Chapter 29. Anything Interesting

As we walked through the dark alleyways that had been synonymous with danger for so long, I felt Riccardo’s hand tighten around mine. It was almost as though he were searching for reassurance, a reminder that we had each other, no matter what.

“You did it,” I said softly, smiling up at him. “You saved us.”

He looked down at me with a mixture of pride and exhaustion in his eyes. “We did it, Alessia. We did it together.”

And then, just like that, the weight of everything we had been through seemed to wash over us both. The fear, the danger, and the tension, all culminating in this one moment.

We stopped walking and faced each other, our eyes locked in an intense gaze. And then, without even needing words, we kissed-hard and passionate and full of everything we hadn’t been able to express throughout all those months of uncertainty.

It was overwhelming, the sense of release that came with finally defeating our enemies and cementing the bond between us. I co