“I killed him,” I murmured eventually. She didn’t ask who. We both knew. “He touched you.”
Her fingers tightened painfully in the sheets beside me. “I know.”
I closed my eyes briefly. The poison still dragged strangely at my thoughts, pulling me under in slow waves. Every few seconds reality blurred around the edges again.
“Leo.” I hummed weakly at my name on her lips. “You scared me.”
Something dangerous twisted inside my chest at the trembling honesty in her voice. “I’m hard to kill.”
“That isn’t funny,” she whispered.
“No,” I agreed softly. “Not really.”
Silence settled over the room again except for rain striking the windows. Then Chiara lifted her head slowly. Her eyes searched mine with terrifying intensity. “I love you.”
The words slid through the room quietly. Softly. Impossible. I stared at her. Then laughed weakly again.
“Definitely hallucinating now,” I said.
Her expression shattered. “Leo!”
“You hated me yesterday,” I muttered.
“I still should.”
“Mm.” I brushed my thumb weakly beneath her eye. “That sounds more believable.”
Fresh tears spilled over her lashes. “I’m serious.”
“No, you’re traumatized,” I reminded her.
“I love you!” The desperation in her voice finally cut through the poison haze enough to make me pause.
I looked at her carefully. At the panic. The tears. The sincerity wrecking her expression. And suddenly… I wasn’t completely sure this was a hallucination anymore.
Dangerous thought. Very dangerous. My chest tightened painfully.
“You don’t understand what loving me means,” I said quietly.
“I don’t care,” she whimpered.
I almost smiled at that. Then exhaustion crashed over me again all at once. The room blurred violently. Chiara’s face became soft around the edges.
“Leo?” Her voice sounded far away. “Leo, stay awake!”
I tried. Really. But the poison dragged me downward anyway. The last thing I felt before darkness swallowed me again was Chiara’s hand clutching mine tightly against the sheets.
Like she thought she could hold me in this world by force.
Chapter Twenty-Five: CHIARA
WhenIwoke,thefirst thing I noticed was the rain.
Soft against the glass. Endless. The gray skyline beyond the penthouse looked blurred and distant, like the entire city had dissolved overnight.
The second thing I noticed was him. Leo lay beside me, half on his stomach, dark hair falling over his forehead. The white sheets tangled low around his waist. One large hand rested near mine, fingers barely curled, like even unconscious he reached for me.
Alive. The realization still hit me in waves.
