chapter thirty one

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And so what? I fell, you fell in love a couple times
Tell me, what's it to ya? Tell me, is it a crime to fall
To fall in love, in love a couple times?"
-Is it a crime by Mariah the Scientist

And so what? I fell, you fell in love a couple timesTell me, what's it to ya? Tell me, is it a crime to fallTo fall in love, in love a couple times?"-Is it a crime by Mariah the Scientist

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AMIRA

I decided halfway through the elevator ride that I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. He doesn't deserve it anyway

Not after that stunt he pulled.
Not after the picture. Not after the humiliating, shameless evidence Alessandro had sent like he was proud of his lack of self-control. And definitely not after the silence.

Because silence from Alessandro wasn't peace, and this man was plotting.

I stood behind the mirrored doors as the elevator climbed, watching my own reflection like it was a witness I didn't trust. My lipstick was perfect, hair ate like rent was due. My face was calm in a way that felt almost illegal. Lethal face card due to yesterday's lymphatic drainage massage.

I look like a woman who hadn't just texted a man "Cute. Are you always this desperate, Ale?" and then been ignored like she was the one who crossed the line.

I take a deep breath right before the steel doors open because I don't know what I'm about to walk into

The office floor was already on 100, with coworkers conversing among themselves. Mariella spots me and waves at me, I return the gesture and smile. Assistants with iPads moving across the stone flooring as if deadlines were to be made.

I walked toward the glass conference room where my life kept colliding with the one person I never asked to share existence with.

And then I saw him.

THIRD PERSON POV

Alessandro was already seated. Elbows on the table. A folder open in front of him that he wasn't reading. There was espresso beside his hand, untouched. A watch on his wrist so expensive it could've paid off someone's student loans out of spite.

He didn't look up when she entered.

Not because he didn't notice.

Because he noticed everything.

The room felt like it tightened.

The air seemed to get sucked out of any room they share.

There were partners inside. A couple of investors. One representative from a major distribution company. Men in suits. Women in suits. People who lived off handshakes and controlled smiles.

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