CHAPTER 317
KATYA POV
The silence stretched until it felt like a physical weight pressing down on my chest. Every passing second amplified the absolute absurdity of the scene, rendering it so utterly, damningly suspicious that I could barely command my lungs to draw breath.
Romeo bringing us home. Here. At this hour. I had entirely lost track of the time—it was some nebulous, freezing hour long past midnight, the dead of night when secrets were meant to stay buried.
Beside me, the reality of our predicament seemed to settle over Chiara too. She leaned in so close that the trembling warmth of her shoulder pressed hard against mine.
"We're finished."
I kept my eyes locked on Nonna, my gaze frantically searching her face, desperately scraping for any familiar sign of impending ruin. I braced myself for the sharp flash of anger, the heavy, devastating weight of disappointment, or the icy glare of betrayal.
