The silence that followed felt suffocating, pressing in from all sides until it was almost impossible to think.
Alessia didn’t move. She barely breathed. Her eyes stayed locked on Rafael, searching his face for something anything that would contradict what had just been implied. A denial. A correction. Even hesitation. But he gave her nothing. He didn’t speak. And that silence said more than words ever could.
Her chest tightened painfully.
“What does she mean?” she asked again, her voice quieter this time, but far more dangerous.
Rafael exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening as if the weight of the moment had finally settled on him. For the first time since she had met him, he didn’t look in control. He looked cornered.
“That’s enough,” he said, his tone directed at the woman.
But Alessi
