Chapter 1: The First Lie
They say the dead can’t speak...but in Italy, Elina De Luca swore she could still hear her mother’s voice.
She had come here for a fresh start... but as the plane touched down and the foreign wind kissed her skin, one thought settled deep in her chest.
Was this really a new beginning...
Or the beginning of the end?
It was in the silence between strangers’ footsteps at the airport. In the warm wind that pressed against the glass window of the plane just before landing. In the way her name echoed in her father’s cold tone when he said, “Elina.”
The first thing she did when she saw him was lie.
“I’m fine,” she said.
That was the first lie.
A simple, hollow thing meant to keep everything else from spilling out. But grief had a strange way of surviving every disguise...
Rome, Italy – Fiumicino Airport
Leonardo De Luca stood exactly where he said he’d be... tall, straight-backed, dressed in charcoal gray like he was heading to a business meeting instead of reuniting with his daughter after fourteen years.
“Elina,” he said again, quieter this time.
She stared at him. He looked… older, yes. But not unfamiliar. That was the worst part.
He didn’t look like a stranger. He looked like someone she could’ve known. Someone she should’ve known.
“Hi,” she murmured, gripping the strap of her bag tighter.
He took it from her without a word, turned, and began walking...
In the Car
The silence was louder than the engine.
Rome blurred past the windows... chaotic, golden, ancient... but Elina didn’t see any of it. Her eyes stayed fixed on the man beside her.
“I thought you lived in Milan,” she said finally.
“I moved back,” he replied. “After your mother…”
He didn’t finish.
Her chest tightened. “You were on the phone with her the night she died, weren’t you?”
He nodded once.
“You two spoke often?”
“Every night.”
She turned toward him sharply. “Every night? And yet you lived on separate continents. I grew up without you. Why?”
His fingers flexed against the steering wheel.
“We had our reasons.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Leonardo sighed... “No, it isn’t.”
The Villa
The car rolled through massive iron gates that creaked open like a secret being told. The villa loomed ahead... elegant and cold. Stone, vines, silence.
Everything about it whispered: You don’t belong here anymore.
Leonardo parked and led her inside without ceremony. The walls were lined with expensive art, and the air smelled faintly of lavender and dust.
“This way,” he said, walking down the hall. “Your room is the last door on the left. It’s… exactly as you left it.”
She froze. “You kept it?”
He nodded. “Your mother made sure of it.”
He turned and walked away...
Elina’s Room
She stepped inside and forgot how to breathe.
The room was untouched. Frozen in time. Childhood drawings still taped to the wall. A worn teddy bear slumped on the shelf. A little music box on the desk..the same one her mother used to wind every night before bed.
Elina sat on the bed and slowly opened the box.
The tune floated out... soft and cracked with age.
She hadn’t remembered this room. Not clearly. Just flashes...laughter, warm hands, the soft hum of her mother singing.
And somewhere in the back of her mind... her father’s voice.
But that couldn’t be right. He hadn’t been there, had he?
She picked up a photo frame from the nightstand. Her heart clenched.
There they were..her mother, her father, and herself..smiling. Whole. Together.
If they had loved each other so much…
Why had they lived apart?
Why had she grown up without him?
And why had her mother never explained why?
A quiet knock broke her thoughts.
Leonardo stood at the doorway, one hand resting on the frame.
“I thought you might want something to eat,” he said.
She shook her head. “No appetite.”
He hesitated. “Do you remember this house at all?”
“Not really,” she whispered. “Just pieces.”
He gave a tight nod. “It’s okay. It’ll come back.”
She looked up. “Why didn’t you ever come to see me?”
He didn’t flinch. Didn’t sigh. He just… looked tired. And older than a man who looked so young.
“Because I couldn’t,” he said. “And because your mother asked me not to.”
“Why?”
His eyes dropped to the floor. “She said the less you knew, the safer you were.”
Elina’s pulse stuttered. “Safe from what?”
But Leonardo had already turned away...
She sat alone in the dim, quiet room, her hands resting on the music box as it slowed to its final note.
She had come to Italy to say goodbye to her mother.
She never expected to start uncovering the life her mother had hidden from her.
And she never imagined that her father's silence would be louder than grief...
The Next Day
The sun was too bright for someone who’d barely slept.
Elina stood outside the main building, white shirt crisp, hands clenched around her bag strap like a lifeline. It was her first day at the School of Architecture...and nothing about it felt like a “fresh start.”
New people. New country. New language.
Still the same lump in her throat.
She inhaled shakily. She could do this. She had to.
And thankfully… she wasn’t completely alone.
Her phone buzzed.
Trish: “I see you. Stop looking like you're about to pass out. And also… I brought coffee. Let’s suffer together 💀☕”
A relieved smile tugged at Elina’s lips.
Few Minutes Later...
Front Courtyard
Trish appeared like a storm in motion...long blonde ponytail swinging, oversized jacket flapping, and the biggest grin on her face.
“Elina De Luca!” she yelled. “You look so hot and panicky!”
Elina winced. “Could you not scream my name in public?”
Trish shoved a coffee into her hands. “Relax. Everyone’s too busy panicking about deadlines to care.”
They started walking toward the main hallway, Trish chattering like old times. They hadn’t seen each other in person for years, but it felt like nothing had changed.
“I still can’t believe we’re in the same college,” Trish said. “I mean, fate? Coincidence? Or maybe my charming personality just pulled you back to Italy?”
A Few Hallways Later
Administrative Wing
The corridor stretched ahead, quiet compared to the buzz outside.
They passed a room labeled Office...Studio Faculty. The door was ajar.
Inside, someone stood with his back turned to them. Tall. Lean. Rolled-up sleeves. Hands in his pockets as he studied something on the shelf.
Trish stopped walking.
“Oh… my... god,” she whispered. “Turn around. Slowly. But don’t make it obvious.”
Elina glanced sideways, barely tilting her head. All she saw was the guy’s back...and okay, maybe Trish had a point.
“That is not a student back,” Trish declared. “That’s the back of a villain in a romance novel.”
Elina stifled a laugh. “You’re literally in a relationship, Trish.”
“I said I was emotionally taken, not blind.”
“Can you not fall in love with someone’s spine?”
“I’ll fall for whatever I want,” Trish hissed.
Elina grinned, nudging her forward. “Come on, drama queen. Studio class is waiting.”
As they walked off, Elina glanced one last time through the open door.
The guy hadn’t moved.
But for a second… she had this weird feeling. Like she’d been seen—without even being looked at.
She shook it off.
Just first-day jitters.
Right?
The First Meet..Or is it?
Later That Day
Outside the Studio Building
Classes drained her. Not because they were difficult..though they were..but because everything felt like a blur of new faces, strange accents, and professors who spoke too fast.
Trish had already bounced.
“Gotta go meet Marco, he’s waiting outside! He skipped his gym hour for me...that’s love, babe!” she'd said, running off like a romcom extra.
Now Elina stood alone in the corridor, stretching her sore shoulders.
Coffee. Toilet. Nap.
In that order.
She glanced around, spotted the restroom signs at the end of the hall, and hurried toward them. Her head was already foggy from the long lectures and the ache in her lower back from too much sketching.
She didn’t notice the blue sign.
Didn’t process the deep voice echoing behind the door.
Until she was already inside.
Elina froze.
Urinals.
She blinked again. Nope, not a dream. Definitely urinals. And the weird scent of aftershave.
“Oh my god!”
She turned sharply, practically slamming herself into the door to get out. Her cheeks burned red from embarrassment.
She pulled the door open—
And collided with a wall.
A human wall.
“Oof—sorry—” she gasped, stepping back.
It was him.
The guy from the office room.
Same dark hair, messy but effortlessly perfect. Sleeves still rolled up. Grey eyes that somehow saw everything without looking too hard.
And right now, he was staring at her with… amusement.
“Wrong turn?” he asked, voice calm, low.
Elina’s heart pounded. “I-I didn’t mean to...I mean, the sign wasn’t clear and I was distracted, and...” She paused. "God, this is so embarrassing."
He leaned slightly to the side, peeking toward the blue sign above the door.
His lips curled into a soft smirk. “Pretty sure it says ‘Uomini’ in capital letters.”
“Okay but not everyone’s fluent in Italian,” she mumbled.
“Fair.” His gaze lingered on her a moment too long. Not in a creepy way,more like… curious. Like he already knew something she didn’t.
Elina folded her arms. “So… are you going to report me or something?”
He smiled. “Hmm. Depends. Are you a serial bathroom crasher?”
She let out a tiny laugh despite herself. “Not usually.”
“Then I guess I’ll let it slide.” He stepped aside with a slight bow. “After you, Miss...?”
“Elina.” She hesitated. “Elina De Luca.”
“Lucian.”
He didn’t offer a last name.
Of course he didn’t.
She moved a step away, then turned back for a moment, still trying to shake off the weird fluster.
“That was… an unexpected way to meet someone,” she said, almost to herself.
Lucian’s smirk didn’t fade. If anything, it deepened.
"Unexpected…?”
he repeated softly."
“Hmm. It is...
maybe"
There was something strange in the way he said it. Not sarcastic. Not amused.
Just… knowing.
Like he was agreeing with her words, but not her meaning.
Elina stood there for a second longer.
Still slightly flustered.
Still slightly annoyed.
And for some weird reason…
smiling.
Outside Campus — Later That Day
The cobblestone street just outside the campus was buzzing with scooters, laughter, and the distant chime of a bell tower. Elina and Trish strolled side by side, their bags slung lazily on their shoulders, the afternoon sun casting a soft gold over the old stone buildings.
“So,” Trish said, eyeing her slyly, “how was your first day, Miss De Luca?”
Elina groaned. “Exhausting. My brain’s melted. And I might’ve died of secondhand embarrassment.”
Trish grinned. “Oh, I need to hear this.”
Elina rolled her eyes, cheeks warming. “I sort of… walked into the boys’ washroom.”
Trish stopped walking. “Wait!what?!”
“I was in a rush! Didn’t notice the sign until I was already inside.” Elina laughed softly. “And as I was running out, I bumped into someone.”
Trish narrowed her eyes. “Not just someone, huh?”
Elina bit her lip. “The guy we saw earlier. In the office.”
Trish let out a dramatic gasp. “Mr. Hot Back?!”
“Shhh!” Elina hushed, laughing. “Yes. Him.”
Trish wiggled her brows. “Fate. I’m telling you. Italy’s working fast.”
“Please,” Elina said, waving it off, “it was so awkward. He found it funny, I think. Just stood there smirking like it was the most entertaining thing ever.”
“Well,” Trish said with a grin, “for what it’s worth… you’ve got one hell of a meet-cute story.”
Elina smiled,but deep down, something still tugged quietly at the edge of her thoughts.
Why did it feel like
it wasn’t just a random bump-in?
Later That Night
Back home, after dinner and a quiet chat with her father, Elina curled into bed,exhausted, but restless.
She stared at the ceiling in the dim room lit only by streetlamps outside…
That moment in the hallway replayed again and again..his eyes, that smile, the way he’d said “unexpected.”
Why couldn’t she shake it off?
It was just a bump-in. Right?
And yet...
Was it destiny?
Or was it planned?
Either way… the chains had begun to tighten.
