Page 14 of The Ruin I Chose

But I also knew deep down that wanting didn’t make me a bad mother. It didn’t make me selfish. Or careless.

It just made me human.

CHAPTER 6

MARCELLO

My phone buzzed.

I ignored the first vibration.

And the second. Only when the screen lit my hand did I look.

7:00 a.m.

7:42 a.m.

Punctual. Predictable. Except for the ways she wasn’t—and those were the ones pulling me apart.

I was already on the jet, whiskey in hand, eyes on the screen.

I hadn’t slept. Not because of Lorenzo—though he’d tried. His men raided one of my warehouses outside Palermo. Arms shipment. Santino stopped it before it got messy. I spent the night making calls, pulling strings, ensuring every one of Lorenzo’s rats fled Sicily. At least for now.

But it wasn’t Lorenzo who kept me awake. It was her. Her scent clung tighter than fear. Her laugh lingered longer than gunpowder. I’d survived enemies. I wasn’t sure I’d survive her. And yet I was stupid enough to invite her.

I heard her before I saw her. Her presence—warm, heady, familiar. And when she stepped in, the air in the cabin shifted. As if it belonged to her.

She wore beige high-waisted flared trousers, paired with a dark navy blouse, sheer at the sleeves, deeper at the neckline than it should’ve been. Two perfectly round curves peeked out, and my fingers twitched to feel them against the roughness of my palm. They were soft, full, unapologetic, like her.

My jaw tensed. I looked away before I dragged my eyes lower. I wasn’t a boy, but she made restraint feel like punishment.

She wore minimal jewellery, just enough to enhance her beauty. She had a subtle charm bracelet on her wrist. Most women wore their wealth like armour. She wore hers like an afterthought.

I shifted in my seat. My grip on my phone tightened.

She was chaos. And I was losing order. She sat down across from me, eyes scanning the cabin.

“You didn’t have to get a jet to impress me,” she said. “We could’ve travelled by train.”

She said it like this was a performance. Like I’d staged the jet instead of simply owning it. The corner of my mouth twitched. I let her believe it.

“Too many people,” I replied. “This way, we’ll touch down in no time. You’ll have more time to explore the city.”

“You?” She asked. “I thought you were touring me around.”

She pouted innocently with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“I have some business to finish,” I said. “Then I’ll join you.”

The stewardess approached.

“Hazelnut cappuccino,” she said, without hesitation.

I raised an eyebrow. She glanced at my whiskey glass and scoffed.

“Long night,” I said, voice low.

A small curve tugged at my lips. Almost imperceptible. I noticed her stare at my lips and then bite her own bottom lip. Her eyes flicked away, but I saw it—how her body responded. The way her chest rose. The way her nipples hardened against her blouse. She leaned back, taking in a breath that made me shift again.