Chapter 45 It's Over Now

After Lucia moved into the guest room, the villa felt even colder. She stopped speaking to Alessandro, and he seemed perfectly content with the quiet, pouring all his attention and energy into making it up to Elena. He no longer returned to the master bedroom. On the rare nights he came back at all, he slept in the small lounge off the study. More often than not, he stayed at the estate halfway up the hill, the one prepared specifically for Elena. Lucia's life became orderly and hollow. She ate her meals on schedule, took walks through the garden, or sat alone in her room reading. The business case studies that once fascinated her now looked like nothing more than dull blocks of text. She felt like an exquisitely crafted marionette, manipulated by invisible strings, going through every motion expected of Mrs. Rossi, yet utterly devoid of a soul. That afternoon, as if possessed, she found herself standing outside the study. The door wasn't fully closed, left slightly ajar. She hadn