SOFIA

The kiss ruined everything.

It wasn't because I regretted it. That would have been much easier to bear. The terrifying problem was that I didn't regret it, and neither did Dante. That was precisely what made it so lethal. His final, harsh warning on the terrace—"Loving you will destroy everything"—had left a cold certainty in the estate, and its echo haunted me until the next morning.

I woke up completely exhausted despite having slept very little. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw mysel