Chapter 109 Puppet

• Alessia's POV
• I shook my head, tears threatening to spill. “You never told me that—never told me that you’d become so consumed by it all. Was I just a distraction? A pawn to keep you from feeling the emptiness of power?”
• For a long, excruciating moment, Luca said nothing. The silence between us was deafening, filled with all the words we both refused to speak. Finally, his voice came out low, almost regretful. “I did what I had to, Alessia. I can’t change that.”