I shouldn’t have felt it.
That shift.
That moment when he said you’re mine.
But I did.
And I hated it.
The rest of the event passed in a blur.
People smiled at me.
Spoke to me.
Pretended to accept me.
But I could feel it underneath.
The judgment.
The curiosity.
The doubt.
I wasn’t one of them.
And they all knew it.
I stayed close to Luca like he told me to. Not because I wanted to… but because it felt safer.
That thought alone made my stomach twist.
Safer.
With him.
“Stay here.”
His voice was low, close to my ear.
I turned slightly. “Where are you going?”
“Business.”
Of course.
“Don’t wander.”
I frowned. “I’m not a child.”
“No,” he said calmly. “But you are a liability.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
Before I could respond, he stepped away.
Just l
