บททั้งหมดของ CONTRACTED TO THE DON...AND HIS TWIN: บทที่ 61 - บทที่ 70

MatteoI have always been the quieter one. The observer. The steady current that runs underneath Nico’s storms. But Aurora changed everything the moment she walked into this penthouse. I remember it so clearly. She stood there with her chin up and her eyes sharp, trying so hard to hide the fear underneath. When she reached for my water glass without asking... just picked it up and took a sip like it was the most natural thing in the world... something deep inside my chest cracked open. No hesitation. No playing small. She just took what she wanted in that small moment. And I have been falling for her ever since. Quietly. Devastatingly. The kind of fall you don’t come back from.This morning after the night we shared only made it clearer.I woke up slowly, the sheets tangled around us, her scent still heavy in the air. Nico was out cold on the other side of the bed, one arm stretched toward the empty spot where she had been sleeping between us. I lay there for a long minute, just breat

I woke up before both of them and just lay there for a long time, staring at the ceiling in the soft morning light. The document from yesterday sat heavy in my chest like a stone I couldn’t spit out no matter how hard I tried. Dante’s words. Voss’s reply. The date sitting four days before my dad died. The shape of everything was clear now, sharp and ugly, but I had decided last night that crying was for later. So I got up quietly, pulled on a soft t-shirt and some shorts, and went to make breakfast like it was any other normal morning in this penthouse. Maria was already in the kitchen when I got there, humming that old song she liked while flipping bacon in the pan. I smiled at her the way I always did and took over the eggs, cracking them one by one into the hot pan like my hands weren’t still remembering the way the laptop had clicked shut under my fingers. The smell of coffee filled the space, rich and familiar. I poured three mugs and set them carefully on the counter, then lean

I met her in a quiet café three neighborhoods away from the penthouse. Not one of the shiny places the family used for meetings or appearances. Just a small corner spot with scratched wooden tables, faded posters on the walls, and windows that looked out onto a narrow side street where almost no one walked by. I got there early on purpose and chose a table with my back to the wall so I could see the door. My coffee sat untouched in front of me, growing cold. My phone stayed face down on the table. No one knew I was here. Not Nico. Not Matteo. Not even Maria. The whole walk over I kept checking behind me without making it obvious. The document from the study still sat heavy in my chest. The four words Irina had sent still echoed in my head. Now I was about to sit across from the woman who had somehow reached me through a channel that should not have existed. My hands stayed steady on the table, but my pulse was faster than I wanted it to be. Irina walked in ten minutes later. She loo

The penthouse was quiet when Nico came home later than usual. Matteo had already left for the gym—maybe to clear his head after catching the edge of my anxiety through the bond, or maybe just giving us space. I was waiting in the bedroom, trying to anchor my thoughts, when Nico walked in. He still had his work shirt on with the sleeves rolled up, looking exhausted and razor-sharp all at once.He stopped in the doorway, eyeing me closely. “You’ve been quiet all evening.”“Just thinking,” I said softly.He crossed the room without another word, cupped my face in both hands, and kissed me. It started slow and deep, like he was trying to read everything I was keeping hidden. I kissed him back, and for the first time, I stopped calculating. I didn't measure the distance or weigh what this intimacy meant for the plan. I just focused on him...the warmth of his mouth, the gentle brush of his thumbs against my cheeks, and the low, rough sound he made when I gave in.The clothes came off in a h

I carried the proof for three days.The kill order sat locked on my phone behind every layer of security I had, and the weight of it lived under my ribs the entire time. Dante’s authorization. My father’s full name. The final piece that made everything undeniable. I didn’t open the file again after that first night in the study. I didn’t need to. The words were already burned into me... the careful language, the date, the cold decision that had turned my father into a problem that needed removing.The twins felt something closed in me through the bond. I could tell from the first morning. Nico watched me a little longer than usual over breakfast, eyes searching my face like he was trying to read past the surface. Matteo’s gaze lingered when he thought I wasn’t looking, quiet and steady and worried in that way he got when something felt off but he couldn’t name it. They both reached for me more often, like physical contact might open whatever door I had shut. But they couldn’t identify