Chapter 13 No Turning Back

• Morning light crept in through the sheer curtains, painting Rafael’s bedroom in soft gold. The kind of light that could almost make her forget where she was. Almost.
• Valentina sat up slowly, the sheets slipping down her bare skin. Her muscles ached, both from the night before and the weight of everything that had changed. Rafael was already awake, standing shirtless by the window, a glass of something dark in his hand, his expression unreadable.
• The silence between them was no longer laced with desire it was something sharper now. Something final.