CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE

I didn't realize how much I've missed the city until I step down from Alessandro's private jet and I inhale the polluted air.

I've been to two amazing places, yet the feeling of home envelopes me in this very place I ran to in order to get away from my past.

Alessandro's fingers thread through mine, and he looks down at me with the promise of a new life. Excitement unfurls in the pit of my belly. This time will be different. I'm no longer scared to be with him fully, and he's finally willing to let go of what he thought his marriage would be like one day.

I might not like the spotlight in which he inevitably lives, but I'd rather have cameras flashing in my face than being hidden away like a dirty secret.

And I know we look incredibly mismatched. Alessandro looks stylish without trying in black jeans and a black shirt. He looks classy even after a very long flight. Whereas I'm in my signature hoodie, sweatpants, and sneakers looking like something the cat dragged in. My hair is in