Distant Echo
1021 Words
Gia POV
Gia sat at the dining table, her nails shredded and her nerves raw. Luca was humming while coloring beside her, legs swinging under his chair, blissfully unaware that her entire world had cracked open this afternoon.
She’d picked him up early from school, arms tight around his little body as if it could protect her from what was coming next.
The bombing. Dante’s car. The note.
STAY AWAY FROM WHAT’S MINE.
She couldn’t stop replaying the moment she saw it. The simple block letters, bold and final, burned into her brain.
Her heart had screamed Leo knows. But that couldn’t be. It couldn’t be.
She’d been careful. She’d left her phone behind. Marco had the day off. There were no cameras at Dante’s office — she was sure of it. Sophia had covered for her.
So how could he know?
Still… she kept glancing at the clock. He could walk through that door at any moment.
“What do you think, Mommy?” Luca asked, holding up his latest drawing. It was a giant superhero — muscles, cape, red boots — standing beside a smiling little boy.
“It’s amazing, sweetheart,” she said, her voice steady only because she was practiced. “What’s his name?”
“Luca-Man,” he grinned proudly. “He’s the strongest in the world. Nothing can hurt him.” Gia smiled, but it felt brittle. If only that were true.
She stood up, walked to the stove, and stirred the sauce she’d forgotten was simmering. Dinner. Normal. Everything had to look normal.
The door clicked open.
Her hand jerked, and the wooden spoon clattered onto the stove.
Luca jumped up from his chair. “Daddy!”
Gia turned, plastering on her best smile.
Leonardo walked in wearing a charcoal suit and his usual cologne — the scent that used to make her feel safe, now turning her stomach. He swept Luca up in one arm, kissing his cheek.
“Hey, buddy! How was school?”
“It was great! I drew superheroes, and Mommy picked me up early!”
Gia’s heart skipped. Leo’s eyes flicked to her.
“Did she?” he asked smoothly.
She forced a smile. “He had a stomach ache.”
Leo tilted his head, studying her for a second too long. Then he turned to Luca with a grin. “Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better. Go wash up for dinner, huh?”
Luca scampered down the hall. The silence stretched.
Leo hung up his jacket, loosened his tie. “Smells good in here.”
“Pasta. Your favorite.”
“Mmm.” He stepped behind her at the stove. She felt his hand brush her hip. Too soft to be loving, too firm to ignore.
He leaned in, whispered, “Did you miss me?”
She hated the part of her that flinched.
“Of course,” she lied.
They sat down at the table. Leo poured himself a glass of wine, swirling it in the crystal stem like some patient predator.
“You look tired,” he said casually, sipping.
“I didn’t sleep well,” Gia replied.
“Strange. You were alone in a quiet house.”
Gia’s fingers clenched under the table. She couldn’t tell if it was a jab, or if she was imagining it.
Luca ran into the room and climbed into his chair, chattering away about superheroes and drawings. Leo smiled, nodded in all the right places.
Gia couldn’t taste her food. She just kept looking at Leo’s hands, his smile, the way he seemed too… calm. Too normal.
“So,” Leo said after a while, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. “What did you do today?”
“I helped with charity emails,” she said. “Cleaned. Played with Luca.”
“And?”
“That’s it.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Did you see anyone?”
She hesitated half a second too long.
“Just Sophia,” she said quickly.
Leo held her gaze for a moment longer, then smiled. “Of course. Sophia.”
Gia dropped her eyes to her plate.
Later, after Luca had gone to bed and the dishes were done, she curled up in bed with a book she wasn’t reading. Her stomach was still twisted in knots.
Leo came out of the shower, towel low on his hips. “You’re quiet tonight.”
“I’m just tired.”
He slid into bed beside her. His hand trailed across her hip.
“Too tired for me?”
“No, of course not. I’m never too tired for you,” Gia smiled seductively, or so she hoped.
“Mmm,” Leo hummed, his hand smoothing over her hip. “How else are we going to make that baby I want?”
The reminder made her stomach twist, but she tilted her chin toward him, let her fingers run over his chest like she meant it. “Exactly.”
He kissed her, slow and possessive, and Gia kissed him back, letting her body move on instinct. She closed her eyes and tried to disappear into the dark behind her eyelids. Just get through it. Just let him believe.
His hands roamed her body like he owned every inch, like she was still his. And she let him.
She moaned when she was supposed to. Whispered his name when he liked it. He praised her softly, the way he always did when he thought she was being good. She smiled through it.
And when it was over—when his breath slowed and his grip loosened—Gia turned onto her side, her back to him. She pulled the covers up and curled in tight, trying to keep the tears from falling.
Leo fell asleep within minutes.
She lay awake for hours, thinking of Leo, and what had gone wrong between them.
He used to write her little notes. Leave them in her books, her bags. Can’t wait to see your smile tonight. Back then, she thought he was the man she’d spend forever with.
But now… it was just a distant echo.
- Writer
