Chapter 33. The Past Never Stays Buried

Elena POV

I can’t move.

My legs are frozen, my brain stutters, and my perfectly glossed lips part in stunned silence.

Alessandro fucking Bianchi.

Here.

In Aurelia.

In Florence. In my space.

In my school.

I feel like the ground beneath me has cracked open. My pulse thunders.

A rush of memories floods my brain….him pressing me against cold marble walls, his voice a whisper of seduction and destruction, the late-night fights, the broken promises, the way he kissed me like he was trying to claim my soul… then shattered it like glass.

My breath hitches, my fingers tightening around the strap of my designer bag.

Gianna grabs my arm. “Elena,” she whispers urgently. “Is that…?”

“Yes,” I croak.

Valentina’s eyes go wide. “Holy shit. That’s the infamous Alessandro?”

The infamous Alessandro. The infamous ex.

The one I told them about over endless tubs of gelato and bottles of cheap wine. The guy I s