The return to the hotel suite was a blur of neon lights and the rhythmic, jarring rumble of a Naples taxi. Inside the room, the silence was heavy, broken only by the hum of the air conditioner and the distant, muffled sounds of the Italian night. The tension from the balcony confrontation still hummed in the air, a phantom vibration that made the walls feel as though they were closing in.
Elea sat on the edge of the large, mahogany bed, her hands trembling as she clutched a glass of water. She had discarded the midnight blue gown, which now lay in a heap like a dead skin on the floor. In its place, she wore a simple white silk slip that felt far too thin for the chill she felt deep in her bones.
"Are you sure you’re okay, Darling?" Kai asked, his voice low and laden with a weight that
