The room held its breath.
Matteo stood in front of her, waiting.
Alessandro stood behind her, watching.
And Giulia—
Giulia felt like the ground beneath her had quietly disappeared.
“Careful, Giulia.”
Alessandro’s voice lingered in her head.
Not loud.
Not forceful.
But impossible to ignore.
She turned slowly, meeting his eyes.
“You think I don’t know what I’m choosing?” she asked.
His gaze didn’t soften. “I think you’re choosing too fast.”
Matteo let out a quiet, humorless breath. “Of course you do.”
Giulia’s attention snapped back to him.
“Don’t,” she said sharply. “Don’t make this about the two of you again.”
“It already is,” Matteo replied.
“No,” she said. “It’s about me.”
“And the child,” Alessandro added.
That word again.
The child.
It changed everything.
Giulia p
