Alessio's POV.
The wind whips past my face as we ride into the hills, the early sunlight spilling across the fields. Lily is beside me, her hair catching the light, her eyes bright, a small smile playing on her lips. She looks… free. Unburdened. Almost like the world hasn’t touched her yet. Almost like she belongs here, away from everything I’ve built and everything I’ve lost.
But I can feel it—there’s something there, a weight behind her eyes. She’s holding back, measuring every word, every glance. I’ve known that look before, and I know it isn’t something small. She’s thinking, calculating… worried about something.
I try to push it from my mind, focusing instead on the hills, on the silence that stretches between the trees, on the horses beneath us. I savor the feeling of not being Al
