The bathroom lights were softer than she expected — warm-toned, gentle, almost like candlelight.
Gia stood barefoot on the cool marble tiles, her bare shoulders exposed as she let the silk dress slide off her body. It pooled at her feet, a dark shimmer against the pale floor. She stepped out of it carefully, as if peeling off someone else's life.
The mirror didn't lie. Her eyes were tired. Her lips were still stained with a soft red, now slightly smudged. Her earrings sparkled under the light, but they felt too heavy — like they belonged to someone more confident.
Someone who fit in.
She unclasped them one by one and set them beside the sink. Then, without hurrying, she twisted the gold handles of the freestanding tub.
Warm water filled the space slowly, steam rising like ghosts from the surface. She added a few drops of lavender oil from a small hotel bottle and watched the ripples curl and fade.
When she slid in, it felt like the first real exhale of the day.
Her head leaned back against the edge of the tub, the tension in her shoulders slowly unraveling with every breath. But her thoughts didn't stop.
She kept seeing his face — Luciano's.
That cold, unmoving expression. That dismissal without a word.
And then she saw Adrian, trying to soften it all. Trying to reassure her.
But even his warmth couldn't erase the fact that she didn't belong.
Not yet.
Gia let her eyes close as the water lapped gently around her skin. She didn't cry. Not because she didn't want to — but because she was too tired.
And tears were a luxury tonight.
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The ride back to the estate was quiet.
Adrian sat in the back of the car, one elbow resting on the window ledge, the city lights flickering against his face. He didn't speak. Didn't check his phone. Just stared out, jaw tight, mind louder than the world outside.
He hated this feeling — the one that crept in when his father looked at him like that. Like a child. Like a disappointment.
But more than that, he hated the look Gia had in her eyes when she whispered, "I don't belong here."
Because she was right.
Not about her value. Never that.
But about this place. This world. This family.
They didn't want someone like Gia in their pristine little ecosystem. Not because she wasn't good enough — but because she wasn't theirs.
She wasn't born into blood and power.
She wasn't part of the mask.
And that made her dangerous.
He ran a hand down his face and leaned back against the seat. He thought bringing her here would show his family — this is who I chose. He didn't expect it to make her feel smaller.
And now, part of him wondered if he'd made a mistake.
Not in choosing her.
But in putting her in their path.
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By the time the car pulled through the estate gates, Adrian didn't get out right away.
He sat in the dark for a few more minutes, eyes closed, fists clenched, jaw tight.
He had never wanted to run away from this life.
Until now.