Rosa gave a brief, tentative rap on the door before stepping inside. Samuele, who had been perched restlessly on the edge of his chair, stood the moment she appeared. He instinctively closed the distance between them, a fleeting impulse to pull her into an embrace surging through him. He checked himself just as quickly, realizing such a gesture would be a transgression in her eyes; he was painfully aware that she did not share the fervor he felt for her.
“What happened to you?” His expression shifted the moment he noticed the wound on her face. Rosa had removed the heavy dressing, applying only the healing ointment the physician had prescribed before covering it with a simple band-aid.
His hand lifted instinctively to touch her face, but Rosa recoiled, taking a sharp step back.
“It... i
