• 25
??
For a moment, nothing existed except us, the warm smell of cookies, and the wild freedom of being silly together.
I didn't tell her about the attack. I didn't tell her that Nico kissed me like the world had stopped spinning or that I had replayed that moment more times than I cared to admit.
But I told her we felt close, closer than we ever had. I didn't know how to explain the way his eyes looked into mine or how I felt like I was floating when he kissed me.
Some things were too overwhelming to put into words, even for her.
We kept singing until our mom appeared in the doorway with the stern look she reserved specifically for us. She asked us to quiet down because Dad was taking a nap, and she scolded me like I was still sixteen instead of twenty-one.
As soon as she walked away, Lizzy and I burst into giggles like children hiding from the consequences of fun.
We continued baking until Lizzy checked her phone. Her face shifted instantly, the playful expression dropping into shock.
"What the hell," she said under her breath.
My stomach tightened at her voice. "What?"
"I think I just found out who Nico's dad is."
My blood felt warm. "How do you know that?"
She held up her phone. "Giovanni Costa. The billionaire. The man who owns half of New York. The internet says he's rumored to have some underground ties to the Italian mafia."
I went perfectly still. Everything clicked at once. The way Nico reacted during the attack. The speed. The precision. The way he pulled out a gun like it was second nature. It can't be though... rumours were never facts.
He told me he carried it legally for protection, and that it saved our lives, but suddenly it felt like there was much more to the story.
Lizzy continued scrolling and suddenly gasped again, her hand flying to her mouth.
"Oh my god, Daria... who is this?"
She shoved her phone at me. In the picture, Nico stood on a red carpet with a beautiful girl clinging to his arm. They looked glamorous, rich, photographed under blinding flashbulbs.
My stomach twisted painfully.
"I don't know," I said softly, even though the words scraped my throat on the way out.
"It says she's his girlfriend."
Everything felt cold.
Girlfriend.
The word felt like a punch to the chest. I suddenly felt stupid for ever thinking that kiss meant something more than a moment born out of adrenaline and fear and heat.
Of course he had a girlfriend. Men who looked like that, men who moved like that, men who kissed like that didn't stay single. I felt sick.
"He told me he didn't have one," Lizzy said. "I asked him."
"Maybe he lied."
Of course he lied. Why wouldn't he? I kissed a man who belonged to someone else. Shit, Daria.
He probably regretted it. He probably thought it was nothing. My chest hurt too much to think about it.
"Whatever," I said weakly. "Let's just finish the cookies."
Lizzy placed the bowl on the counter like it was a police investigation file she wasn't done with. "Absolutely not. We are finding out what is really going on."
"Lizzy, no. I can't."
She pointed a spoon at me with full attitude. "You are going to get dressed, look cute, and figure out why a man with a supposed girlfriend bought you a ten thousand dollar necklace."
"It was not ten thousand."
"Daria, it literally was." She crossed her arms. "Look at me. You're going."
I stared at her. Sometimes I couldn't believe she was only sixteen.
"Lizzy, I can't go over there."
"Yes, you can. We are baking, cleaning, and then you are putting on something pretty and going to get answers."
"It's six in the evening."
"Perfect." She shrugged. "No one lies after six. It's the witching hour."
I groaned and pressed my hands to my face. "Oh great."
But deep down, I knew she was right.
I needed answers.
Lmao no cause Lizzy is that girlll
Y'all are going to like the next chapters ??