The insecurity wrapped itself around me, smothering the earlier euphoria. The genuine happiness I’d been feeling minutes before vanished completely.
“Valentina?”
Enrico’s warm voice echoed through the room, making me flinch. I hadn’t heard him approach.
I turned to find him looking at me with concern, already closing the distance. His strong arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace, his familiar warmth immediately calming my racing heart.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly, kissing my forehead, then my cheek, before his lips finally found mine.
I closed my eyes, sighing into his touch.
I loved that. Every caress. Every kiss. Every quiet display of affection.
Touch was one of my love languages, and Enrico knew exactly how to use it—to calm me, to make me feel safe.
“You look worried,” he said gently, pulling back just enough to meet my eyes. “Talk to me, love. What happened?”
I swallowed hard, hesitating, fighting the insecurity threatening to take over again.
“Who do I need to kill?” he added with a grin, making me laugh despite everything.
I looked around once more, loving every piece of the home we were building—yet suddenly feeling guilty for it.
“Don’t you think this is all… maybe… too much?” I asked, gesturing to the spacious living area.
The sophisticated furniture. The expensive artwork. Everything felt grand. Intimidating.
Enrico frowned slightly.
“Of course not. It’s our home. Our place. I want it to be perfect for you.”
The tenderness in his voice still startled me.
My heart sped up, a painful doubt tightening in my chest.
“Sometimes it feels like I’m living inside a dream I could wake up from at any moment,” I admitted quietly, looking away, my cheeks burning.
He pulled me closer and let out a low chuckle. One hand lifted my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“It’s not a dream, Valentina,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “It’s real. We’re real. And I’ll prove that to you every day for the rest of our lives.”
His warm, gentle kiss erased my doubts and fears in an instant.
In his arms, everything made sense.
There—in that new penthouse, still empty of stories—I believed nothing and no one could destroy what we had.
I was happy.
So deeply happy it scared me.
“I love you,” I whispered against his lips, feeling complete in a way I’d never imagined possible.
“I love you too,” he said, looking at me as if I were the most precious thing he owned.
I sighed, happy one second—
—and terrified the next when the bedroom door opened slowly, dragging me back to the present.
