Page 13 of Isabella

I knew I’d only be able to postpone this conversation for so long.

After sulking over to the bed, I crawl onto it, crossing my legs as I take a seat in front of her. Lux’s eyes shine with curiosity while she waits for me to speak.

“So, I’m assuming this is about what happened at dinner?” I ask, delaying the inevitable.

She nods.

“About Niccolò…”

She lets out an exasperated breath. “Oh my gosh. Yes, Izzy. You and Niccolò. And don’t tell me it’s nothing, because Iknowwhat I saw, and what I saw was one hundred percentsomething. I saw the way he looked at you…”

She saw it too?

“And I saw how you avoided eye contact with him like the plague,” she continues. “And then to top it all off, he told you to enjoy the rest of your birthday. There’s a story there.”

My tone gets serious. “You have to promise you won’t tell my brothers, Lux.”

Her eyes widen, and it kills me that I’m putting her in this situation, but I’m not ready for anyone to know about Nicco’s and my history yet, especially Teo.

“I don’t know, Izzy. You’re making me nervous.”

“I won’t make you keep this a secret from Teo for long, I just need to wrap my head around everything before I come clean to him.”

Lux gives a few short nods. “Okay, yeah. Your secret is safe with me.”

Letting out a long sigh, I prepare to speak the words I’ve only ever spoken to Liana and my mom. My heart races as I realize what I’m about to say because once it’s out in the world, there’s no taking it back.

Am I ready for that?

The anxious feeling in my chest pushes its way up my throat, forcing me to spill the truth out. “Niccolò Silvestri and I used to, um, uh, well… we used to date.” I hold my breath while I wait for Lux’s reaction.

A few seconds that feel like several long minutes pass before she says, “I had a feeling.” Her tone is soft, which pushes me to continue.

“We met when I was a freshman at CU and he was a senior. We dated for a year and a half.” My voice gets low. “Before his dad…”

I still can’t believe the father of the man I fell in love with had my parents killed.

Lux offers a comforting hand, placing it on mine. “Neither of your brothers know about him.”

It’s not a question, so I only give a small shake of my head, confirming her suspicion.

“You didn’t tellanyone?”

“I’ve only ever told two people about me and Nicco’s history—Liana and my mom—and Nicco’s only ever told his best friends, Leo and Dante.”

Lux sits back against the pillows, folding her arms across her chest. “Oh,Nicco, huh?” She wiggles her brows, and I let out an amused scoff.

“This was before…everything,” she says, “so why did you and Nicco have to keep it a secret?”

“As you know, Giuseppe Silvestri is the devil himself. Nicco didn’t want him to find out about us because he knew he would force him to break up with me, so we decided to keep it to ourselves. Stay inside our own perfect bubble.” I chuckle as I shake my head. “Perfect bubble my ass.”

“Things didn’t end well, I presume?” Lux asks.

“Not at all.”

Not at fucking all.

I shake my head, trying to shake away the events of the entire night and say, “But that doesn’t matter. Nicco is in my past where he belongs, and I have zero plans of ever revisiting that point in my life again.”

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