At first, I did not fully grasp what that ant.
Though it was just a digital card, it was elegant, gold-embossed, glowing faintly against the screen in that quiet kitchen light.
The longer I stared at it, the heavier it felt in my hand, as if it carried a thousand unspoken things beneath.
The invitation extended as I scrolled down the screen. Matteo’s na was right there in those bold, centered letters. That was enough to make my stomach twist.
Sophie leaned closer, her eyes scanning the ssage with quiet curiosity. "Matteo? He’s hosting it?" She murmured out.
I nodded slowly to her question, as the weight of that na settled between us. "It’s the Romano Gala," I said finally, my voice quieter than I intended.
Linda frowned, drying her hands with the towel. "Romano? As in the Romanos?"
"Yes, it’s the biggest one of the year. The kind of event people would sell their souls to attend." I breathed out, not able to tear my gaze from the screen.
The Romano Gala was not just so other party. It was ’The Gathering’. It was the one night when the richest, most powerful families in the country gathered under a single roof.
Deals were made there that never made the newspapers. Power shifted hands quietly over champagne glasses. For most, it was a dream.
An exclusive world of glitter, diamonds, and whispered alliances, but for , it felt like a warning.
Sophie and I exchanged a look, both understanding the sa unspoken truth...that Matteo never did anything without a purpose.
Monts later, Edward walked in, his hair slightly tousled from the night breeze, his expression curious as he saw our faces. "What’s going on?"
All heads turned to him as he gave us a confused look. As I turned the screen toward him, he did not even blink before his mouth pressed into a thin line. "He sent you the invitation?" The last words barely ca out like a whisper.
I nodded again, looking straight into his eyes as I had this feeling that he might know why the hell Matteo invited to the gala.
Edward exhaled as silence fell through. His steps moved towards us as he murmured, scratching his temple, "Of course he did."
"What do you an?" Sophie asked, her tone half-exasperated, and half-worried.
Edward turned his gaze to . His eyes were sharp with understanding, which I could not deny.
"It ans Matteo’s making his next move. The Romano Gala isn’t just about showing off wealth, but it’s where power plays are made public." He paused, looking directly at Sophie’s still-flat stomach. "He wants to announce the pregnancy."
Sophie blinked, taken aback. "Announce... our pregnancy?"
Edward nodded grimly as he himself did not like it a bit, "He wants to make it official. To tell the world that the next Romano heir is on the way. Once that happens, his position becos untouchable. No old family mber, no rival, no external force can question his authority again."
I felt a chill crawl down my spine. The idea of Sophie’s pregnancy, which was sothing so pure, so intimate, was now being turned into a political shield made my stomach twist.
"I have a question, though. The baby is not related to him. Not directly. Wouldn’t people question that?" Sophie stamred, looking at , then at Edward.
"They won’t. Not if I stand beside him." Edward interrupted softly.
I frowned, confused at his statent, "What do you an?"
He t my eyes, his jaw tight. "I’m still legally tied to the Romano family. My bloodline carries weight, enough to make people listen. If I support Matteo publicly, everyone will take the announcent as fact."
For a mont, the room fell silent except for the faint ticking of the clock.
Sophie reached out, touching Edward’s arm gently. "So, this ans he will drag us into his world officially," she said quietly.
Edward didn’t respond imdiately. His gaze shifted between and the glowing invitation still resting in my hand. "He already has," he said finally. "This is just his way of sealing it."
The air felt heavier after that. Even Linda, who had been silent, sighed softly as if realizing that this dinner had been the calm before a storm.
After sending Emma off with Linda and Malcolm for the night, the three of us gathered in the study. The room was quiet, the fire dim, our minds too restless to rest.
Edward sat by the desk, fingers tapping thoughtfully against the wood.
Sophie sat curled on the couch, a blanket draped over her shoulders. Her eyelids fluttered as she tried to stay awake, but the exhaustion of the week was catching up to her.
I sat opposite them, staring at the invitation on my phone again, rereading the lines even though I already knew them by heart.
Every word looked immaculate...elegant fonts, careful phrasing, the subtle mark of authority. But all I could see behind it was Matteo’s face: calm, calculating, unflinching.
A part of wanted to throw the phone across the room. Another part wanted to know why . Why send it to , of all people?
Sophie’s soft breathing caught my attention. Her head had tilted against Edward’s shoulder, eyes closed.
Edward looked at her, his expression lting into sothing impossibly gentle. He brushed a loose strand of hair from her face before standing carefully. "She needs rest," he said softly.
I nodded. "Go. I’ll lock up."
He gave a tired smile and carried Sophie upstairs, leaving alone in the dim room.
When the last echo of their footsteps faded, silence pressed in again which felt heavy and thick.
I leaned back in the armchair, staring into the dying embers of the fireplace. My thoughts spun in ssy circles, refusing to settle.
How did I even get here?
Just months ago, I was still fighting through a failing marriage. I rembered signing papers, reading promises that no longer mattered, wondering where love had gone wrong.
And then, sohow, I stumbled into a world of danger, loyalty, and strange alliances.
Sophie and Edward had been my anchors, the only real warmth in all this chaos, but Matteo... he was sothing else entirely.
Cold, sharp, unreadable. A man who saw the world in transactions. And yet, against my better judgnt, I kept being pulled into his orbit, a gravity I couldn’t explain or escape.
I exhaled deeply and rubbed my temples. Sleep felt like a distant dream, but my body ached for it anyway.
I got up, climbed the stairs quietly, and entered my room. The lights from the garden filtered through the curtains, bathing everything in a soft golden glow. I changed into my nightclothes, lay down, and stared at the ceiling.
But my mind refused to rest.
It wandered to Matteo’s eyes when he was angry, to his silence when he was thinking, to the way he always seed one step ahead of everyone. And then, painfully, to Davis.
I thought of the unopened envelope still lying in my drawer, the divorce papers that waited like a final goodbye. I thought of his voice, of our mories, of how sothing that once felt endless could vanish so completely.
A single tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.
Then, as if to distract myself from the ache, my thoughts shifted again to Caroline.
It had been so long since I’d seen her. She hadn’t reached out once since everything began. And though I told myself she was probably busy, a small, bitter voice whispered the truth, she didn’t want to be associated with anymore.
Maybe she believed what everyone else did. Maybe she thought I’d changed, or that I’d beco soone dangerous just by standing near Matteo’s world.
The thought stung more than I wanted to admit.
Before I could overthink it again, I picked up my phone. My fingers hesitated only for a second before typing out a ssage:
"Café de Lumière. Tomorrow morning?"
It was simple but it was enough.
I hit send, turned off my phone, and set it aside.
As my eyes slowly fluttered closed, the faint echo of Matteo’s na lingered in my thoughts, tangled with mories, regrets, and the faint hum of uncertainty.
Tomorrow would bring answers. Or more questions.
But for now, all I could do was breathe and let the darkness pull under.
And as sleep finally crept in, one thing was certain, whatever was coming next...It was no longer just Matteo’s world.
I was already a part of it.
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