Turning Point||Book 2

16: Xenia.

Exiting onto the street, the coolness of the evening air embraced us, causing a shiver to ripple through me. The bustling cityscape stretched out before us, illuminated by the soft glow of streetlights casting long shadows on the pavement.

The soft drone of vehicles hummed in the background.

My gaze flickered to him, walking beside me. His presence daring, his stature, as usual, tall and imposing. Dark hair framed a strong jawline, and piercing eyes reflecting the faint light of the street lamps. Hell, he emanated an aura of self-assurance, each action deliberate and focused.

His tailored suit hugged his lean frame in a damning way. A hint of stubble trimmed his jaw, adding a rugged edge to his otherwise polished appearance.

It was as if there were invisible strings tying us together, undeniable and intoxicating.

As we walked side by side, I was tormented by his silence, because I knew its origin. It all stemmed from a chance encounter minutes earlier when he witnessed another man calling me. Romano, never one to show jealousy before, now seethed with it, a revelation that caught me off guard. Our history had never hinted at such possessiveness because it had been short-lived without the presence of other men, but now it festered underneath, threatening to erupt.

Though, I refused to be shackled by his expectations. I owed him nothing, having severed ties long ago. His discovery of my whereabouts was mere happenstance, not my doing. The purpose of our walk was clear to me—to evade the dangerous intimacy that lurked within the confines of privacy. The temptation to succumb to old desires, to lose myself in his embrace once more, tugged at my resolve relentlessly. But the streets of Sicily provided a temporary refuge, a buffer against rash decisions.

We were no longer the same people who once reveled in the flames of passion. Acting on impulses of the past would only inflict fresh wounds upon our already scarred souls.

Standing before Golden Vale, I planted myself firmly, arms crossed in defiance. Beside me, Romano halted, though his pause bore a different weight. Despite the anger etched on his face, the true depths of his emotions remained a mystery, hidden behind a stoic facade.

Gazing at the imposing doors of Golden Vale, I grappled with a sense of betrayal, hesitant to choose between loyalty to my sister and the unsettling presence of the man who had exacerbated our troubles.

Time stretched agonizingly as we stood in silent confrontation until Romano finally broke the tension with a forceful exhale, turning his gaze squarely on me. "This obsession of yours..." His words were punctuated by labored breaths. "It spells trouble." His unexpected pivot to the topic at hand caught me off guard. Perhaps duty outweighed jealousy in his mind—a twisted sense of priority that sickened me to my core. "I'll settle Joanna's debt if you abandon this foolish pursuit."

But his offer came too late. Had it been mere months earlier, I might have entertained the notion of extricating myself from this tangled web. At this moment, the consequences outweighed my dwindling resolve.

"I've got the entire weight of a book publishing empire behind me, Romano. I'm bound by contract," I confessed, breaking eye contact to emphasize the seriousness of my predicament. "Any deviation from our plans now would unleash legal hell. I've already spilled everything I know; backing out now would just mean losing out on payment, not stopping the book's release. My hands are tied, you see."

Romano's frustration erupted like a volcano, fueled by more than just the book itself. "You can't just dive headfirst into something without considering the consequences, Skylar!" he erupted, his anger bubbling over. But it ran deeper than mere business decisions. "You can't wake up one day and decide to damn the consequences to hell."