CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Liana
I think I'm falling for him.
I know it's too soon. I know I should focus on healing, on getting better, on figuring out who I am after everything that's happened.
But I can't help it.
Luca is... everything.
He's patient with me. Never pushes. Never demands. He just... exists beside me. A constant, steady presence.
He makes me feel safe. And more than that, he makes me feel seen.
Not as a victim. Not as someone broken.
Just as me.
I catch him looking at me sometimes. And there's something in his eyes that makes my heart race.
I think he feels it too. This thing between us.
But he's holding back. Waiting for me to be ready.
And I appreciate that. I do.
But I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever be ready. If I'll ever be able to let someone touch me without flinching. Without remembering.
I want to be ready. I want to be whole.
I want to be someone he could love.
But I don't know if I'll ever get there.