Chapter 1. THE END WAS JUST THE BEGINNING
Sara Isabella Aiello had once believed in fairytales. Not the kind found in books, but the ones whispered in stolen kisses, in late-night promises, in the way he used to look at her like she was his entire world.
But fairytales were nothing more than well-dressed lies.
Standing in the dim glow of the city lights, she clutched the crumpled sonogram in her trembling hands. Her baby. Alessandro’s baby. A child born out of love—or at least, what she had thought was love.
The bitter night air burned her lungs as she swallowed the sob threatening to escape. She had spent weeks in solitude, trying to mend the pieces of her shattered heart, but she hadn’t done it alone.
A warm hand rested on her shoulder. “Sara…”
Luca Romano. Her best friend, her anchor—the only one who had never left her side.
He had found her when she had no strength left to stand. When she wanted to disappear, he reminded her who she was. And now, as she stared at the fragile image of the life growing inside her, she realized something.
She wasn’t just a broken woman anymore. She was a mother. And she wasn’t alone.
Luca’s voice was steady, reassuring. “You don’t have to do this alone, Red.”
Her eyes lifted to meet his, blue like the calm after a storm. “I know.”
And for the first time in weeks, she truly believed it.
Somewhere Else in the City…
Alessandro leaned back in his leather chair, the weight of silence pressing down on him.
The glass of whiskey in his hand remained untouched—a rare occurrence for a man who had learned to drown his demons in alcohol.
She was gone.
It had been weeks, and still, his chest ached with a hollowness he couldn’t explain. He had spent years playing with fire, but Sara… she was the one flame he had never meant to lose.And now, for the first time in his life, Alessandro DeLuca had no idea how to win.
V
