Chapter 10
(Lisa's POV)
Meena burst through the front door just after sunset, her voice already echoing with excitement as she called out, "Lisa! Come down! I want you to meet someone!"
I emerged from my room, hair damp from a quick shower, dressed in soft cotton and a smile I didn't entirely have to force.
She was glowing. Actually glowing. The kind of happiness that shimmered in her eyes, in the way she stood taller, laughed louder.
And standing beside her was the reason.
Tall, golden-brown skin, calm smile, and eyes that lit up at the sight of her — Aryan.
"Lisa, this is my fiancé," Meena beamed, clutching his arm like he was both her anchor and her wings. "Aryan, this is my best friend in the entire world."
I stepped forward, hand extended, trying to swallow the bittersweet knot in my chest. "I've heard a lot about you."
He chuckled warmly. "Only the good things, I hope."
We ended up sitting on the rooftop terrace, fairy lights overhead, soft jazz playing from Meena's speaker, and the scent of cardamom tea rising from the cups in our hands. The night wrapped around us like a story waiting to be written.
I laughed — really laughed — for the first time in weeks. Meena was animated, Rayan was gentle and witty, and the city below felt far away, like we were suspended above all the chaos and hurt.
But at one point, when Meena leaned into Aryan's chest and he kissed the top of her head like it was the most natural thing in the world, I felt a sharp ache ripple through my ribs.
Jacob's face flashed in my mind like a ghost — not the angry version, not the one who let me go — but the one who used to brush his thumb along my jaw when I was tired, who used to say my name like it was a promise.
I looked away quickly, masking the sadness with a sip of tea.
"Are you okay?" Meena whispered, sensing it even through the layers of joy.
I nodded, forcing the corners of my lips to rise. "I'm okay. Just happy for you."
And I was.
Truly, I was.
Because love — real love — deserved to win sometimes. Even if it didn't win for me.
(Ethen's POV)
I watched the lights of Florence blur past the car window, mind still spinning from the last three hours. The meeting had gone south. Tensions had flared. Words had been said — quiet ones that meant war if ignored.
But we'd managed to hold the line. Barely.
"We need to move the backup files again," I told Ryan, voice low as I checked the encrypted messages flashing on my second phone. "Change the routing sequence too. If anyone's watching the old pattern... we need to disappear."
Ryan didn't argue. He never did when I spoke like this — calm but with a threat humming beneath every syllable.
As we pulled up to the villa where we were staying for the night, I looked up at the moon.
For a moment, just one, I wondered if Lisa had made it home safe.
If she was still in that house. If she'd eaten dinner. If she was still pretending that she didn't feel watched — because someone like her would notice. Not overtly. But in that quiet, sixth-sense way women like her carried, even when they acted like they didn't.
She deserved a better place than mine.
But I'd keep it safe anyway — for Meena. For her.
Because the closer this world came to bleeding into hers, the more I knew: keeping her unaware wasn't just protection.
It was mercy.