y's

ered by the sharp click-clack

e, it wa

to the room. Their faces were pinched with fury, and it

n Matteo with pure disgust. She didn't just look at me like I'd d

e!" she spat, her voice shrill. "You

s most sinful sin. Amelia pointed a tremb

astard playboy of the Romano family! You thi

t as quickly, a slow, dangerous smile touched his lips, "Mrs. Anderson," he said, his

. "I..." she sputtered, clearly

ctly a model citizen, I still carry the Romano surname. Got my name inked right in the Romano family registry."

reat hung hea

d by all of them. "Since there's nothing between u

if they couldn't believe the

. He was worse. He gave George a death glare and said, "This is th

holas's arm and stormed out after him, dragging her so

ng murder, but he couldn't touch me. Not

his 'future wife' to

o be his wife? In my last life, I knew what he became. The

huge, terrifying problem wi

e pointed an angry finger at me, his whole body shaking. "How can you be s

sed, not to strike, but

ver m

m back with an effortless, almost casual, force. My f

n, his voice pure ice. "Yo

f protection his shadow offered faded, and I felt the cold judgmen

ce surprisingly steady, "once bo

ought Erina into our home as if she'd always belonged. And then, after Josefina gave birth to my little brother... I was forgotten. I wasn't his e

h rage, "I am your father! You

ah," I said, the word dripping with the sarcasm of a

s reply. The last br

, and I didn't just hold it-I clung to it. His fingers imm

n the wreckage. We left them in a stunned, speechless silence, their faces a mask of

et them

the cold, quiet night. The adrenaline that had been screaming

I was still clingi

m porch light, and his gaze was entirely too intense, too searching. It was a look tha

eaded internally. I can't handle

more like a grimace. The tears I'd refused to shed i

klace back. It... it was my mother's." I looked away, taking a

my apology. He just watched

n the car. It sounds very... tempting. But I

ing, his body still shielding me from the house by instinct.

d. This wasn't just a plea for hel

im," I proposed, "and I'll save you from

his eyes narrowed dan

a whisper, "do you kno