Serena:
The kiss ended before I was ready for it to. Or maybe it lasted too long.
Because when Nico pulled back, the silence wasn’t soft—it was sharp. Heavy. Like we’d crossed a line and couldn’t find the way back.
I blinked at him, heart still hammering. His fingers lingered on my wrist, warm and grounding.
But the moment was shattered with a single word.
"Serena."
Matteo.
His voice was low, quiet—but it hit like a warning.
Nico let go of me, slowly, jaw clenching as he stepped back into the shadows like he was used to disappearing, like he expected to be told to.
I turned to find Matteo standing in the hallway, still and unreadable. His arms were crossed, but his knuckles were white where they gripped the curve of his biceps. The tension in him wasn’t casual. It was coiled.
Co
