ISABELLA
The moment my lashes fluttered open, I knew something was different. The bed felt colder… quieter. My fingers stretched across the sheets instinctively, searching for warmth that was no longer there.
Lorenzo?
The name floated to my lips, barely a whisper. My heart gave a startled thump half in panic, half in foolish hope. I sat up slowly, my body aching with a dull, sweet soreness that lingered from the night before. My head was foggy, my chest tight. Last night had been… a firestorm raw, unfiltered, and far too real. The kind of night that left its echo deep in the bones.
I dragged in a breath, letting the silence answer for him.
He was gone.
Not a note. Not a word. Just absence.
My fingers fumbled through my purse until I found the small blister pack. I popped the pill into my mouth, chased it with lukewarm water from the bottle by the bed, and stared ahead blankly. Responsibility first, emotions later.
But that didn't stop the flood.
