Chapter 5
I stirred awake, my head pounding, Soft sheets rustled beneath me as I shifted on what felt like clouds. My eyes fluttered open to an unfamiliar ceiling, taking in the ornate crown molding and crystal chandelier.
A warm touch on my cheek made me freeze. My gaze darted to the side, landing on Lorenzo’s face inches from mine. He sat in a leather armchair pulled up to the massive bed, his hand gentle against my skin.
Terror shot through me. I scrambled back, hitting the carved headboard. “What did you do to me?” My voice cracked as memories of the bar flooded back. The men, the gunshots, Lorenzo appearing like an avenging angel. Then… nothing. “Did you… take advantage?”
A deep chuckle rumbled from his chest. “Really, piccola? You think so little of me?” He reached for something on the side table. “I’d never hurt you that way. You fainted at the bar – combination of shock and too much wine, I’d guess.”
He lifted an elegant coffee cup from a silver tray. Steam curled from the dark liquid inside. “Here. You look like you need this more than I do.”
My hands shook as I took the cup, inhaling the rich aroma. The familiar scent helped ground me, easing some of the panic. I studied Lorenzo over the rim – his crisp white shirt rolled up to his elbows, dark stubble shadowing his jaw, green eyes watching me intently.
“You’re safe here,” he said softly. “No one can hurt you in my home.”
I clutched the coffee cup tighter, my knuckles turning white. “Who are you actually?”
His lips curved into a cryptic smile. “Your savior, piccola.”
The word triggered a flood of memories from last night. My chest constricted as images flashed through my mind – Dominic’s sneering face as he bragged about orchestrating my parents‘ “accident.” The way Camilla had wrapped her arms around his waist, flashing her diamond ring while cradling her slightly rounded belly. Their laughter echoing off the marble floors of what was supposed to be my home.
Tears spilled down my cheeks. The coffee cup slipped from my trembling hands, but Lorenzo caught it before it could spill. He set it aside and pulled me into his arms.
Chapter 5
11:49 Sun, 2 Mar
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“Shh, it’s okay.” His voice was gentle, but his body was rigid with tension. “You’re safe now.”
I pressed my face into his chest, inhaling his scent of sandalwood and spice. “They killed them. My parents… all this time I thought it was an accident.” My voice broke. “And now they’re having a baby while standing on my parents‘ graves.”
Lorenzo’s arms tightened around me. Though his touch remained careful, I felt the rage radiating off him in waves. When I looked up, his green eyes had turned to steel, promising retribution. But his fingers were impossibly tender as they brushed away my tears.
“No one will ever hurt you again,” he murmured against my hair. “I give you my word.”
“Why would you say that to me?” I pulled back from his embrace, searching his face. “How can you protect me? You don’t even know what they’re capable of.”
Lorenzo’s expression softened, a gentle smile playing at his lips. “I’m not the same Lorenzo you dated six years ago, piccola. That’s all.”
My breath caught. The memory of our college romance flooded back – stolen kisses between classes, late–night study sessions that turned into something more, the way his eyes used to light up when I walked into a room. Until I’d ended it, claiming the distance between our lives was too much.
“Then why?” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “Why would you protect someone who left you over something as trivial as distance?”
He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. His touch lingered, sending electricity through my skin. That familiar smile – the one that had haunted my dreams for years – curved his lips again.
“Because I love you,” he said simply. “I still do.”
My heart stuttered in my chest. The words hung in the air between us, heavy with six years of unspoken feelings. I remembered the last time I’d heard those words from him, on that rainy day when I’d walked away. He’d said them then too, but I’d been too young, too scared to understand what I was giving
- up.
Heat bloomed in my cheeks as my pulse raced.
“Shut up, you don’t.” I pulled away from his touch, my heart aching.
Lorenzo caught my hand before I could retreat further His fingers,
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