TRISTAN'S POVThe days that followed were… unexpected. I’d braced myself for more manipulation, more thinly veiled threats, but Giovanni had truly, remarkably, changed his tune. He was gentler, patient to a fault, a side of him I’d only ever glimpsed in fleeting, almost accidental moments, never sustained.Every morning, he’d appear at my door with a tray of fresh fruit and coffee, sitting on the armchair and simply… talking. About the weather, about the antique books in the library downstairs, about silly childhood anecdotes that, for all my cynicism, somehow resonated with a part of me I thought long dead.It was strange, watching him. This was the man who had commanded armies, whose word was law, who ruled with an iron fist and ruthless efficiency.Yet here he was, asking shyly, "Did you sleep well, Tristan?" or "Do you want something to eat?"He’d recount memories, sometimes with a soft laugh, sometimes with a look of profound regret in his eyes, always ending with, "Do you rememb
Last Updated : 2025-10-31 Read more