The silence didn’t break.
It thickened.
Like the room itself had turned against them.
Matteo didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
Didn’t even breathe the way he had moments ago.
“What did you just say?”
His voice wasn’t loud.
But it carried.
Heavy.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
Giulia held her ground, even as her pulse began to pound harder.
“I said what you heard.”
A flicker of something crossed his face—anger, disbelief, something darker—but it didn’t fully form.
Instead, he stepped closer.
Slow.
Measured.
“You think I don’t know?” he asked.
“I think you don’t know anything for sure,” she replied.
The words cut deeper than she intended.
But she didn’t take them back.
Couldn’t.
Not now.
Matteo let out a sharp breath, dragging a hand down his face before looking at her again.
“You’
