Alina froze, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief. The audacity. Her grip tightened around the phone until her knuckles turned white, her face heating with both anger and humiliation. Jealous? Did he truly think she had ever wanted him? That she had wasted a single heartbeat envying Celeste?
"Are you insane?" she hissed, her voice trembling with suppressed rage. "Riccardo, you're delusional. Why would I be jealous of you or Celeste? Why would I care who you date or who you break up with? Do you think my entire life revolves around you?"
Her chest rose and fell quickly, her words spilling before she could stop them. "I will never, ever come to see you. Not as a nurse, not as a friend, and certainly not as anything more. Stay out of my life."
On the other side of the line, Riccardo laughed bitterly. "Tch. Don't pretend, Lina. I know you've always had your eyes on me. You were just waiting for me to let go of her. And now I did, for you."
