Elena didn’t know how she ended up back in his car.
She just knew she was there.
Again.
Rain tapping lightly against the windows. City lights blurred in the distance. The engine off.
And Alessandro too close.
Too quiet.
Too controlled… for now.
“You didn’t have to bring me back here,” she said softly.
“I know,” he replied.
A pause.
Then quieter:
“I wanted to.”
That made her look at him.
There was something different in his face tonight.
Less arrogance.
Less edge.
More exhaustion.
Like holding back was starting to cost him.
Elena exhaled slowly. “This situation is getting out of hand.”
Alessandro gave a short, humorless laugh. “You think I don’t know that?”
Silence.
Then she added, quieter:
“You can’t keep pulling me into your chaos.”
His eyes flicked to her instantly
