Chapter 318: Seriously?

CHAPTER 319

KATYA POV

Warm steam still lingered faintly inside my bedroom.

Even after stepping out of the bath nearly half an hour ago, the room carried the clean scent of lavender soap and shampoo, replacing—if only temporarily—the smoke that had seemed permanently trapped inside my memory.

I needed that bath. More than I had realized. I’d stayed beneath the hot water far longer than I normally would have, letting it pour over my head until my skin had turned pink and my fingertips wrinkled.

I had stood there with my eyes closed, trying to wash everything away. But to my dismay none of it disappeared.

Every time I closed my eyes, I found myself right back there. The water had only warmed my skin. It hadn’t quieted my mind.

A slow sigh escaped me as I sat before the vanity mirror, absently studying my reflection.

I looked… Tired. There were faint shadows beneath my eyes that no amount of sleep—or lack thereof—had managed to hide.

My usually neat white hair hung damp around my shoulders, darker than usual from the water, tiny droplets still clinging stubbornly to several strands before falling silently onto the soft fabric of my robe.

The robe itself was thick, warm, and ridiculously comfortable. I had every intention of getting dressed.

Eventually. Instead… I’d somehow ended up sitting here.

Thinking. Again. I reached for the comb resting atop the vanity. Slowly, I drew it through my damp hair.

The familiar motion was strangely calming. Stroke. Then another. The soft scrape of the comb through wet strands became the only sound inside the room.

Stroke.

Another. I watched myself in the mirror without really seeing my own reflection. My thoughts had already wandered somewhere else.

Somewhere frustratingly familiar.

Romeo.

I frowned immediately. I had spent practically the entire night thinking about him. Then most of the morning.

Surely there were more important things occupying my life.

Like…

Nonna.

The thought alone made my stomach tighten. Today’s conversation.

Correction. Today’s interrogation. Because there was absolutely no chance Nonna had simply forgotten about last night. She had postponed it.

Not cancelled it.

There was a difference. A very terrifying difference. She’d looked exhausted beneath the porch lights.

Concerned. Relieved. Which was probably the only reason she’d let us escape upstairs without another word.

But now…

Morning had arrived. Which meant questions would arrive shortly afterward.

Lots of questions. Where had we been? What exactly had Romeo needed help with? Why had we returned so late? Why did we both look like we’d survived a natural disaster?

I grimaced. This was going to be awful Another slow pull of the comb. Perhaps Chiara would do most of the talking.

Actually…

Knowing Chiara… She absolutely would. That thought brought the smallest smile to my lips.

It lasted exactly three seconds. Because another thought immediately replaced it.

Romeo.

Again.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake…”

I set the comb down with slightly more force than necessary. Why was he still inside my head Nothing made sense anymore.

The Romeo I knew shouldn’t have helped us. I rubbed my forehead. The ease with which he’d lied had been almost frightening.

As though he’d rehearsed it.

As though deception came as naturally to him as breathing.

Perhaps it did.

Still… He hadn’t needed to use it for us. That was the part my brain kept circling back to.

Why?

Every answer I came up with somehow created two more questions.

Maybe it had been easier than explaining everything.

Maybe he simply hadn’t wanted Nonna upset.

Maybe…

Maybe…

Maybe.

None of them felt entirely right.

With an irritated sigh, I stood from the vanity.

Enough. If I kept sitting there, I’d still be wearing a bathrobe by lunchtime.

I needed clothes. Preferably something that made me look less like someone who hadn’t slept properly.

Turning toward my wardrobe, I tucked a damp strand of hair behind one ear. The morning light had grown stronger now.

Although the curtains remained drawn shut, thin lines of pale gold had begun slipping around their edges, softly brightening the room.

The day had fully arrived. Unlike me. My bare feet padded quietly across the polished wooden floor.

I reached for the wardrobe handle.

Click. I froze. The sound hadn’t come from the wardrobe. It had come from behind me.

My entire body went still. Slowly… Very slowly…

I turned around. The narrow connecting door built into the far wall had begun to move.

My heart skipped. The handle lowered. The hidden door swung inward. And Romeo stepped through.

Oh my gawd….oh my gawd. He hadn’t noticed me immediately.

Or perhaps he had.

I couldn’t tell. He was dressed far differently than I’d ever seen him before.

No perfectly tailored suit. No expensive overcoat.

Just a fitted black long-sleeved shirt that hugged broad shoulders without effort.

Dark joggers. Simple. Comfortable. Ordinary.

It should have made him seem younger.

Less intimidating. Instead… It somehow achieved the opposite.

Even dressed this casually, he carried himself with that same quiet authority that seemed impossible to ignore.

The black mask rested perfectly across the upper half of his face.

Not a single strand of dark hair sat out of place.

He looked as composed at six in the morning as he always did. His grey eyes lifted.

Met mine. Everything inside me locked. I hadn’t expected him. He clearly hadn’t expected me standing in the middle of the room either.

The silence stretched.

Neither of us spoke.

Neither of us seemed particularly eager to.

Then… Almost absentmindedly… His gaze shifted. It dropped only slightly. Taking in the white robe wrapped securely around me. The damp hair falling over my shoulders.

My bare feet against the polished floor. Heat flooded my face so quickly it almost hurt.

Without thinking, both my hands flew instinctively to the knot tied around my waist. My fingers tightened around the belt of the robe.

Suddenly… I became aware that I was standing in nothing but a bathrobe. I resisted the overwhelming urge to disappear into the wardrobe.

Romeo’s eyes returned to my face almost immediately.

His expression remained completely unchanged.

No amusement. No embarrassment. No teasing smile. Nothing. Just that same unreadable calm.

As though the entire encounter had lasted no more than a passing inconvenience… He looked away.

Without saying good morning. Without acknowledging what had just happened.

He simply continued walking. Past the connecting door. Past the foot of my bed. Toward the bedroom entrance.

His footsteps remained quiet against the wooden floor. The bedroom door opened.

A second later… It closed.

Leaving me standing exactly where I’d been. Still clutching the belt of my robe. I remained frozen for several long seconds.

I looked down. My hands were gripping the robe so tightly my knuckles had turned white.

“…Seriously?”