CHAPTER 20 — THE WAY THINGS CHANGED
1300 Words
📖 CHAPTER 20 — THE WAY THINGS CHANGED
POV: SERA
I started noticing the little things first.
The way Alessandro always slowed down his steps whenever I walked beside him, like he was unconsciously matching my pace. The way the staff suddenly stopped asking me questions directly and instead looked at him first before speaking, almost like they already understood I belonged near him now.
And maybe the scariest part was that I had started getting used to it too.
That realization sat heavily inside my chest for days.
Because I remembered who he was.
I remembered the things I overheard.
The things people whispered when they thought I wasn’t around.
But somehow those things kept clashing against the version of him I saw when we were alone.
The version that adjusted blankets around my shoulders during storms.
The version that watched whether I had eaten.
The version that looked at me too long when I laughed.
And I didn’t know which version was real anymore.
Maybe both were.
Maybe that was the problem.
---
I was sitting in the kitchen late that evening peeling oranges when Isabella walked in dramatically carrying shopping bags in both hands.
“You know,” she announced, dropping them loudly onto the counter, “I’m starting to feel like the third wheel in my own house.”
I blinked up at her.
“What?”
She pointed at me accusingly. “You and my brother keep having these emotionally intense silent moments everywhere.”
Heat crept into my face immediately. “We do not.”
Isabella stared at me blankly.
“Sera.”
“We don’t.”
“You literally stare at each other like divorced people still in love.”
I nearly choked on air.
“Isabella!”
She burst into laughter while I buried my face in my hands.
“You’re blushing,” she gasped dramatically. “Oh my God, this is the best day of my life.”
“You’re horrible.”
“And yet you love me.”
A reluctant smile pulled at my lips despite myself.
---
“You look happier lately,” Isabella said more softly after a moment.
That made me pause.
Because I didn’t know how to answer that.
Was I happier?
Or had I just gotten too comfortable inside something dangerous?
I didn’t know anymore.
---
Before I could respond, footsteps entered the kitchen.
Alessandro.
My eyes lifted automatically toward him.
And like always lately, his found mine immediately.
The air shifted so subtly it almost annoyed me.
Because Isabella noticed too.
Of course she did.
“Oh look,” she sighed dramatically. “The staring begins again.”
Alessandro ignored her completely.
“You skipped lunch.”
I stared at him.
“You remember that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His expression barely changed. “Because you barely ate breakfast either.”
My chest tightened strangely.
Again.
That dangerous warm feeling.
The one I was starting to hate because it kept making me forget logic.
---
Isabella looked between us slowly before muttering, “This is genuinely disturbing to watch.”
“Leave then,” Alessandro replied calmly.
She gasped theatrically. “Wow. Betrayed by my own blood.”
I laughed quietly before I could stop myself.
The sound made Alessandro glance at me again.
And the way his gaze softened almost imperceptibly after hearing me laugh made something shift uneasily in my stomach.
Because no one had ever looked at me like that before.
Like my happiness physically affected them.
---
Later that night, the rain started again.
Not violent.
Just steady against the windows.
I sat curled near the couch reading while Alessandro worked across from me with papers spread over the table.
It should have felt strange.
But it didn’t anymore.
That was what scared me most.
How normal we had started feeling.
---
“You’ve read the same page three times.”
I looked up instantly.
“What?”
“You keep rereading it.”
I stared at him suspiciously. “Are you watching me instead of working?”
“No,” he said calmly.
A pause.
“Not entirely.”
I rolled my eyes softly, but heat still rose to my cheeks.
He noticed that too.
I knew he did.
Because Alessandro noticed everything about me now.
---
The thunder cracked louder this time.
My body tensed before I could stop it.
Immediately, his attention sharpened.
Without saying anything, he stood and walked toward me.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like he understood sudden movements still unsettled me sometimes.
“You’re alright,” he said quietly.
It wasn’t a question.
Just reassurance.
And somehow that made it worse.
Because I believed him.
---
He sat beside me after a moment.
Closer than before.
Close enough that warmth spread through my side where our arms brushed lightly.
I should have moved away.
I didn’t.
---
“You’re thinking again,” he murmured.
I stared down at the book in my lap.
“I think too much.”
“Yes.”
That earned a soft glare from me.
A faint almost-smile touched his mouth briefly.
And for one terrifying moment, he didn’t look dangerous at all.
He looked… young.
Tired.
Human.
That was the version of Alessandro that ruined my ability to stay rational.
---
My voice lowered before I could stop myself.
“You’re different with me.”
His gaze stayed on mine steadily.
“I know.”
“Why?”
Silence stretched between us.
Not uncomfortable.
Just full.
Heavy.
Like something important was sitting between us waiting to be acknowledged.
---
Finally, he spoke quietly.
“Because you treat me differently.”
I frowned slightly. “How?”
“You saw me weak first.”
The words caught me off guard.
Alessandro rarely spoke about himself directly.
Ever.
---
“You could’ve left me there that night,” he continued calmly. “Most people would have.”
I remembered it instantly.
The blood.
The rain.
The way he looked barely conscious while still trying to remain dangerous.
“I couldn’t just leave you.”
“You should have.”
“But I didn’t.”
His eyes stayed on mine longer this time.
And something about the look inside them made my heartbeat stutter softly.
Not lust.
Not obsession.
Something deeper.
Something quieter.
---
“I don’t understand you,” I whispered.
His gaze lowered briefly to my lips before returning to my eyes again.
“You don’t need to.”
The way he said it made warmth crawl slowly up my neck again.
Dangerous warmth.
The kind that made people stay when they should run.
---
The thunder cracked again outside.
Instinctively, my fingers tightened slightly around the blanket near me.
Before I could even react, Alessandro reached over and gently pulled me closer against his side.
Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I froze slightly.
Not because I wanted him to stop.
Because I didn’t.
And that terrified me.
---
“You’re shaking,” he murmured quietly.
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re pretending to be.”
I swallowed softly.
Because he was right again.
And I was beginning to hate how easily he could read me now.
---
For a long moment neither of us spoke.
I could hear the rain.
His breathing.
My own heartbeat.
And slowly, without thinking too hard about it, I relaxed against him.
Just slightly.
But enough for him to notice.
He always noticed.
---
His hand rested lightly against my arm.
Not controlling.
Not forcing.
Just there.
Warm.
Steady.
Safe.
And maybe that was the real problem.
Because I was beginning to feel safer with a dangerous man than I had ever felt with anyone else.
And somewhere deep down…
I knew that could destroy me later.
- Writer
