Chapter 317: Infuriating door

CHAPTER 318

KATYA POV

Morning arrived, but it didn’t feel like morning. It felt like the night had simply faded into a lighter shade of darkness. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking at the unfamiliar stillness surrounding me.

For several seconds, I remained exactly where I was, staring blankly at the ceiling while sleep clung stubbornly to the corners of my mind.

My body felt heavy. Not the satisfying heaviness that followed a good night’s rest. This was different. Every muscle ached with the dull reminder of everything that had happened only hours ago.

The endless clicking of my heels against concrete. The tension that had refused to leave my shoulders from the moment I’d seen those three bodies lying in the alley.

Even now, safely tucked beneath warm blankets inside my bedroom, I didn’t feel rested.

I felt… drained. Emotionally. Physically. Mentally. I let out a long yawn, stretching lazily before slowly pushing myself upright against the headboard.

My white hair had become a tangled mess sometime during the night, falling over my face as I rubbed at tired eyes.

Sleep hadn’t come easily. Every time I’d begun drifting off, my mind had dragged me right back into that alley. The flashing police lights.

Romeo.

Always Romeo.

I frowned. That was the part I understood the least. Everything else made sense. His silence. His coldness.

The way he’d walked past me without saying a single word.

That was the Romeo I knew.

Or…

At least, the Romeo I thought I knew.

What didn’t make sense… Was everything that happened afterward. I pulled the blanket tighter around my legs, staring absently toward the floor.

He could have ignored us.

Honestly…

That was exactly what I’d expected him to do. The moment Chiara suggested asking him for a ride, I’d already prepared myself for rejection. It would’ve suited him.

He could have looked at us once… Driven away… And left us standing outside that club with nothing but our own terrible decisions.

Instead… He had unlocked the doors. He hadn’t asked questions. He hadn’t mocked us. He hadn’t reminded us how foolish we’d been.

He had simply said…

Okay.

Then, when we’d gotten home… He could have done the opposite. He could have told Nonna everything.

That we’d sneaked into a nightclub. That we’d nearly gotten caught in the middle of whatever madness had erupted there.

Instead… He lied. For us. A slow sigh escaped my lips. I still couldn’t understand it. Nothing about Romeo suggested he was the type of man who covered for people.

Especially not me. If anything… He seemed to enjoy watching me panicked, watching me struggle.

Yet last night… He had stood there as though protecting our secret had been the most natural thing in the world.

Why? The question circled endlessly inside my head. I hated unanswered questions. Especially when they involved him.

With a quiet groan, I leaned my head back against the headboard.

My gaze drifted instinctively toward the narrow connecting door built into the wall separating my room from Romeo’s.

The stupid door. The ridiculous secret door that had completely changed the way I viewed this bedroom from the day I’d discovered it.

It remained firmly shut. Silent. I stared at it for a long moment. He was probably still asleep. I hadn’t heard the connecting door open once after we’d all returned home.

Not a single sound. No footsteps. No voices. Nothing. Which meant… He had to still be there.

Sleeping.

Good. That somehow felt easier. Because another problem immediately surfaced inside my head.

Should I…

Thank him?

The thought made me physically cringe. I buried my face briefly in my hands before groaning into my palms.

“Oh, God…”

Thank Romeo?

The sentence sounded wrong before I’d even finished thinking it.

But…

Wasn’t that what decent people did?

Someone helped you.

You thanked them.

Simple.

Except… Nothing involving Romeo had ever been simple. How was I even supposed to say it?

Thank you for lying to my guardian so we wouldn’t get caught after sneaking into a nightclub that ended with police, smoke and dead bodies?

Absolutely perfect.

I let my hands fall back into my lap. No.

Maybe not.

Maybe pretending nothing had happened would be better. He certainly hadn’t acted like he wanted gratitude. He’d barely looked at us after we climbed into his car. He’d barely spoken at all.

Perhaps he’d only lied because explaining everything to Nonna would’ve been inconvenient. That sounded much more like something Romeo would do.

Practical. Efficient. Detached.

Not… Kind. Kindness didn’t seem to fit him. My thoughts wandered unwillingly back to the alley.

I could still picture him standing beneath the amber streetlight.

Motionless.

That cigarette balanced carelessly between his fingers. Watching. My stomach tightened.

Even remembering that look made my heartbeat quicken slightly.

No.

One kind act didn’t erase everything else. He still terrified me.

I wasn’t about to forget the way my entire body had frozen the moment our eyes met. Nor was I going to forget how calmly he’d walked away from three dead men.

I drew another slow breath before forcing those thoughts away.

Enough. I was tired of thinking about him.

Unfortunately… My eyes wandered straight back to the connecting door.

Still closed. I narrowed my eyes at it. My attention shifted toward the large windows across the room. Heavy curtains remained drawn tightly together, shutting out almost every trace of the outside world.

Only the faintest sliver of bluish light escaped around the edges.

Morning. Sort of. I reached blindly toward my bedside table until my fingers found the clock.

6:17 a.m.

I frowned. Too early. The house would still be quiet. Most of the staff wouldn’t even be awake yet.

The sun hadn’t fully risen either. Judging by the dim light slipping through the curtains, dawn was only just beginning to push away the night.

I sighed. Maybe I could still fall asleep. I settled deeper beneath the blankets, pulling them back over my shoulders before closing my eyes.

One minute passed. Then another. Nothing. Sleep stubbornly refused to return. My brain immediately resumed exactly where it had left off.

Romeo.

The club.

Nonna.

The lie.

I opened one eye again.

“…Seriously?”

I shut it.

Immediately another thought appeared.

Should I thank him?

Both eyes snapped open.

“Oh, come on.”

I threw the blanket dramatically away from myself before swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

The cold wooden floor greeted my bare feet. There was no point pretending anymore. Sleep wasn’t coming back. Not this morning.

Not after last night.

With another tired yawn, I slowly stood, stretching until my back gave a satisfying little crack.

Maybe getting ready for the day would quiet my thoughts.

Or…

At the very least…

Keep me from staring at that infuriating connecting door for another hour.