened just enough to meet my eyes, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “In summary, Elena, I can’t remember life without you, and…” His voice cracked, heavy bariton trembled. “I don’t want to find out now.”My breath caught, but not from pain this time. His eyes, once so guarded, held nothing back. There was no masks, just Nico, baring his soul in front of everyone who mattered and those who didn’t.“You’re serious,” I whispered.“Yeah.” He took my hands, pr

Like every moment of peace, the holiday ended too soon—at least for Nico and Elena.Elena’s beachwear launch had been a runaway success, drawing attention from major brands with lucrative offers only she could handle. Nico, meanwhile, faced the coming election. It had caught him off guard; he’d checked the dates three times to be sure. When the red circle on his calendar refused to fade, he’d buried his face in his hands in the dead of night, questioning every life choice.Politics was where he hid his skeletons, refusing to face them. In politics, he became someone else, pretending until he was a husk. But in Calabria, Nico dragged a hand down his face, remembering how Rome had drained Elena, only for Calabria to breathe life back into her. She was carrying their baby—she needed the manor’s quiet air.He’d thought long into the night, watching her sleep.But D-Day arrived, and he was loading the last of their luggage into the trunk, kissing Matteo and Mia goodbye. His mother’s voi

I could hear the ocean water slouching against its bank not far ahead, beyond this room. Its breeze wafted past my nose, turning my good memories into a nightmare.My face hurt where he had hit me, my body trembling slightly. Despite my defiance—the biting and cursing I had used as a front—fear ate at me, pulling me into a black hole I couldn’t escape.Hopelessness.They weren’t mainly after me. Nico was their target, and they knew the only way to make him docile was to take me. They knew I was his weakness.Tears stung my lids, and I blinked them back. I couldn’t let them see my weakness. I hated how his eyes lit up when he saw the pain in mine after Nico agreed to his deal.Even as he sat opposite me, where I was tied to a chair, the ropes biting into my skin, he looked for a sign of weakness. Bold of him to assume I would give him any.A goon walked into the room, followed by Alessandro, who found it hard to look at my face even now. Instead, he walked to Axel and announced, “She’s