anwhile, on the other side of the mountain, the bachelorette party was in full swing.
The lounge glowed with warm, feminine light, soft pinks and golds, comfortable seating arranged in intimate clusters, a small stage where a live singer crooned sothing sultry and slow. Champagne flowed freely. Laughter filled every corner.
Bella had found a comfortable spot near the window, a glass of sparkling water in her hand, watching the won around her with quiet amusent. Hazel sat across the room with Rika and a few close friends, laughing at sothing one of them had said, her mask still in place but her electric blue eyes bright with genuine joy.
It was nice. Peaceful.
Until the vultures descended.
Three won drifted toward her, all smiles and perfectly styled hair, their eyes sharp with the particular hunger of people hunting for gossip. Bella recognized the type imdiately, the kind who smiled with their mouths but not their eyes.
"Isabella, right?" The lead woman settled onto the ottoman across from her, crossing long legs encased in expensive fabric. Her friends flanked her like matching accessories. "I’m Camille. We haven’t officially t."
Bella’s polite smile remained firmly in place. "Nice to et you, Camille."
Camille’s eyes swept over her, the dress, the jewelry, the way she held herself. Assessing. Calculating.
"So," Camille said, drawing the word out like she was about to unveil sothing juicy, "how does it feel being married to Leonardo Moretti?"
Her tone was light, curious. But the edge beneath it was unmistakable.
Bella’s brow lifted slightly. Just enough. "How does it feel?"
"Yes." Camille leaned forward, her smile widening. "I an, we all thought he would never marry. Like, ever. He was always so focused. Intense. Untouchable." She exchanged a knowing glance with her friends. "And then suddenly, out of nowhere, there’s a wife. It was quite the shock."
The won behind her nodded, their eyes gleaming with poorly concealed curiosity.
Bella took a slow sip of her sparkling water. She let the silence stretch just long enough to feel deliberate.
Then she smiled. Warm. Open. Completely unbothered.
"It feels wonderful, actually," she said softly. "He’s a wonderful husband. Very attentive. Very..." She paused, letting her eyes sparkle just slightly. "...dedicated."
Camille’s smile faltered for half a second. "Dedicated?"
"Oh yes." Bella tilted her head, her expression innocent. "He’s very present. Very focused on ." Then she paused and continued. "I’m very lucky."
The woman to Camille’s left shifted uncomfortably.
Camille recovered quickly, her smile snapping back into place. "Of course. And his family? The Morettis are... intense. How do you handle all that pressure?"
Bella’s eyes flickered with sothing too quick to na. "Pressure?"
"All the expectations. The scrutiny. The..." Camille waved a hand vaguely. "...danger, I suppose. It must be exhausting."
Bella set down her glass slowly.
When she looked up, her smile was still there. But sothing in her brown eyes had sharpened just a little, just enough.
"You know," she said thoughtfully, "I used to think that too." She leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping to a more intimate register. "But the Morettis aren’t what people think. They’re not just power and danger and cold walls."
Camille blinked, caught off guard by the shift.
"They’re family," Bella continued softly. "Real family. They protect each other. They show up. And yes, they have expectations, but that is because they care. Do you know how rare that is?" She tilted her head, her gaze holding Camille’s. "To be surrounded by people who would do anything for you?"
The won behind Camille had stopped smirking.
Camille herself looked slightly wrong footed, her carefully constructed questions falling flat against Bella’s genuine warmth.
"And the danger?" Bella’s voice softened further. "I married Leo. All of him. Not just the parts that are easy or safe." A small, private smile touched her lips. "He’s worth it."
The silence that followed made Camille uncomfortable, realization settling in that her gossip gathering mission had failed spectacularly.
Bella picked up her glass again, taking another calm sip. "But thank you for your concern. It’s sweet that you worry about ."
Camille opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
From across the room, Hazel’s electric blue eyes caught Bella’s. A tiny, almost imperceptible nod passed between them, approval. Respect.
Bella smiled serenely.
Camille and her friends found sowhere else to be shortly after.
Bella finally focused on her sparkling water, taking small, calm sips as she gazed out the floor to ceiling window beside her. The mountain night stretched endlessly beyond the glass, dark forests, distant peaks, a sky scattered with more stars than she had ever seen in the city.
She did not know most of the won here. That was fine. A few months ago, she would have felt the need to mingle, to smile, to make friends. Old Bella would have worked hard to mingle.
But now?
Now all of that felt distant. Like a version of herself she had left behind sowhere. She was happy sitting here. Alone. Watching the stars.
"Well, hello."
Bella turned at the voice, eyebrows lifting slightly.
A girl stood beside her, young, maybe sixteen at most, with wide dark eyes and a serious expression that did not quite match her youthful face. She clutched a glass of what looked like plain soda water.
"Hello?" Bella said, curious.
"I ca here with my sister." The girl pointed toward a woman across the room who was deep in conversation with Hazel and Rika. "She’s the one in the blue dress. She’s Hazel’s friend from sowhere. I don’t know. I just got dragged along."
Bella’s lips twitched. "Ah. The classic dragged along situation. I know it well."
The girl’s serious expression cracked slightly into sothing almost like a smile. "Yeah. I’m Lyra."
"Isabella." Bella extended her hand, and Lyra shook it with surprising firmness. "But you can call Bella."
Lyra glanced around quickly, then leaned closer. Her voice dropped to barely a whisper.
"I just wanted to talk to you."
Bella’s instincts prickled. She kept her expression open and warm. "Yes?"
"Please," Lyra said quietly, her dark eyes intense, "when I tell you this, don’t look obviously. You can look casually, like you are just glancing around. But I noticed soone watching you. Left side, near the tree line. You need to turn your head just a little. Otherwise you won’t be able to see."
Bella’s heart skipped.
She controlled it. After being with Leo for so long, she knew how to keep her face still when everything inside wanted to react.
She smiled warmly at Lyra, as if they were discussing sothing mundane, and casually turned her head toward the window. Her gaze swept left, unhurried, like she was simply admiring the view.
Her smile froze.
Just for a fraction of a second.
A man stood at the edge of the tree line, just beyond the lounge’s outdoor lighting. He wore a dark hoodie, the hood pulled up, his face mostly shadowed. But his posture was unmistakable, still, focused, facing directly toward the window.
Toward her.
A cold shiver crawled down Bella’s spine.
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