Chapter 334: Glimpse

KATYA POV

“…Are you scared?”

I stared at him. The question settled somewhere inside me, refusing to move.

Scared? Of course I was scared.

Of tomorrow. Of the police. Of the bodies in that alley. Of saying the wrong thing. Of somehow making everything worse.

But… If I was completely honest with myself. Those weren’t the only things frightening me.

Romeo. I was still scared of Romeo. The realization struck me with embarrassing clarity. I’d spent the better part of the afternoon convincing myself I’d changed.

That I’d become stronger. Braver. That the frightened girl from six months ago no longer existed. Apparently, I’d been lying to myself.

Because here I was. Sitting on my own bed while Romeo Salvatore stood so close I could feel the warmth radiating from him.

My heartbeat was so loud it drowned out my own thoughts. I was terrified. Not the screaming, panicking kind of terrified. The quieter kind.

The kind that made every muscle tense without permission. The kind that made me painfully aware of every inch separating us. The kind I’d come to associate with him months ago.

What had come over me?

Seriously… What had possessed me to walk to his room? To knock on his door? To question him?

I honestly didn’t know.

Six months ago… This man had made my life miserable. He’d threatened me. Manipulated me. Backed me into corners until I couldn’t tell which way was out.

He’d turned every encounter into something I dreaded. Six months apart couldn’t erase that. People didn’t simply forget things like that.

So where… Where had I found the audacity to stand here and demand answers from him? The thought alone felt absurd now. I should’ve stayed in my room. I should’ve listened to Chiara.

I should’ve…My thoughts stopped abruptly. Because I realized I still hadn’t answered him. Silence stretched between us, that it became almost uncomfortable.

Romeo’s hand remained lightly against my cheek for another heartbeat before I felt the faint movement of his thumb.

He sighed. It wasn’t impatient. Nor annoyed. “Don’t be scared.” The words were so unexpected that I forgot how to blink.

My mind emptied completely. “…Nothing is going to happen tomorrow.” I continued staring at him. Unable to process what I’d just heard.

“I give you my word.”

My breath caught.

His…Word? Of all the responses I’d prepared myself for… That wasn’t one of them. Not even close. I’d expected him to dismiss my concerns.

Tell me to stop asking questions. Maybe even remind me it wasn’t any of his business.

Instead he was reassuring me or at least trying to. I couldn’t decide which possibility unsettled me more. His gaze remained steady on mine as though waiting to make sure I’d heard him as he continued.

“The police…” His voice remained calm. ” and anything else that becomes an inconvenience to your stay here…”

He paused only briefly. “…will be dealt with, Katya.” My name sounded strangely different coming from him.

I couldn’t speak. Not because I didn’t want to. Because I genuinely couldn’t find a single word. I just looked at him. Searching his face for the catch.

There had to be one. There always was. Some hidden meaning. Some condition. Some price attached to promises made by men like Romeo Salvatore. But his expression refused to give me anything.

Those gray eyes remained impossibly unreadable. The same eyes I’d spent months convincing myself belonged to a man incapable of caring what happened to anyone else.

I didn’t know what to do with this version of him. I didn’t know whether to believe him. Or whether believing him would be the biggest mistake I could possibly make.

So I said nothing. I simply sat there, frozen beneath his gaze, while my thoughts tangled themselves into impossible knots.

Because somehow… This conversation had become far more confusing than the police ever were. The silence no longer felt awkward.

It felt… full. Heavy with everything that had been said and everything that hadn’t.

I remained exactly where I was, sitting stiffly on the edge of my bed, while Romeo continued looking at me with that same impossible-to-read expression.

Slowly, His hand slipped away from my cheek and warmth disappeared so gradually that I didn’t notice it was gone until it already was.

The cool air brushing against my skin felt oddly… empty. That feeling alone irritated me. Why would I even notice something like that?

I immediately pushed the thought aside before it could settle. Romeo straightened to his full height.

The movement reminded me once again of just how ridiculously tall he was. He looked down at me for another quiet moment.

Then, in the same calm voice he’d used throughout our conversation, he spoke. “You’ve had a long day.”

I blinked. His gaze briefly drifted toward the window where evening had almost completely settled outside.

“You should get some sleep.”

Sleep? I almost laughed. Did he honestly think I was capable of sleeping after today?

After the police? After this conversation? After everything he’d just said? “I mean it, Katya.” His eyes returned to mine.

“Get some rest.”

There wasn’t an order in his tone. Nor was it a request. It sounded strangely genuine.

“As for tomorrow…” He paused. “I’ve already told you. Nothing will happen.” The certainty in his voice should have reassured me.

But it overwhelmed me. Too many emotions collided inside my chest all at once and I couldn’t separate one from another. They simply crashed together until I no longer knew what I was supposed to feel.

Romeo gave a single nod, like the conversation had reached its natural end. Without another word, he turned away. My eyes followed him automatically.

He walked toward the hidden door connecting our rooms with the same measured pace he always seemed to possess.

He reached the concealed panel. His hand rested lightly against it. The door clicked open. He took a step forward. He was almost inside his room when the question escaped.

“…Did you kill those men?” My own voice startled me.

The room became still. Romeo stopped. He didn’t turn around completely. Didn’t face me. Only his head shifted slightly over one shoulder.

Just enough that I could see part of his profile. The edge of his jaw. One gray eye. And since he’d walked into my room…

I saw it. The smallest hint of a smile. A faint smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth.

“…if I say no…” He glanced at me from the corner of his eye. “…would you believe me?”

The question landed squarely in my chest. I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.

Because I genuinely didn’t know. If he denied it, Would I believe him? After everything I’d seen?

After the alley?

After everything I knew. I had no answer. Romeo didn’t wait for one as the faint smirk disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. He turned his head forward again.

Stepped fully into his room and hidden door swung shut behind him.

Silence reclaimed the room while remained sitting exactly where I was. Staring at the now-closed panel hidden within my bedroom wall. My cheek still felt strangely warm where his hand had been.

My mind replayed every word we’d exchanged. I’d gone into this conversation expecting answers.

Instead… I’d left with even more questions.

Yet somehow… One thing had changed. Not enough to erase the past. Not enough to erase six months of fear. Not enough to make me trust Romeo Salvatore. I was still suspicious.

Still convinced he was hiding far more than he’d ever admit. Still uncertain whether he’d had anything to do with the men in that alley. But for the first time. The image I’d carried of him for months had developed the smallest crack.

Just enough for me to glimpse someone I hadn’t expected to find. And somehow… That unsettled me far more than if he’d simply remained the monster I’d convinced myself he was.