158Gianna’s POVThe office felt… empty.Not in the literal sense—every cubicle was occupied, the hum of conversations and clicking keyboards filling the air—but something was missing. I couldn’t pinpoint it at first, brushing off the nagging sensation as a bad case of the Monday blues.By the time lunch rolled around, though, it hit me. Matteo.He hadn’t stopped by my office all morning. No casual comments, no sly smiles, no unsolicited but strangely helpful interventions. Nothing.And for reasons I didn’t care to examine, I noticed.I shouldn’t have, honestly. The man had been a thorn in my side for weeks, with his relentless determination to worm his way past my defenses. I couldn’t fire him as much as I’d thought about the idea countless times. Alaric brought him in. God knew how dangerous Matteo himself was even with his charming exterior. I should’ve been relieved to have some space, to be able to focus without his looming presence.But I wasn’t.Instead, I found myself glancing
159Matteo’s POVThere comes a point when you realize you’ve done all you can.That was the thought rattling around in my head as I watched Gianna from across the conference room. She was presenting a summary of the latest numbers to the client, her voice steady, her confidence unmistakable.She was brilliant.She was also driving me insane.For weeks now, I’d been patient. Careful. I’d pulled back when she seemed overwhelmed, pushed gently when she seemed open, and kept myself in check when all I wanted to do was shake some sense into her.But tonight, I’d had enough. I needed to talk to her. I needed to know one last time if this was ever going to work or if I was chasing after something impossible.I found myself marching to her office. Everyone else had left by seven, leaving the floor quiet. She and I were the only ones remaining here, except for the security who made their rounds every now and then.Gianna was in her office, her desk lamp casting a warm glow over her as she pore
160Matteo’s POVThere’s something liberating about surrendering to a decision you don’t entirely agree with. I’d told Gianna I wouldn’t push her, and now I had no choice but to honor that promise.So, I shifted my focus to work. Full steam ahead.Monday morning came with a mountain of emails and back-to-back meetings. Perfect. It gave me something to concentrate on that wasn’t her.That decision lasted all of two hours.By the time the coffee run became unavoidable, I knew I was in trouble. Not because I wanted coffee—I needed it—but because her order was already in my head before I’d even reached the counter.Black coffee, two sugars. It wasn’t difficult to remember, but the fact that I couldn’t forget it was the problem.When I returned to the office, I placed her cup on the edge of her desk without a word.Gianna glanced up, startled. “What’s this?”“Coffee,” I replied, already walking away.“Matteo,” she called after me, her tone suspicious.I turned back. “Yes?”She squinted at
161Gianna’s POVI was still reeling from the meeting with our new client when I found myself sitting across from Claire, my mentor and the one person whose advice I always trusted, even when I didn’t want to.Her office smelled like lavender and freshly brewed tea. A stranger would be surprised her office felt homely, due to the corporate and professional vibes it gave off from outside. Claire had been instrumental in shaping my career. She was older than me by a lot, but we still had a very great friendly vibes.“I’ve been hearing things,” she said, folding her hands on the desk.“Things?” I repeated, pretending not to know what she meant.She sighed, tilting her head in that way she always did when she knew I was being intentionally dense. “About you and Matteo.”I stiffened. “How do you know about Matteo?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. And then I scoffed when I remembered that Claire used to work in the office and she still had eyes and ears in it. “I swear to God, Claire, the da
162Matteo’s POVThe tension between Gianna and me was suffocating as fuck. Every clipped response, every sidelong glance, every excuse to avoid being alone with me—it was like she’d built a wall overnight, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break through. It was driving me through the edge. It was driving me through the breaking point.I wasn’t blind. I knew why she was pulling away. Her ambition. Her fear. Whatever internal battle she was waging, it was clear I’d been labeled the enemy.But I wasn’t about to accept that. Not when I knew what we had was real.Most of the office had cleared out, the faint hum of printers and distant voices dwindling into silence. Gianna was still at her desk, her brow furrowed as she stared at her laptop.I got up from my desk and walked over to her office, determined to talk to her today.I leaned against the doorway to her office, crossing my arms. “You planning on sleeping here tonight?”She didn’t look up. “I have a few things to finish.”
163Gianna’s POVI couldn’t get his voice out of my head.“I’m in love with you.”The words had hit me like a sucker punch, leaving me breathless and unsteady. Hours later, I was still sitting at my desk, staring blankly at the screen as if sheer willpower could force my brain to focus on the numbers in front of me. But it was no use. My mind was a battlefield, and Matteo’s words were winning every skirmish.What scared me the most wasn’t that he said it. It wasn’t even the raw, unflinching way he’d looked at me when he did. No, what terrified me was the fact that some part of me wanted to believe him. That part of me wanted to convince me that he was telling the truth. That he does love me. And I was fighting that part with every fibre of my being.I pushed my chair back with a sigh, rubbing at my temples. The office was empty now, save for the cleaning crew somewhere down the hall. The stillness should have been comforting, but it only amplified the chaos in my head.I’d spent my en
164Matteo’s POVI’d just sunk into my chair after back-to-back meetings when Gianna’s voice sliced through the air, sharp and commanding.“Matteo, in my office. Now.”No preamble, no softening. Just an order. I frowned, wondering what the hell she wanted that couldn’t wait. God. I almost cursed as I sat up straight.The room went quiet as heads turned toward me. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the spectacle and instead stood, smoothing my tie as I made my way to her door.Gianna was already behind her desk when I walked in, her focus razor-sharp on the documents scattered across the polished wood. She didn’t look up immediately, but I could see the way her shoulders were stiff and I could have sworn there was an electric charge in the air.“Close the door,” she said curtly, still not meeting my gaze.I complied, folding my arms as I leaned against the frame. “What’s the emergency?”She finally looked up, her eyes blazing with equal parts determination and frustration. “There’s a
165Matteo’s POVI wasn’t sure why she’d said yes to dinner this time.We’d been circling each other for weeks now, an unspoken tension and awareness building every time we were in the same room. When I’d asked if she wanted to grab a drink after work, I half-expected her to shut me down, sharp and decisive, like she always did when things got too personal.But this time, she surprised me. She had hesitated for a moment before nodding, her eyes guarded.Now, we were sitting in the corner of a dimly lit bar, far enough from the rest of the after-work crowd that it felt like our own little world. Gianna nursed her glass of red wine, her fingers tracing the rim absently, while I sipped a whiskey neat, watching her.She was quiet tonight. Not the composed, commanding quiet she carried at work, but a softer kind—almost vulnerable.“You’re not regretting this already, are you?” I asked, breaking the silence.Her lips twitched, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Not yet. But give it
272Alaric’s POVRage was a living, breathing thing inside me. It burned through my veins, consuming every rational thought, leaving only the raw, seething anger that had taken root in my soul since the truth came out. The Cruz family. Those bastards had killed Dominic. And Allesio—someone I trusted, someone who was supposed to be my right hand—had known all along. He had kept it from me. Lied to my face.I gritted my teeth as I sat in my office, gripping the armrests of my chair so hard that the leather creaked beneath my fingers. The image of my brother’s face flashed in my mind—Dominic, who had always had my back, who had always put family first. He was gone. And the people responsible had been breathing easy all this time.Because Allesio let them.I slammed my fist onto the desk, sending a glass of whiskey toppling over. The amber liquid spilled across the wood, but I didn’t give a damn. My chest heaved as I forced myself to calm down. It didn’t work.The sound of heels clicking
271Allesio’s POVI tried to act normal. I really did. But every time I looked at Rosa, the truth of what I’d done pressed harder against my chest, making it impossible to breathe.She didn’t know. Not yet. And God, I wished I could keep it that way forever.We were sitting in the garden, the scent of freshly watered flowers thick in the air. Rosa was trimming some roses, focused, quiet. It was the first moment we’d had alone since she came back from her trip with Emilia.“Did you enjoy it?” I asked, my voice steady.She glanced at me, eyes suspicious. “Why are you asking like that?”I forced a smirk. “Like what?”“Like you actually care.”I scoffed, leaning back against the bench. “I do care. You act like I’m a heartless bastard.”She snorted. “Because you are.”I should’ve laughed, thrown a snarky remark back, but the words hit different now. If she knew what I had done, she’d mean it.She went back to snipping away at the roses, her silence unsettling. I used to find comfort in our
270Rosa’s POVI threw my phone onto the hotel bed and let out a dramatic groan. “Emilia, I swear to God, if I see another text about business, I’m throwing this damn thing in the ocean.”Emilia, lounging in her fluffy white robe, sipped her cocktail and smirked. “Do it. I dare you.”I narrowed my eyes. “You just want to see me suffer when I have to explain to my father why I’m unreachable.”“Absolutely,” she said, raising her glass. “That’s what best friends are for.”I rolled my eyes but grabbed my drink from the nightstand and clinked it against hers. “To escaping the insanity, at least for a few days.”“To bad decisions,” Emilia added with a grin.I sighed dramatically. “As long as none of them involve work, I’m in.”We spent the next hour getting ready, blasting music as we did our hair and makeup. For once, I wasn’t thinking about threats, alliances, or negotiations—I was just Rosa, a woman on vacation with her best friend.As we stepped out onto the balcony, overlooking the oce
269Rosa’s POVThe day had started off like any other, or at least it was supposed to. I had spent the morning in the garden, tending to my flowers, letting my mind wander. I loved the peace that came with it, the way the world slowed down, even if just for a few minutes. But that afternoon, things didn’t feel as peaceful as usual. Something was off. And I could feel it in the air, thick and heavy, like the storm was about to break.I tried to brush it off, but as soon as I spotted Allesio across the courtyard, my heart skipped a beat. He was walking toward me, but his steps were slower than usual, his head hanging low. It wasn’t his usual confident stride. There was hesitation in the way he moved, amd it was hard to ignore.“Allesio,” I called softly. He looked up at me, and for a moment, I saw a flash of something—guilt, maybe?—pass through his eyes before it was gone, replaced by his usual guarded expression.“Rosa,” he said. He didn’t sound like he was excited to see me and that b
268Allesio’s POVI stood there, frozen in place, as Alaric’s anger washed over me like a tidal wave. His words hit hard, each one sinking deeper than the last. I had been trying so hard to keep my head above water, but now everything I had been avoiding came crashing down.He didn’t say anything right now, just stood there, his jaw clenched, eyes dark with frustration. He was waiting for me to speak, but I couldn’t. My mind was spinning, tangled in the web of lies and omissions I had spun.Finally, he broke the silence, his voice low but lethal. “So this whole time, you’ve been holding back? You’ve known what happened to Dominic, and you didn’t say a word?”I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “Alaric, I—”“Don’t,” he cut me off sharply. “Don’t give me some excuse. I asked you to get close to Rosa and get information. You promised me you’d find the truth. And now you’re telling me you knew it all along and kept it from me?”I opened my mouth again, but the words caught in my throat. Ther
267Allesio’s POVThe buzz of the conversation around me faded as I stared blankly ahead, the voices becoming a dull hum. Alaric was talking about something—some issue with the Cruz family, I think—but it didn’t matter. His words blurred into the background. My mind was somewhere else entirely, a place I didn’t want to go but couldn’t stop myself from falling into.I clenched my fists under the table, the memory creeping in like an unwelcome guest.“You’re awfully quiet,” Alaric said, glancing at me as he tried to balance Francesca on his lap. She was squirming, reaching for the pen he’d set down on the table a moment earlier.“I’m listening,” I replied, my voice rough as I dragged myself back to the present.“You don’t look like you are,” Alaric muttered, handing Francesca the pen in defeat. She giggled, immediately starting to scribble nonsense on the notepad in front of her.“Sorry,” I said, exhaling sharply. “What were you saying?”“The Cruz family,” Alaric said, his tone sharp, t
266Allesio’s POVIt had been a week since I made that promise to Rosa. Since I promised her that I won’t tell Alaric. And each day felt like a weight pressing down harder on my chest. The guilt of keeping the secret, the guilt of betraying Alaric, was gnawing at me, and I couldn’t escape it. The promise I’d made to her—I won’t tell Alaric, I won’t tell anyone—had started to feel less like a vow and more like a cage I couldn’t break out of.I spent more time at the mansion than her condo now, hoping to bury my thoughts under the grind of work. I told myself that keeping my focus on Alaric, on what I owed him, would keep my head straight. But every time I looked at him, every time I saw his face, the guilt flared up again. It didn’t matter that Rosa was the one I loved. I had a duty to Alaric that I couldn’t ignore, no matter how much my heart pulled me in the other direction.This war with myself—loyalty versus love—was eating away at me.I had just stepped off the elevator when I bum
265Rosa’s POVIt was late when Allesio finally came back into to the condo. The air between us wasn’t just tense—it felt fragile, like a glass already cracked and on the verge of shattering. But this time, it wasn’t about the Cruz family or Dominic’s death. Something else weighed on him.“Allesio?” I called softly, setting my book down on the nightstand. He paused in the doorway, his hand resting on the frame like it was the only thing holding him up.“Rosa.” His voice was low, almost hoarse, and I knew whatever he was carrying wasn’t just another argument waiting to happen.I stood, crossing the room until I was close enough to see the faint lines of worry etched on his face. “What is it?”He hesitated, his eyes searching mine. “There’s trouble at the docks.”My stomach clenched. “Again?” I breathed out.“Yes. Again,” he murmured in reply.“What happened?” I asked.“Alaric got word that a shipment went missing. Weapons, high-grade. Some of the guys think it’s a setup.” His jaw tight
264Allesio’s POV.“You’re lying to yourself, Allesio. And it’s going to destroy you.”Rosa’s voice cut through the heavy silence like a blade, sharp and deliberate. I looked up from the glass in my hand, the amber liquid trembling slightly as I set it down. Her words hung in the air, daring me to respond, but for a moment, I didn’t. I couldn’t.Instead, I leaned back against the chair, exhaling slowly. “What am I supposed to say to that?” I muttered, my tone edged with exhaustion. “You want me to admit you’re right? That I’m falling apart? That I don’t have the first clue how to fix any of this?”“I want you to stop pretending you can carry all of it alone.” Rosa crossed her arms, her gaze piercing. “Because you can’t. And if you don’t realize that soon, it’ll cost us everything.”I ran a hand through my hair, the frustration boiling over. “And what exactly do you suggest, huh? Just tell Alaric the truth and hope he doesn’t tear the world apart looking for revenge? Because that’s exa