104

Bianca's POV

I took a deep breath as I stood outside Jenny’s door, the soft sound of muffled sobs reaching my ears. My chest tightened. Jenny didn’t cry often. She was the strong one, the one who would always find something sarcastic to say even in the darkest times. But now, hearing her like this, it was as though a cold hand had wrapped around my heart. I pushed the door open gently.

The sight of her sitting on the edge of her bed, hair falling in wild waves around her face, eyes puffy and red, made my stomach churn. She didn’t even look up when I walked in, just kept staring down at her hands clenched in her lap. It was like the life had been drained out of her.

“Jenny?” I said softly, crossing the room to sit beside her. The mattress dipped under my weight, and she finally turned her head, eyes brimming with fresh tears.

“You know, don’t you?” she whispered, her voice hoarse and broken.

I nodded slowly. “Yeah. Luca rejected the marriage.”

The silence that followed was thick, both of us lost in the implications of those words. Jenny took a shuddering breath and wiped at her face, but it did nothing to hide the anguish etched into her features.

“Why would he do that?” she asked, her voice cracking. “What reason could he possibly have, Bianca?”

I reached out and took her trembling hand in mine. The warmth of her palm felt fragile like it could shatter at any moment. “I don’t know, Jenny. But we have to find out. There’s something we’re not seeing here.”

She nodded slowly as if each movement took all the energy she had left. Her gaze shifted, searching my face for reassurance, for some sort of stability to cling to.

“I can’t stop thinking about everything we’ve been through,” she muttered. “I thought we knew where we stood with him, that all of this had a reason.” She let out a bitter laugh, almost a bark. “Turns out I was wrong.”

“I wish I could say you weren’t,” I whispered. The frustration in me bubbled up, pushing against my chest. I needed to tell her the rest, the thing that had been gnawing at me ever since I heard. “And there’s something else.”

She frowned, a glimmer of worry flashing in her eyes. “What?”

“Finn and Lia,” I said, my throat tightening around the words. “They’re getting married.”

Jenny’s eyes widened in shock, the pain momentarily eclipsed by surprise. She shook her head as if trying to make sense of it. “What? Finn and Lia? How—when did this happen?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, feeling my own disbelief knotting with anger. “But it’s real. I can’t believe it either, Jenny. It feels like everything’s spiraling out of control.”

She leaned back, pressing her palms to her eyes. “We can’t just let this happen,” she said, her voice gaining a thread of strength. “We have to do something about it.”

A determined silence settled over the room. The quiet between us now felt different, heavier with a shared purpose. Jenny dropped her hands from her face and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. I watched as she swiped through her contacts, her fingers moving with new resolve.

“I need to talk to Luca,” she said firmly, meeting my gaze. “Face to face.”

I nodded. “We both need answers.”

With a shaky exhale, Jenny pressed the call button. The phone rang, each chime stretching out like a drumbeat, echoing the thump of my own heart. When his voice came through, muffled but clear, she sat up straighter.

“Luca, we need to meet,” she said, the command in her voice belying the tears that still wet her cheeks. There was a pause as she listened to his response, and I strained to catch the tone of his voice, but it was impossible to tell from her expression.

“Tonight. It can’t wait,” she continued. Another pause. Finally, her shoulders sagged slightly, a small nod signaling his agreement. “Okay. I’ll see you then.”

She hung up and dropped the phone onto the bed with a soft thud. For a moment, neither of us said anything, the room steeped in tension, as if holding its breath.

“He agreed?” I asked, my voice hushed, afraid of breaking the thin veil of calm she’d managed to weave around herself.

“Yes,” Jenny confirmed, wiping her eyes one last time. “We’re meeting tonight.”

I reached over, squeezing her hand once more, a silent vow. Whatever came next, we would face it together.

___

Luca's POV


The soft creak of the front door pulled my attention away from the window, where the last hints of dusk painted the sky in streaks of purple and orange. Lexie walked in first, her expression cheerful as always, followed by Merlin, who was already mid-sentence, eyes wide with excitement.

“…and then the doctor said I couldn’t believe it, but there was a whole room full of sunflowers! Can you imagine, right in the middle of the hospital!” Merlin’s voice carried through the room, filled with the kind of wonder only he could muster.

I couldn’t help but smirk. Merlin always found a way to see the world through a kaleidoscope of curiosity, even in places like hospitals where people were more likely to notice beeping monitors than wildflowers.

Benedicta, sitting in the armchair with a book balanced on her knee, looked up with a warm smile that faltered when her gaze landed on me. Her eyes narrowed slightly, not in suspicion but in that knowing way of hers. I barely had time to wonder what she’d say before she spoke.

“Who called, Luca?” she asked, voice laced with the sort of concern that left no room for evasion.

“It was Jenny,” I replied, exhaling slowly. “She wants to meet tonight.”

A beat of silence followed the air in the room tightening like a coiled spring. Merlin’s chatter had stopped, and even Lexie glanced between us with a frown, the weight of unspoken questions pressing down on everyone.

Benedicta set her book aside and leaned forward. “Be careful, Luca,” she said, her tone serious, her eyes searching mine for a hint of reassurance. “Don’t do anything reckless, anything that might hurt you. And remember Lia.”

I swallowed hard at the mention of her name, the invisible line I’d been straddling for weeks suddenly sharp and glaring. I gave a small nod. “I know. I’ll be careful.”

But the words felt hollow as if uttered from behind a mask. Guilt twisted inside me, a constant companion these days. I pushed it down and forced myself to stand, reaching for my keys on the table. The metallic clink cut through the silence.

“I won’t be long,” I said, aiming for a confidence I didn’t quite feel. Merlin’s gaze followed me, brows drawn together like he wanted to ask more questions, but even he stayed silent.

Benedicta’s eyes stayed on me as I turned to leave, their warmth underlined by an edge of worry that I carried with me out the door. The cool evening air bit at my skin, the quiet of the street offering no comfort. I climbed into the car, the driver’s seat as familiar as my own shadow, but tonight it felt different—like a threshold I was crossing into something uncertain.

I started the engine, the low rumble settling into my bones as I gripped the wheel tighter. The faint scent of Lia’s perfume lingered in the fabric of the seat, a bittersweet reminder. I clenched my jaw, pushing the thought away. Tonight wasn’t about Lia or the promises I’d made that felt like knots around my chest. Tonight was about facing Jenny, facing whatever she knew, and hoping I could find a way to navigate through this without sinking deeper.

The road stretched ahead, illuminated by the glow of the streetlamps and the soft wash of headlights passing by. I took a deep breath, feeling the miles spool out beneath me, each one carrying me closer to answers I wasn’t sure I wanted but knew I couldn’t avoid.

Benedicta’s parting words echoed in my mind as I drove: Don’t do anything harmful, Luca. Remember Lia.

But the question that kept circling back was simple and sharp—what if facing the truth was already a kind of harm, one that no precaution could prevent?