CHAPTER TWELVE: The Line Between Love and Danger13Please respect copyright.PENANArWWCtx2CB0
(Her POV)
She didn’t slam the door.13Please respect copyright.PENANANjTZAI06R3
Didn’t scream.13Please respect copyright.PENANAVBHEG2T1iv
Didn’t throw anything.
She just looked at him.
Looked at the man who kissed her like salvation—13Please respect copyright.PENANAjb6SdKpIDa
and lied like survival.
“I need air,” she whispered.
“I’ll come with you.”
“No,” she said too quickly.13Please respect copyright.PENANAw12r5aDlvH
Too broken.
The journal was still pressed against her chest.13Please respect copyright.PENANAqCCH4vRpXE
Like a wound she didn’t know how to stop bleeding.
Matteo stood in the center of the room—13Please respect copyright.PENANAIjmRD8ab7b
shirt untucked, hair wild, soul unraveling in his eyes.
“Please don’t go.”
She didn’t answer.
Because if she opened her mouth, she’d stay.13Please respect copyright.PENANA2Q6JdyX6hE
And she knew she couldn’t.
Not yet.
Outside, the world was still turning.
Pedestrians. Cars. Lights.13Please respect copyright.PENANAL8V4K8LW6Y
Normal.
How dare they?
Didn’t they know the world inside her had just collapsed?
She found herself on a bench two blocks down.13Please respect copyright.PENANADxnL1bat9g
Hands numb.13Please respect copyright.PENANAHhpYiuJD00
Vision blurred.
She didn’t know how long she sat there.
But eventually, her phone buzzed.
A message.13Please respect copyright.PENANAb3x42sO7JG
From him.
I’m sorry.13Please respect copyright.PENANAK12UjuLu7J
I never wanted to lie. I only wanted to be enough for you.13Please respect copyright.PENANABcwVPCOHKW
I’ll wait. Even if it hurts. Even if it kills me.13Please respect copyright.PENANAtHa140X25p
Just come back when you’re ready.13Please respect copyright.PENANAhTeeT1Gqq7
Please.13Please respect copyright.PENANAB7eiGPiyt1
I love you.
Tears fell, but she didn’t wipe them.
Let the world see her.13Please respect copyright.PENANAKtBOfO3AU9
Let the night swallow her.
She’d loved him.13Please respect copyright.PENANALY6HLuGGcW
Fully.13Please respect copyright.PENANAitVCnUPa6u
Wildly.13Please respect copyright.PENANAXZbNpTiZzi
Unapologetically.
But now, she had to ask herself:
Could love still exist after the truth?
The answer wasn’t clear yet.
But what was?
Her heart was still his.13Please respect copyright.PENANA901845DUEN
Even if her feet weren’t.