Page 42 of His to Destroy

With a touch.

His fingers wrap around my wrist—gentle, barely there. But enough to make me stop.

“I know I hurt you,” he says, voice tight. “And I won’t ask you to forget it. But if you ever decide to give me another chance… I swear I’ll never take it for granted.”

I pull my wrist free. Not roughly.

But not softly, either.

“I’m not ready,” I whisper.

He nods.

But his eyes never leave mine.

And something in me aches at the way he looks at me.

Like I’m the last good thing he’ll ever get.

Later that night, lying awake in bed, I stare at the ceiling and think about all the things I wanted to say.

That I care for him more than I should.

That I hate how much I want him.

That when he looks at me, my whole world tilts.

But most of all, I think about Luca.

Because no matter what I feel—no matter how much my heart wants to believe—he comes first.

He always will.

And if loving Gaspare means putting my son at risk again… then I’ll walk away.

Even if it kills me.

Chapter 12 – Almeria

Something feels wrong the moment I step through the front door.

It hits me like a scent I can’t quite place—faint but unmistakable. Off.

The silence. That’s the first thing.

No Luca running down the stairs, shouting “Mama!” like I’ve been gone for days instead of two hours. No cartoon theme songs echoing from the living room. No chatter from Maria, his nanny. Just the low hum of the air conditioner and the distant creak of old wood.

It’s a weekend and I let him stay up late on weekends, so it’s strange that I can’t hear or see him doing just that.

My chest tightens.

I drop the brown paper bag of flowers on the console table and move deeper into the house.

“Luca?” I call.

Silence.

My voice comes again, tighter this time. “Luca?”

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