Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Zara
The penthouse was quiet except for the soft hum of the city outside the windows and the low sound of Lorenzo speaking rapid Italian somewhere down the hall.
His voice drifted faintly from his office, sharper tonight, more rushed than usual, and even without understanding the words, I could feel the tension woven through them.
And somehow, that only made him more distracting.
Heat pooled low in my stomach every time his voice dropped into that dark, smooth cadence, the Italian rolling from his tongue like velvet over a blade. There was something unfair about it—about the way a man could sound dangerous and beautiful at the same time.
I tried to focus on the book open in my lap instead.
Reading had always helped when my anxiety got too loud.
Ever since I was little, stories had been the easiest way to disappear for a while—to slip into someone else’s life long enough to quiet my own thoughts.
But tonight, the words blurred together no matter how many times I reread the same paragraph.
I was too overstimulated.
Too aware of the massive penthouse around me. Too aware of Lorenzo behind closed doors. Too aware of how quickly my life had spiraled into something that still felt a fantasy and a terrible decision all in one.
Another sharp sentence in Italian carried faintly down the hallway, followed by silence heavy enough to make my chest tighten.
With a soft sigh, I closed the book shut over my finger and slumped deeper into the couch just as my phone buzzed in my hand again.
Marcus
So… Mrs. Billionaire.
How’s married life?
Me
Shut up.
Marcus
That bad or that good?
Me
I genuinely don’t even know yet.
Marcus
Which means it’s definitely good.
Me
Marcus.
Marcus
Zara.
Me
He’s… intense.
Marcus
Baby, he proposed to a crying stranger in a bar. We established that already.
Me
No, like intense intense.
He looks at me like he’s trying to crawl inside my skin.
Marcus
…hot.
Me
Concerning.
Marcus
Same thing in those little romance books you love to read.
Me
This is not a romance novel. This is my actual life.
Marcus
Your actual life now includes a billionaire husband and probably Egyptian cotton sheets. Let me have this.
Marcus
Okay but important question.
When do I get to meet the sexy crime lord husband?
I snorted quietly from where I was curled up on the couch.
Me
You make him sound like a Netflix documentary.
Marcus
Stop avoiding the question…when am I meeting him?
I glanced toward Lorenzo’s office down the hall instinctively, listening to the faint sound of his voice through the partially closed doors— calm, controlled, dangerous even through the walls.
My stomach fluttered annoyingly.
Me
Soon.
Marcus
Okay. Then I’ll allow the sexy crime lord temporary approval until further notice.
Me
How generous of you.
Marcus
I still need a full debrief over wine immediately, though.
Me
Goodnight Marcus.
Marcus
COWARD.
Tell your hot, emotionally overwhelming billionaire husband I said hi.
I laughed softly under my breath as I locked my phone and set it beside me on the couch.
Eventually, I’d have to introduce Marcus to Lorenzo, tell Kai and Rowen the truth, and explain how I’d gone from crying on Marcus’s couch with nowhere to go to secretly married and living in a penthouse with a man who looked at me with both obsession and devotion.
The thought alone made my stomach tighten.
Because I still didn’t fully understand it myself.
I was still trying to figure Lorenzo out. Some days he was impossibly tender—soft kisses on my forehead, steady hands on my waist, promises whispered late at night.
On other days, I caught glimpses of something darker beneath. Something dangerous and carefully controlled.
And maybe the scariest part was how badly I wanted both versions of him anyway.
Down the hall, Lorenzo’s study door opened.
My pulse reacted instantly before I could stop it.
A moment later, his voice drifted through the penthouse, lower now, roughened slightly from hours of speaking on the phone.
“Tesoro,” he called. “Come to bed.”
Heat pooled in my stomach, warm and familiar, embarrassing in how quickly my body now responded to him.
I closed my eyes briefly, already smiling despite myself, before I stood from the couch and headed toward him.