In the heart of a modern city, two rival families hold the power. Valentina, a fiercely loyal daughter, and Matteo, a cunning and determined son, find themselves on opposite sides of a dangerous feud. But when their paths unexpectedly intertwine, th...
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I step inside, still reeling from everything that happened. Matteo's been acting so strange, and it's driving me crazy trying to figure out what's going on with him.
The kiss keeps playing in my head on a loop, making it impossible to think about anything else.
Before I can even reach the stairs, I hear my dad's voice. "Valentina, you know summer school starts soon, right? We need to talk about your grades."
I roll my eyes. As if I didn't already know. "Yeah, I know," I mutter, not really in the mood for this conversation.
My grades, my classes—it's just one more thing I'm failing at.
I keep walking without bothering to stop. I have bigger things on my mind.
When I get to my room, I find Sabrina lounging on my bed, laughing at something on her phone. I almost want to avoid her, but I could use a distraction—or maybe even some advice.
"Hey," I say, dropping my bag by the door.
She looks up, grinning. "Finally! Took you long enough to get back. What's going on?"
I flop down next to her with a heavy sigh. "A lot. And it's... complicated."
Sabrina sits up, her eyes lighting up with curiosity. "Complicated? Spill. You know I love complicated."
I hesitate for a second before deciding to just tell her everything. "Okay, but you have to swear you won't tell anyone. Like, swear on your life."
She gives me a dramatic eye roll. "Of course. You know I can keep a secret."
I take a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for her reaction. "So... Matteo kissed me. Yesterday."
Sabrina's eyes nearly pop out of her head. "WHAT?! Matteo kissed you? Like, kissed-kissed you?"
I nod, cringing at how big of a deal this feels. "Yeah... during an argument. It just... happened. We were yelling at each other, and then suddenly he kissed me."
Sabrina's jaw drops. "Val, are you serious right now? Why am I just hearing about this?! What happened after?"
I groan, rubbing my hands over my face. "I told him it was a mistake. And then I... I kind of ran off."
Sabrina stares at me, dead silent for a beat before she finally explodes. "VALENTINA, YOU STUPID BITCH! A mistake?! You actually said it was a mistake?!"
I wince at her yelling, already knowing how dumb it sounds now. "I don't know, okay? It just... I freaked out! And he wasn't exactly being all sweet about it either."
She throws her hands up. "You're so dumb! Why would you say that? You kissed him back, right?"
I nod miserably. "Yeah, I did. But it was just... everything was happening so fast, and I panicked. It felt like the right thing to say at the time."
