VIOLET SWAN.

ITALY.

꘎♡━━━━━━━♡꘎

It’s impossible not to think that someone must’ve paid for this peace I now hold. Something so fragile can’t come for free. Every time I remember Kate’s face from that day, a chill runs up my spine like ice has seeped into my veins.

Aarón and I left Tropea behind not long ago. Now we’re in Calabria, and tomorrow our time here in Italy will end. A new place awaits us. Another border to cross. But for the first time, I don’t feel like I’m running away. I feel like I’m finally arriving somewhere.

I hear him close the door behind him, and the sound pulls me back to the present. I lift my gaze, and there he is—wearing that half-smile of his, arrogant and infuriating… and yet, the one I love more than I should.

“I brought something for you, nena,” he says, extending a small box wrapped in shiny paper.

I stand and walk toward him, feeling the floor beneath my feet like it’s the first time I’m learning how to move. My hands tremble slightly as I take the