Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Price of Forever : Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 27

Avery’s POVI read it once. And again, and again. The words didn’t change. My fingers moved without me being aware of moving them, tapping the article open, and the photograph loaded beneath the headline.Luca stood beneath the warm lights of Palazzo Contarini, dressed in a dark suit that fitted him perfectly. His shoulders were straight, his expression composed, his dark hair neatly arranged. He looked every bit the man Venice expected him to be. And Gianna stood beside him.Her raven-black hair fell over one shoulder in smooth waves, and the dress she wore seemed to have been made specifically for the room she stood in. She looked beautiful in the effortless, expensive way of a woman who had spent her entire life knowing where she belonged. Her hand was linked through Luca’s arm. They looked like they belonged together.I hated that thought the moment it crossed my mind, but it was there all the same.My hands shook as I kept scrolling. I could feel my heart breaking and each breath

Luca’s POVThe apartment felt different without Avery. I had spent most of the previous night pretending otherwise, occupying myself with work I could have easily left until morning, checking security reports that Marco had already reviewed and pouring myself a drink I barely touched. It was easier than sitting in the living room and looking at the empty space on the sofa where she had been sitting before she left.She had sent me a message. She was safe, she was with Elisa, and she needed some time.I had read it several times before replying. I wanted to call her. I wanted to know whether she had eaten, whether she was crying, whether she had managed to sleep. I wanted to hear her voice and tell her that I was sorry, although I wasn’t entirely sure which part of the evening I was apologising for. The announcement? The photograph? The fact that my father had made a decision about my future in front of half of Venice? All of it, maybe. But she had asked for time, and I wasn’t going to

Avery’s POVMy heart was beating so hard against my chest that I could feel it in my throat. I slowed my pace as I approached Elisa’s street, my breathing coming out in heavy, uneven bursts. Sweat had gathered along my hairline and the back of my neck, and my running shirt clung uncomfortably to my skin. My legs were beginning to ache, particularly around my calves, but I kept walking, allowing my body a few minutes to recover from the jog.I checked the time on my phone. It was a little after eight.I had been running for almost forty minutes, longer than I initially intended. But I needed it. I needed something to occupy my mind, something that required enough concentration to keep me from thinking about everything else. It hadn’t worked entirely, of course.Luca still managed to find his way into my thoughts, usually when I was least prepared for it. Sometimes it was his face I remembered. Other times, it was the announcement, the photographs of him and Gianna, or the uncomfortabl