Lahat ng Kabanata ng Straight Until Him: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

Alessandro’s POVThe Romano estate kitchen is akin to a battle field.Maids came and went with their trays, running into each other, and yelling sorries. Pots clanged. A chicken nearly flew off the counter.I wandered in, still running on like three hours of sleep, probably looking like a zombie with bedhead, and just kinda stood there, squinting at the chaos.“So, uh… what’s the emergency?” I asked one of the maids as she zoomed past me, balancing a tower of plates.“Mrs. Duvall is coming.”I blinked. “Sandra’s mother?”“Yes, sir.” Then she ran off before I could ask more.My mother appeared from behind a tray of wine glasses, her hair slightly frizzy, something I had never seen in my life.“Your father put me to it,” she muttered. “She’s coming to discuss the wedding.”I raised an eyebrow. “So that’s why it looks like you’re hosting a feast?”The head maid, who clearly had no filter left, muttered under her breath, “Knowing the Duvalls, who knows how many people will come just for a

Sandra’s POVHis eyes were on me.That was the first thing I noticed when I turned from the mirror. His stare was heavy, drunk, and almost desperate. For a split second, my heart leapt; this was it. Alessandro Romano’s eyes; those dark, maddening eyes finally landed on me like he actually saw me. Nah, this was different. There was hunger now.Outta nowhere, his hand shot out, catching my wrist. The heat of his skin seeped into mine with zero hesitation. My silk robe picked that exact moment to betray me, slipping off one shoulder. I could not help it, a grin broke out, smug and a little bit wicked. Guess I had won this round. Finally. He is mine. No more Micah, no more doubts. Just me.My voice slid out, all silky and slow, sweet as melted caramel. “Alessandro…” I breathed, savoring every syllable like it was chocolate melting on my tongue. “Just you and me tonight. No one else.” No cameras. No family. Just you and me.”He just stared, silent. Breathing all uneven. The whiskey on hi

Alessandro’s POVI ran.My shoes made this ridiculous smack-smack sound on those shiny floors like the house itself wanted everyone to know I was running. Every step just bounced off the stupid walls and followed me, like I could outrun the noise or something. My lungs were on fire. My throat felt like someone had tied it in a knot. And my eyes, I could barely see, but I’ll be damned if I let those tears win.Sandra’s voice was still stuck in my head, floating over from the garden; way too sugary, but it had claws. Micah’s hand on my face burned hotter, like it had branded me. And me? I was nothing but a mess trying to hold myself together before the whole house saw me fall apart.I passed a tall mirror in the hall and stopped for just a second.What I saw was not me. Not the Alessandro Romano the world knew. Not the perfect son. Not the polished heir.Just a stranger; red-eyed, hair falling out of place, shirt wrinkled, mouth trembling. Pathetic.“Pull it together,” I snapped at the

Alessandro’s POVThe meeting crawled by slower than cold molasses. Felt like someone had died.Endless numbers. Charts for days. PowerPoint that could put a caffeine addict to sleep. Everyone just yammering about market shares, profits, expansions; blah blah blah.I’m parked at the head of this obnoxiously shiny mahogany table, that giant Romano Corp logo looming behind me like a threat. Suit’s on point, poker face locked in. Meanwhile, the board members are squirming, each one desperate to wow me with their snooze-fest slides.“…projected growth in the third quarter will…”I totally spaced out. My eyes kinda wandered off to the window, and the city out there, it just stretched forever, all dramatic and weirdly fake, like someone couldn’t be bothered to build real stuff, so they just threw a giant painting up instead.Keep your mind busy, Alessandro. Don’t think about her. Don’t think about him.Sandra’s sharp perfume.Micah’s steady eyes.The sound of my own voice breaking in the gar

Sandra’s POVI did not waltz out of Alessandro’s office because I had wrapped everything. I bailed because sometimes you gotta put some space between you and the chaos just to figure out what the hell is actually going on.So, here I was, leaning on this scratchy wall in the dead-silent hallway, pretending like I was glued to the latest disaster on my phone, thumbs tapping away. And my grin was pure theater, just me making sure nobody could read what was actually spinning around in my head.Then, the door creaked. That sound always gives me whiplash. I caught a flash of someone moving in the corner of my eye.Micah. Who else.He stepped out, tense. His shoulders were rigid, his gaze dark, scanning the hall like he was still inside some battlefield. I smirked, stepping closer, switching effortlessly into my “sisterly” mask.“Micah,” I called out, tossing him a half-grin as I walked up. “Didn’t know you were dropping in on Alessandro.”He shrugged, mumbling, “Just… checking in.” No emot