Captured by shadows

Alessandra slid into the passenger seat before logic could catch up with her actions. The doors locked with a quiet click, sealing her inside the sleek, leather-scented interior.

A mistake.

A reckless, irreversible mistake.

Matteo didn't say a word as he pulled away from the curb, the hum of the engine filling the charged silence between them. The city blurred past, but she barely saw it—her pulse was still recovering from the way he had looked at her, from the way he had cornered her without lifting a single finger.

She should have walked away.

She should have told him no.

But she didn't.

And now, here she was.

"Tell me," Matteo broke the silence, his tone casual, but she wasn't fooled. "What sins did you confess to Giulia?"

Alessandra exhaled sharply, staring out the window. "That I've been reckless," she admitted. "That I should stay away from you."

Matteo hummed, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. "And yet, here you are. In my car."

She turned her head, meeting his gaze. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

His lips curved slightly. "I enjoy many things, principessa. Watching you struggle with the truth is one of them."

Her fingers curled into fists on her lap. "You assume too much."

"And you lie too well." He switched lanes effortlessly, his attention still sharp on the road. "If you truly wanted to stay away, you would have walked."

Alessandra clenched her jaw, knowing he was right but refusing to acknowledge it.

Silence stretched between them, thick and unspoken. The air inside the car felt warmer, heavier, charged with something neither of them was willing to name.

"Where are we going?" she asked finally, needing a distraction.

Matteo smirked. "Back to your fiancé's estate, of course." He said it so smoothly, yet there was an edge underneath, razor-sharp.

Her throat tightened. Luca.

She had spent the morning with her parents for breakfast, and now she was expected back at the Corsini estate. Where Luca would be waiting.

Where she belonged.

But Matteo—Matteo had always been a detour. An intoxicating one.

"Drop the act, bella," he said, voice low. "You don't want to go back to him."

"That's not true."

"Then why do you keep coming to me?"

His words hit their mark, sharp and precise. She hated that he could read her so easily. Hated that he was right.

She tore her gaze away, inhaling deeply as she willed her heart to steady. "What happened at your villa…" She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "It was a mistake."

Matteo's smirk didn't waver. "Is that what you tell yourself?"

"It's what I know."

He exhaled a low chuckle, shaking his head slightly. "Keep telling yourself that, dolcezza. Let's see how long you last."

Her nails dug into her palms. "You're insufferable."

"And you," he countered smoothly, "are a terrible liar."

The tension simmered between them, thick and unrelenting. She needed to get out of this car before she did something truly reckless.

Matteo must have sensed it because he slowed the car, pulling into the long, private driveway of Luca's estate.

Her breath hitched as the wrought-iron gates loomed ahead.

She was home.

But why did it feel like she was leaving something behind?

Matteo parked smoothly, but he didn't unlock the doors immediately. Instead, he turned to her, one hand resting on the steering wheel, the other tracing slow, idle patterns along the gearshift.

"Tell me something, Alessandra." His voice was deceptively soft. "When you walk inside that house, will you be thinking about him?"

Her fingers trembled over the door handle.

She shouldn't answer.

She shouldn't give him the satisfaction.

But her silence was answer enough.

Matteo leaned in just slightly, his scent wrapping around her like a noose. "I'll see you tonight, bella," he murmured. "Try not to miss me too much."

The doors unlocked with a quiet click.

Alessandra pushed them open and stepped out, leaving Matteo and the shadows behind.

But as she walked up the stone steps of the Corsini estate, her pulse still racing, she knew—

She wasn't leaving anything behind.

She was carrying it with her.

And that was the most dangerous part of all.