THE PAWN AND THE KING

6

As the car crested the hill and the Grimaldi estate came into full view, my breath caught in my throat. The villa sprawled across the cliffs like something out of a dream—elegant, stately, yet somehow warm and inviting. The deep blue Mediterranean stretched endlessly behind it, the waves crashing far below like a soft, distant hum. It felt... alive, unlike Raeland's own cold and isolated world, which always felt like it was holding its breath.

My fingers curled against the smooth leather of the seat, trying to steady myself. I turned toward Raeland, who was, as usual, a picture of calm nonchalance, his jaw tight as he drove the car with casual precision. He hadn't spoken much since we'd left, his silence making the tension in my chest coil tighter.

"Why are we here?" I asked, my voice quieter than I intended, my curiosity laced with a growing anxiety I couldn't shake. He rarely talked about his family, and when he did, it was with the same clipped distance that he spoke about everything else. Being brought here—his sister's domain—felt like being thrust into the center of something I wasn't supposed to be part of. Yet, beneath the anxiety, there was a flicker of something unfamiliar. Something that felt suspiciously like hope.

Raeland didn't respond right away. His knuckles tightened briefly on the steering wheel before relaxing again, his eyes focused straight ahead as if considering his words.

"Alessia insisted," he said finally, his tone rough but lacking its usual edge.

Alessia insisted? That was enough to pique my curiosity, though Raeland's answer left a thousand questions hanging in the air. I had only heard bits and pieces about Alessia, mostly in passing. She seemed like the only person who could get under Raeland's thick skin—a feat I still found difficult to believe. Yet here we were, at her estate, which told me that Alessia held a power over her brother that even I couldn't fully understand.

As we parked and climbed out of the car, the magnitude of the villa loomed above me, but it wasn't intimidating. It felt... strange to admit, but in its grandness, there was a sense of warmth, a liveliness that Raeland's world never allowed. The moment my shoes hit the gravel driveway, a small knot of nerves tightened in my stomach, my pulse quickening.

Raeland, of course, was already striding ahead, the picture of indifference, his dark silhouette cutting across the bright Mediterranean landscape like he belonged there.

I followed, my heartbeat a chaotic rhythm in my ears as we approached the front entrance. I was barely able to process my nervous thoughts when the door swung open with surprising speed, and there she was—Alessia Moretti Grimaldi.

She was everything I had imagined and more. Tall, commanding, with an air of effortless sophistication. Her dark hair spilled in cascading waves down her back, and her smile... her smile was warm, almost too warm, disarming me instantly. How could someone radiate so much confidence and warmth all at once?

"Raeland!" Alessia's voice was full of enthusiasm as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her brother in a tight hug, which clearly made him uncomfortable. I watched in quiet astonishment, completely unprepared to see this side of Raeland—a man who barely tolerated physical contact, now being squished in his sister's embrace. "Finally! You show your face after weeks of silence."

He grunted, managing a half-hearted return of the gesture. "I've been busy," he muttered, his voice a low rumble.

Alessia pulled back, giving him a teasing smirk. "I'm sure you have," she said, her tone laced with a playfulness that felt completely alien in Raeland's world. But before I could fully take in the dynamics between them, her sharp gaze turned to me, softening immediately.

"Lila!" she said, using my first name with a familiarity that threw me off balance. "It's so good to meet you properly," she added, her smile as warm and stunning as I remembered from that fleeting moment at the wedding. I blinked, trying to reconcile the genuine warmth in her voice with the fact that Raeland had always referred to me as Valenti. Somehow, hearing my first name from her felt more intimate, more personal.