“I’m in labor—I’m freezing—please—just open the door—!”
My voice cracked completely now.
“I can’t stay in here—!”
A beat of silence followed.
Too long. Too heavy.
My heart pounded violently in my chest as I waited—
Frozen in more ways than one.
I could barely feel my feet touching the frost-rimed floor.
My teeth chattered violently, clacking so hard my jaw throbbed with every tremor.
“Elena...!” The voice behind the door grew clearer, and now I could tell who it was.
“Ciro—!” I called out, my voice breaking as my teeth continued to chatter. “Why... why did you lie about me?”
I reached the door, pressing my forehead against the freezing metal.
It burned.
Seared my skin with its cold.
“You kn-kn-know I was innocent...” I forced out between shaking breaths. “The ring... in my ch-chest... it was a s-setup...”
Silence.
Heavy. Stretching.
Then—
His voice.
Closer this time.
“Well, Elena...” he began, his voice slow. “I tried to make you see it—from the very start. From the moment I saw you punch Renzo in the face outside that dressing room, I caught feelings for you... but I know it’s forbidden. I know it’s wrong to want Vincenzo’s wife. I know you will never be mine... yet I crave you every single day.”
My fingers trembled against the door.
“That’s why I can’t stop looking at you,” he said softly. “Every lingering glance... every time I made sure you knew I was watching... hoping, just hoping, that maybe you’d see me. You never did.”
My chest felt like it was splitting open.
Not from the cold.
From the truth.
Or what passed for it.
“I—” My voice cracked. “I never—Ciro, I never led you on...”
“I know,” he said too quickly.
The cold pressed deeper into my bones.
