CHAPTER 23 — THE THINGS HE STARTED NOTICING
1102 Words
📖 CHAPTER 23 — THE THINGS HE STARTED NOTICING
POV: ALESSANDRO
I knew something was wrong before anyone said anything.
Sera smiled less.
Not dramatically.
Most people wouldn’t have noticed the difference.
I did.
Because I had started memorizing her without realizing it.
The way she tucked her hair behind her ear when nervous. The way she stared too long at windows whenever she was thinking about something difficult. The way her voice softened when she was emotionally overwhelmed but trying to hide it.
And lately…
she had been hiding something.
---
I found her sitting outside near the fountain just before sunset.
She looked peaceful at first glance.
But Sera only looked that still when her mind was loud.
“You’ve been avoiding me.”
Her eyes lifted toward mine immediately.
“I haven’t.”
Too quick.
Again.
I walked closer slowly.
“You barely looked at me during dinner.”
“I was tired.”
Another lie.
Not malicious.
Just protective.
And somehow that irritated me more.
---
I stopped in front of her.
“You’re thinking too much again.”
A faint almost-smile touched her lips briefly.
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s usually true.”
For a second she looked like she wanted to laugh.
But the expression faded too quickly.
That confirmed it.
Something had changed.
---
“What happened after the doctor left?” I asked quietly.
I watched her body tense instantly.
Only slightly.
But enough.
My focus sharpened immediately.
“Nothing.”
“Sera.”
She looked away first.
And that almost never happened anymore.
---
The silence stretched too long.
Then softly—
“I just miss my old life sometimes.”
The answer shouldn’t have unsettled me.
But it did.
Because her voice sounded distant when she said it.
Like part of her was already somewhere else mentally.
---
I sat beside her slowly.
“You’re unhappy here?”
Immediately she shook her head.
“No.”
Too emotional.
Too fast.
And suddenly something cold settled quietly in my chest.
Because people speak like that when the truth is complicated.
---
“You can tell me things,” I said after a moment.
Her fingers tightened slightly in her lap.
“I know.”
“But you don’t.”
That made her look at me finally.
And there it was again.
That strange sadness in her eyes lately.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Something softer.
Worse.
Guilt.
---
Before I could press further, Marco approached from the pathway.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
Which usually meant the opposite.
“Alessandro.”
I looked at him once.
“What.”
“We need to talk.”
I didn’t move immediately.
Because I hated being interrupted when it involved her.
Marco noticed that too.
Of course he did.
“It’s important.”
---
I stood slowly.
Sera looked relieved by the interruption.
That bothered me more than it should have.
“I’ll see you later,” I told her quietly.
She nodded softly.
But she didn’t look fully at me again.
And for the first time in weeks…
something instinctive inside me became uneasy.
---
Marco waited until we reached the office before speaking.
“There’s movement from the De Luca side.”
My expression hardened instantly.
Lucien De Luca.
Of course.
“What kind of movement.”
“They’ve been asking questions about the estate.”
A dangerous silence filled the room immediately.
“Specific questions?”
Marco nodded once.
“About Sera.”
Every muscle in my body went still.
---
Marco continued carefully.
“One of our contacts overheard her name mentioned twice.”
I stared at him coldly.
“How much do they know?”
“Not enough yet.”
Yet.
That word alone was enough to darken my mood instantly.
---
I turned toward the window slowly.
My mind already calculating possibilities.
Routes.
Security failures.
Weak points.
Because if Lucien’s people were asking about Sera…
then someone had noticed her importance.
And that alone made her vulnerable.
---
“She shouldn’t leave the estate for now,” Marco said carefully.
The decision had already formed in my mind before he finished speaking.
“She won’t.”
Marco studied me silently for a moment.
Then—
“She’s already feeling trapped.”
My gaze shifted sharply toward him.
“What.”
“You’re tightening control too fast.”
I stared at him coldly.
“This isn’t about control.”
“No?” Marco asked calmly. “Then what is it?”
Protection.
The answer came instantly inside my head.
But another word followed dangerously close behind it.
Mine.
---
I looked away before he could read too much from my expression.
“She’s in danger now.”
Marco exhaled slowly.
“I know.”
Silence filled the office for a few seconds.
Then more quietly—
“But Alessandro… if you keep closing every door around her, eventually she’s going to look for windows.”
Something uncomfortable twisted sharply in my chest.
Because part of me knew he was right.
And I hated it.
---
Later that night, I found Sera in the hallway outside her room.
She looked startled seeing me there.
Not frightened.
Just distracted.
“You’re awake late,” I said quietly.
“So are you.”
I stepped closer slowly.
Instinctively.
Automatically.
And for some reason tonight…
I noticed the distance between us more than usual.
---
“There’s been a threat,” I told her calmly.
Her expression changed immediately.
“A threat?”
“You won’t be leaving the estate for a while.”
The silence that followed felt wrong instantly.
Not loud.
Not emotional.
Just… empty.
---
Her eyes searched mine carefully.
“For how long?”
“As long as necessary.”
Another silence.
Then softly—
“You already decided that before telling me.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
Because they were true.
---
“Sera.”
“No,” she whispered quietly, shaking her head once. “It’s okay.”
But it didn’t sound okay.
It sounded tired.
---
She stepped back slightly.
Just one step.
But somehow it felt larger than any distance she had ever created before.
“I’m tired,” she murmured softly. “Goodnight.”
Then she disappeared into her room before I could stop her.
---
I stood there for a long time afterward.
Thinking about Marco’s warning.
Thinking about the look in Sera’s eyes.
Thinking about the fact that for the first time…
when she walked away from me—
it felt like she already meant it.
- Writer
