LOGIN~LUCAS~The drive back to the firm is quieter than it should be, and that alone irritates me.My mind doesn’t shut up.It replays everything…..the crowd, the chaos, her hand in mine, the way she looked at me.The way she held on.I grip the steering wheel tighter than necessary.This is exactly why I don’t get involved.Because now?Now she’s in my head, and I don’t like it.Not one bit. I’m already expecting things to have calmed down at the court with security in place, order and normalcy restored.But the moment my car slows to a stop, I know that’s not the case.There’s a crowd now in front of the law firm, and not just a small one.It’s worse than the one at the court, and they're louder and restless.Press, journalists and reporters, shouting over each other like they’re waiting for something… or someone.My jaw tightens.You’ve got to be kidding me.I cut the engine and step out, shutting the door harder than necessary.The noise hits immediately.The qu
~FIORELLA~The car comes to a smooth stop in front of the firm, and before Matteo can even step out, I’m already reaching for the door.I need distance from everything.The door opens, and the moment my heels hit the pavement, I straighten instinctively, my spine aligning, my shoulders pulling back into that familiar, unshakable posture.Control.I step out like nothing happened.Like I wasn’t just clawed at by a mob.Like my pulse isn’t still slightly uneven.Like Lucas’ voice isn’t still echoing somewhere deep in my chest.“I’ll get your bags, ma’am,” Matteo says quickly from the driver’s seat.I don’t look back.“Mm,” I respond faintly, already moving.The glass doors of the firm slide open the second I approach, and the cool, polished interior greets me like a second skin.The law firm is safe, structured, controlled and perfect.But I barely take three steps inside before…..“Miss Fiorella!”“Congratulations!”“You did it!”The sudden burst of voices hits m
~LUCAS~I knew she was going to win. There was never a doubt.I’ve seen and heard about a lot of wins in my career.But this one?This one feels… different.Not because of the case itself…..I already knew how it would end the moment Fiorella took control of that courtroom. She’s too sharp, too precise, too damn good at what she does to lose something like that.No… what lingers isn’t the verdict.It’s her.The way she stands there after everything is over… composed, unreadable, like none of it touched her.But I know better.I know people like her very well.It's just two days, but I have studied her so well.I've been watching her.Watching the way she works, the way she carries pressure like it weighs nothing, the way she slices through arguments with surgical precision.Fiorella Vincenzo will be one of the best lawyers I’ve ever seen.She's already an excellent intern and shouldn't even be taking cases like this, but I can understand why she's allowed to
~FIORELLA~I don’t hesitate.I take his hand.And the second my fingers wrap around his, something shifts in a way I don’t understand… and don’t have time to question.His grip tightens instantly…….firm, unyielding… like he’s not giving me the option to fall apart even if I wanted to.“Stay close,” Lucas mutters, his voice low and controlled. It's like a command meant to be obeyed.And I do.God help me… I do.And then he moves first, not gently, not carefully, but forcefully.“Back the hell up,” he snaps, shoving a man aside as he pulls me behind him. “You don’t get to touch her.”People protest as he shoves past them, but he doesn’t stop.“Move,” he snaps again, sharper this time. “Unless you want to deal with assault charges on top of harassment.”There’s something in his tone… something dangerous enough to make them hesitate.And that hesitation?It’s all he needs.I stay close…..closer than I’ve ever been to him…..my hand still locked in his, my other clut
~FIORELLA~I'm more than excited that this case that took me two long, grueling months is now over.But I don't show my excitement or victory at winning the case.I badly want to sink in the chair and cry with the victim's family because I feel overwhelmed and tired, but my steely disposition won't allow it.I choose not to reveal the elation I feel at my unexpected victory nor the horror I feel deep inside.The proceedings has taken their toll on me physically and emotionally.I am exhausted but I won't let it show. I had worked my ass off for two months.And at last long, I'm done with my disturbing client.I take a good look at my client—Mr. Grant Trevor— celebrating with his elderly mom, and his equally creepy friend, with that familiar smirk of confidence spread across his thin lips.He's a bad looking man with a protruding potbelly, and greasing hair, but his personality is even worse.He's snide, condescending, with a nasty snicker that makes my skin cra
~LUCAS~I knew she wasn’t fully prepared the moment she walked out of that room.Fiorella Vincenzo doesn’t rush.She doesn’t forget things.She doesn’t leave doors open behind her like something……or someone…..is chasing her.But today?She did.And that alone was enough to make me follow her.Not because I needed permission.Not because I cared what she thought about it.But because something about the way her shoulders were set… too tight, too rigid… told me she was walking into a fight she refused to admit she might not control.And Fiorella without control?That’s dangerous.And yet… even like this, slightly off balance… she still carried herself like someone who would rather break than let anyone see her fall.That alone earns my attention.“What?” she snaps the second she notices me at her office door.There it is…..the fire, sharp, predictable, and immediate.I lean slightly against the doorframe, studying her instead of answering right away. Papers eve
~MARCELLA~I can feel both of them.Albert in front of me… steady, confident, possessive.Lucas behind me… tense, burning, barely holding himself together.And I’m right in the middle of it…. caught, split and breaking.My fingers are still tangled with Lucas’, his grip firm lik
~MARCELLA~The moment I say it, “Shall we?”I expect him to move.To play along.To follow the script.To keep everything neat, controlled, believable.But Lucas doesn’t move…not immediately.Instead… his grip on my hand tightens.Not subtly or gently, but tight enough to m
~LUCAS~Stella's the last person I expected to see in my house.For a moment, I genuinely think I'm imagining things.“You finally came home. I've been waiting for you.”The room goes very still after Stella says that.For a moment I just stare at her, trying to process w
~MARCELLA~The moment I see him clearly, my entire body goes rigid.Xavier.Not just Xavier.Xavier walking in like this is his event.Like he belongs here.Like he wasn’t the last person I expected to see tonight.My surprise isn’t soft. It’s violent. It slams into me so ha







