“See?”he smiled lightly.“That wasn’t so hard to tell me.”
But I couldn’t hold it anymore.The tears came all at once, breaking through the fragile wall I’d been holding up.My shoulders shook as I covered my face with my hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Oh no, bella, please don’t cry,” Bruno said quickly, panic flashing across his face.“I’m not good at consoling people.”
That made me cry even harder.
I couldn’t stop.This was the only release I had left — the only way to empty everything I’d been bottling up for so long.I had no one else.Mom wasn’t here.Mia was too sweet, too hopeful.Everyone else was too cold, too intimidating.But Bruno...Bruno felt safe.
His hand landed gently on my shoulder, giving it a small shake.
“I–I’m sorry,” I stuttered between sobs.“I just— I’m sorry!”
“Hey,” he murmured, “it’s okay, Ariana.You can talk to me.What’s going on?What did he do?”
“Nothing!”I snapped, shaking my head.“That’s not the point!”
Bruno frowned, watching me quietly.
“I’m angry at myself,” I admitted, my voice breaking.“For being weak.I have no one, Bruno.For once in my life, I can’t do anything on my own.I always need someone — someone to cry to, to tell me what to do, how to live, how to even be.”
I gasped, inhaling sharply through the tears.“I want to go back in time — just rewind everything — so things aren’t this bad.I feel stupid for thinking Alessandro would still be the same man he was years ago.I should’ve known better.People change.They move on.And I...I didn’t.”
Bruno didn’t say a word.He just watched me, his expression soft but heavy with concern.When I faltered, he nudged me gently, urging me to keep going.
“I just wish he’d talk to me,” I whispered, trembling.“I want to explain everything, but he won’t even look at me.I should be having this conversation with him right now, not you — but I can’t.Because that Alessandro isn’t the same man I loved years ago.”
Bruno’s voice was quiet when he asked, “You loved him, didn’t you?”
I nodded, my chin quivering.
“Do you still love him?”
The question hit me like a jolt.My heart started pounding, my mind scrambling for an answer I wasn’t ready to face.
“I loved him more than anything,” I breathed.“Years ago, he was everything to me.But now...I don’t know if I feel the same anymore.”
Bruno tilted his head slightly.“If you loved him, then why did you leave?”
My head snapped up, eyes wide.The words echoed in my chest, shaking something deep inside me.
That’s why Alessandro hated me.That’s why he looked at me the way he did.
Did Bruno know what had happened that night?Did anyone?
Tears blurred my vision again as realization sank in.Bruno waited patiently, his eyes never leaving mine — but before I could speak, a loud voice interrupted us.
“Ferraro!Where the fuck are you?”
Bruno groaned quietly and stood up, glancing toward the door.My chest tightened — I’d missed my chance to tell him.Again.
When I looked up, Bruno was standing beside one of the men from dinner — Luca.
“What do you want?”Bruno asked.“What happened?”
“We’ve got places to be, fratello,” Luca said, smirking.“Leave the poor ragazza alone.”
He flashed me a grin.I tried to return it, but it came out weak, forced.
