Serenity
The chill of the night air pressed against my skin, but it was the weight of Luca’s silence that made me feel like I was suffocating. Veronica’s sudden appearance at the balcony door was like a jolt to my system. Her presence was an interruption, but it also felt like a familiar haunting. She was the one who existed in the background of our lives—always there, always lurking, always a shadow that refused to leave.
Luca didn’t turn toward her. He didn’t acknowledge her presence immediately, his gaze still locked on mine. His hand was still close to mine, his fingers brushing against my skin with the barest of touches. It felt like a tether to something that wasn’t real anymore. He didn’t know how to make this better. I knew that. He couldn’t fix the damage. The trust had been cra
