The woman's voice floated through the lantern-lit air like a thread of silk wrapping around Luca's stillness.
"I fell deeply in love with you after you left…"
Alessia's breath caught, the sound sharp in her throat.
She didn't move—couldn't.
The edges of the square blurred as heat flushed up her neck, settling with a cold sting in her chest.
Luca didn't flinch. His head remained bowed, the silver-veiled woman standing close enough that their shadows touched.
Her fingers rested lightly over his heart.
Too gently, too familiar.
Alessia's stomach twisted.
The crowd behind her laughed, clapped, drank, oblivious. Music curled around them, sweet and seductive, but to her it sounded like mockery.
The woman continued softly, "You shouldn't have come back here, Luca. Seriona is not kind to men like you… or to the women who love you."
Alessia's pulse stuttered.
"Love? "... The word hit like a blade.
