Part 6:

And the only language everyone speaks is money. He pointed to a villa across the hillside. That house there? That’s where I took my first punch at 13. His hand shifted. And that lit up building on the right. That’s where I got shot for the first time at 18. Seline turned to stare at him, shock cutting through the romantic atmosphere. Shut.

You’ve been shut? Aleandro nodded once, matter of fact. A few times. Her fingers reached up almost without permission, hovering near the scar cutting through his eyebrow, and he didn’t pull away, just watched her with those storm blue eyes that saw too much. And this scar. Aleandro’s expression softened. Something almost boyish breaking through.

That one I got at 22 fighting over a girlfriend who definitely wasn’t worth it. His fingers rose slowly, tracing along her jawline with a touch so light it barely registered as contact, and then his hand shifted, sliding down to her dress strap with deliberate slowness. “What are you doing?” Selene asked, her breath catching as he eased the red strap down over her shoulder.

Aleandro’s gaze dropped to the skin he’d just exposed, and his expression went very still, focused on something just below her collarbone, a thin white line barely 5 in long that disappeared beneath the fabric of her dress. “How did you get this scar?” he asked quietly, his fingers hovering above the mark without touching.

Seline’s eyes widened, shock and confusion warring in her chest. “How did you even see that? It’s It’s barely visible. Aleandro looked up, meeting her gaze with intensity that stole her breath. I always see everything, Seline. She pulled the strap back up quickly, covering the scar, her heart hammering for reasons she couldn’t quite name.

It was a car accident when I was just a kid. Alessandro turned away, looking out at the city below, and silence stretched between them heavy with things he wasn’t saying. Then he spoke, his voice quiet and careful. I was the one who pulled you from that car 14 years ago in Paris. He paused, letting that land.

I was the one who put you in the ambulance. That’s how I know about the scar. Selene’s breath stopped completely, the world tilting sideways as his words rearranged everything she thought she knew. “You,” she whispered, her voice breaking on the single word. “But I don’t remember.” You were injured and in shock,” Aleandro said, still not looking at her.

“You’d been taken, kidnapped from school by your father’s driver, the man who was supposed to pick you up that day.” He turned back to face her, his expression harder now, more controlled. “Your father came to my family for help, because involving the police would have put you in more danger. So, we found you.

” Tears welled in Selen’s eyes before she could stop them. 14 years of buried fear and fragmented memories, suddenly crashing back in pieces she’d spent years trying to forget. Alessandro stepped closer, his hand rising to brush against her hair with surprising gentleness. You’re a brave girl, Seline. Do you know how that car crashed? He didn’t wait for her answer.

You stabbed a pen into the driver’s neck from the back seat. The man your father trusted to pick you up from school. the man who was actually working for a criminal organization planning to use you for diplomatic blackmail. His voice dropped lower. When I found the car, it had already crashed. I was the first one there.

A tear escaped down Seline’s cheek, and she couldn’t stop it. Couldn’t control the emotion welling up from places she’d locked away. “I don’t remember the details. I tried so hard not to remember.” Her voice broke. She whispered almost to herself. What happened to him? To the driver, Aleandro pulled her into his arms, and Seline found herself pressed against his chest.

Feeling safer than she had any right to feel with a man she barely knew, a man her father had warned her about, a man who was dangerous in every way that mattered. His voice came quiet against her hair. Don’t worry about that. Everyone got what they deserved. Selene stood in his embrace, tears falling silently as 14 years of questions suddenly had answers she’d never expected.

As the man holding her became something more than attraction or danger, became the person who’d saved her life when she was 9 years old and terrified. And somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice whispered that this changed everything. That walking away from Aleandro Moretti had just become impossible. Not just because of the desire she couldn’t deny, but because of a debt she could never repay.

Before she could think better of it, Selene rose onto her toes and kissed him, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt to pull herself closer. The kiss lasted only a heartbeat, soft questioning before she pulled back to read his reaction. Aleandro’s hand came up to cup her face, his thumb brushing her cheek as he leaned in, and returned the kiss with careful restraint.

But then he stopped himself, breaking away even though his breathing had changed. Seline, his voice came out rough. Are you sure about this? Because I know there’s something here between us. I feel it, too. But you need to understand I’m not safe for you. She lifted her chin and met his eyes. Then why’d you invite me here tonight? This wasn’t about the paintings, and we both know it. No.

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