Chapter 29: Christine’s POV
The room felt colder than it should have been. My arms wrapped around my torso, but the chill wasn’t from the temperature. It was fear. Anxiety. A swirling cocktail of emotions that made it hard to think, let alone breathe.
I wanted to leave.
The thought kept repeating in my head like a broken record. I needed to leave this place, this chaos, this man. But every time the idea solidified, a tendril of doubt wound itself around it and pulled it apart.
The door creaked open, and I froze.
Luca walked in, his expression unreadable, but his presence filled the room with an intensity I couldn’t ignore. My heart leaped—part relief, part dread—as I instinctively stood, my legs shaky beneath me.
Without thinking, I crossed the room and hugged him. It wasn’t a calcul
