The day after Valentine's Day.
For most people, it was nothing special.
For me… it became the day my life changed forever.
I was eighteen, still in school, raised in a family where rules mattered more than freedom.
No swearing. No "nonsense." Just studying and being the perfect, polite daughter.
It felt like living inside a cage—pretty, but suffocating.
That afternoon, I sat beside my friend Nunzia, scrolling through my phone.
Social media was drowning in hearts and roses. Everyone seemed in love.
Everyone… except me.
A sigh escaped my lips. Will I ever have something like that?
And then—his name appeared.
Antony.
Dark eyes. A cold, untouchable face. Photos of him surrounded by girls, showing off a sculpted body that seemed carved from stone.
He looked like the kind of guy who belonged to a world far away from mine.
Nunzia caught me staring and grinned.
"Should I say hi for you?"
Before I could stop her, she snatched my phone and typed:
— Hi.
My heart skipped a beat.
The reply came instantly.
— Hi.
Cold. Sharp. Almost intimidating.
I grabbed the phone back, panicking. Fingers flying, I typed:
— Sorry, wrong person.
Another reply.
— Okay. That's fine.
And just like that… it should have ended.
But deep down, I felt it—
This was only the beginning.