Chapter 188

• GUSTAVO
• I stood at the window in the master suite, early light cutting across the floor in pale stripes. The grounds outside looked calm, too calm after last night. My mind kept replaying it all. The lounge. Gabrielle’s hands on me. My slurred refusals. Valentina’s face when she walked in—tears already there, eyes wide with hurt that cut deeper than anything else ever had. The way she ran. The ring still on her finger when she left. I clenched my jaw. No more pretending I didn’t feel it. She was mine. Completely. And I wasn’t losing her to a lie or to anyone else.
• I dressed fast. Dark suit. White shirt. Tie knotted tight. The fabric felt like armor. Like a reminder that I still held the power in this city. I walked downstairs. The house was quiet except for the low murmur of staff clearing the last trays and folding chairs from the party. Flowers still sat in vases, petals starting to drop. I went straight to the study.