Aftermath
252 Words
Back at the estate, silence settled heavy.
Elena couldn’t sleep.
The image of Romano falling replayed endlessly.
Lorenzo found her on the balcony at 3 a.m.
“You should rest.”
“So should you.”
He stood beside her.
For once, there were no guards within earshot.
No war.
No threats.
“I was afraid,” she admitted softly.
He didn’t speak immediately.
“I was furious,” he said.
“Because of power?”
“Because of you.”
Her breath caught.
“You’re not just strategy anymore.”
The confession was quiet.
But monumental.
“And you’re not just survival,” she replied.
The distance between them disappeared slowly.
Intentionally.
When he kissed her, it wasn’t possession.
It wasn’t dominance.
It was relief.
And something far more dangerous.
Need.
Their marriage changed after that night.
They still argued.
Still challenged each other.
But now there was heat beneath every glance.
One evening, tension snapped.
“You keep trying to protect me from everything,” she said.
“Because I can.”
“I don’t want a cage, Lorenzo.”
He stepped close, eyes dark.
“You are not caged.”
“Then stop treating me like glass.”
Something in him broke.
“I watched a bullet nearly end you.”
- Writer
