Chapter 71. Not Him Again

Elena POV

I don’t mean to run. I just need air, anything but the suffocating hush that follows Alessandro’s heels as he leaves.

My feet carry me across the marble without thinking, past frozen faces and scattered masks, until the heavy doors of the ballroom slide open and the cool night air of the terrace wraps around me like a promise.

I hear footsteps behind me but I don’t turn to know who that is. I don’t even care about anyone or anything right now.

I press my palms to the cold stone balustrade and try to breathe. The city lights of Florence scatter beneath me, beautiful and indifferent.

For a few seconds I let the music drift up from the hall like a distant heartbeat, and I lean my forehead on the balustrade as if that will hold me together.

“Elena?” Valentina’s voice, bright and breathless, pulls me back from the edge. She appears at the terrace door with Gianna at her elbow.

Valentina is trying to smile even though her brow is