CASSANDRA'S POV~
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The silence hung thick between us, but not in an awkward way. It was heavy… like something unsaid had started to press against my chest, suffocating me slowly.
I blinked up at him. Once. Twice. My brows pulled together, confused. “What… what do you mean by that, Adriano?”
His gaze dropped to the sheets for a second, then returned to mine, softer now—guilt swimming in those storm-gray eyes of his. Without a word, he lifted his hand and brushed some of my messy hair away from my face. His fingers were gentle, tender, like I might shatter if he pressed any harder.
“She was arranged,” he murmured. “Carmela. My fiancée. My family picked her for me years ago… back when I was too young to care and too busy building an empire to protest.
