Lahat ng Kabanata ng Falling for the Enemy : Kabanata 121 - Kabanata 130

The first breath of freedom didn’t feel the way I thought it would.I had spent so many months waiting for this moment—dreaming of the day when Matteo’s shadow would no longer loom over my life, when the debt that had ruled my every decision would finally be gone. But as I sat on the edge of Luca’s bed, staring at the faint light of dawn creeping through the window, I felt… hollow.Like I had been holding my breath for so long that I didn’t know how to exhale.The mansion was quiet. Too quiet.I knew Luca hadn’t come back yet, and even though he had won—had walked away from that meeting with control, with power, with everything that should have made me feel safe—I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was still unfinished.Maybe it was the ghosts of everything that had happened.Or maybe it was just me.A soft knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts.Cassie peeked her head in, her face carefully blank. Too blank.“Hey,” she said, stepping inside. She was already dressed, h

I had spent months waiting for this moment—this freedom.But now that it was here, I wasn’t sure what to do with it.Luca had said the words I had been desperate to hear. It’s done. Matteo has nothing left. No power. No control. It’s over.So why did it feel like we were standing on the edge of something even more dangerous?I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling long after Luca had fallen asleep beside me. His breathing was steady, his arm draped over my waist like he was afraid I’d disappear if he let go.But I wasn’t going anywhere.Not tonight.Not ever.I shifted slightly, careful not to wake him, and turned my head to study his face. The bruises from his last fight had started to fade, but there were still shadows under his eyes. Worry. Exhaustion. The weight of a war he had fought long before I ever stepped into his life.I hated that he still carried it.Hated that even after winning, he was still bracing for another battle.And maybe he was right to.Because Matteo might be out

Something was wrong.I had been pacing the damn apartment for the past hour, my gut twisting in a way that had nothing to do with the bruises still healing on my ribs.Sienna wasn’t answering her phone.Cassie had called me earlier, her voice tight with something that sounded too much like worry. Have you talked to her? she had asked. Because I think she’s about to do something really, really stupid.I hadn’t known what that meant at the time.Now, standing here, staring at my unanswered calls, I had a sick feeling I knew exactly what it meant.I grabbed my jacket and my keys, moving on instinct.I needed to find her. Now.I didn’t have to look far.I found her sitting on the steps outside our building, arms wrapped around herself, staring at nothing.The second I saw her face, my heart nearly stopped.Sienna looked… hollow. Like something had been taken from her.I crouched down in front of her, gripping her chin lightly so she would look at me. “What happened?”She shook her head, b

I hated this plan.Every instinct in me screamed to shut it down, to lock Sienna away somewhere Dante could never touch her. But I knew better. She wasn’t some delicate thing that needed protecting—she was fire, and if I tried to contain her, I’d burn just as badly as anyone else who underestimated her.But that didn’t mean I had to like it.Ethan leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “So let me get this straight. We let Dante believe Sienna’s open to his offer, draw him in, and then… what? Hope he spills his whole plan over dinner?”Sienna shot him a flat look. “I was thinking something more strategic than that.”Ethan smirked. “Good, because I doubt he’s dumb enough to monologue like a movie villain.”I wasn’t in the mood for jokes.“This only works if he believes you’re really considering his deal,” I told Sienna, watching her closely. “That means meeting him, playing nice, maybe even letting him think he has the upper hand.”Her gaze didn’t waver. “I can handle that.”I exhale

The club smelled like blood, sweat, and gunpowder—like death was lingering in the air, waiting to claim its next victim. My grip tightened around the gun as I moved through the chaos, stepping over broken glass and bodies.Ethan was right behind me, moving with the same deadly precision. His gun clicked empty, and without missing a beat, he grabbed a knife from his belt and buried it into the throat of a man rushing toward him.“We have to move!” he shouted over the gunfire.I didn’t respond. I was already ahead of him, clearing a path toward the office. Toward Sienna.Every second that passed sent another spike of adrenaline through my veins. My mind was a single thought, a single purpose. Get to her. End this.Dante’s men were falling, but they weren’t going down easy. A hand grabbed my arm, yanking me back, and I barely had time to twist before a blade slashed through the air where my throat had been. I turned the momentum against him, knocking the knife from his grasp and slamming