Does he sense my hesitation?
“Well, we don’t have much more time. The car’s waiting.” He turns, nodding for us to follow.
Luca looks up at him curiously, his eyes tracking Nicolo’s movement as he begins walking away.
“Who’s that?” he whispers.
I force my voice to stay steady. “A friend. He’s going to help us on our trip.”
Luca’s eyes dart to me, confusion rippling through his features.
We move together down the long service hallway. The fluorescent lights here hurt my eyes from the way they flicker slightly. They buzz loudly the closer we get to the outside door, sounding like trapped insects.
“The car’s ready,” Nicolo says without turning to look back at me. “Black sedan. Driver’s been paid, so you don’t need to worry about that. You’ll be at the airstrip in thirty minutes. I’ll give you a call before you take flight.”
The words should feel like freedom. It’s what I’ve wanted since I gave the green light to this entire process. Yet instead, they land heavily in my stomach.
Rain mists the air when we finally reach the outside door. It clings to my hair and skin. The city beyond smells like wet asphalt, nothing like the sea salt and orange blossoms that have haunted me since coming back here.
I already miss the coastline, the breeze carrying the smell of the ocean up the cliffside and in through the villa windows. I miss the sound of waves crashing far below and the endless blue waves and sky.
I miss… him.
The black sedan idles at the curb, headlights slicing pale tunnels through the fog. Nicolo opens the rear door and holds it for me, giving me a polite, almost gentle smile.
“This is it,” he says.
I stare at the open door, at the dark interior. At the two bags placed on the back seat filled with documents and clothes and new identities like he promised. I’m frozen in place, unable to force myself to step forward and climb into the back and allow my new life to begin.
Luca tugs on my hand, looking up at me with wide eyes. “Mama, is Dante coming soon? We’re not leaving without him, right?”
The question hits like a fist to the sternum.
Memories flood in without warning—Dante’s hand wrapping around mine in the hospital, his fingers trembling even though his voice stayed steady. The way he whispered my name like a prayer when my eyes fluttered open after finally waking up. The raw, broken look in his eyes when he said,You and Luca are my world.The way he treated me so tenderly in the aftermath. How deep his bond with our son was growing by the day.
Suddenly, the idea of disappearing, of never seeing him again after this and raising our son alone while Dante spends the rest of his life searching for us, feels worse than death.
Don’t go.
Nicolo’s voice grows a little firmer this time. “Elena. We have to go. Now. You’ll miss your flight.”
I look down at Luca.
His little face is still turned up toward me, trusting, waiting for me to make the world right again. When I look back toward the hospital, something inside me fractures. My eyes linger on the door we’d just come from, to where the man beyond who tore through hell to reach us is still waiting for us to return.
“I can’t,” I whisper, turning back to Nicolo.
He frowns and lifts a brow, the first crack in his composure showing. “What do you mean, you can’t? This is what you wanted.”
Tears spill hot down my cheeks, mixing with the coolness of the rain already misting my skin. “I can’t. I can’t do it. I can’t leave him again.”
“Elena—”
I shake my head, already turning and scooping Luca into my arms. Pain flares white-hot through my side for a moment, but I don’t care.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell Nicolo, the words tumbling out. “Thank you for everything. I really appreciate it. But I can’t.”
He huffs out a quiet laugh, slamming the door shut. “I see. Well, better hurry back then before he notices you’re gone.”
