Vincenzo lifted Lena effortlessly, like she weighed nothing at all—like she was something precious that could break if held wrong. She curled into him immediately, soft whimpers escaping her lips, one hand pressed over her stomach as if she were barely holding herself together.
Before stepping out, he paused.
He looked back at me.
Those eyes… they weren’t the same ones that once softened when they landed on me. Now they were sharp, distant—cold enough to cut.
“Don’t move from there,” he said flatly. “You don’t even deserve air, let alone anything else.”
I said nothing.
“You don’t even deserve a bed,” he added, voice low with disgust.
Then the door slammed shut, and the silence swallowed everything.
I don’t know how long I stayed there on the floor. My body felt like it had turned to stone. My mind buzzed faintly, and my throat burned raw, like I had been screaming without realizing it.
Then—
The door creaked open again.
Light footsteps approached slowly.
I didn’t lift my head until a shadow fell across me.
“Why are you sitting like that?” Noel’s voice rang out.