Chapter 26

"Rooftop Revelations"

Lorenzo's POV

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The sky was a quiet tapestry of stars above the city, their faint glimmer muted by the glow of skyscrapers in the distance. But I didn't care about the stars. My attention was entirely on the woman sitting across from me, her legs stretched out on the lounger, a faint smirk tugging at her lips.

Vee.

She wasn't looking at me, of course. She was pretending to be deeply engrossed in the glass of wine in her hand, swirling it like she was a damn sommelier.

But she was here.

On the rooftop.

With me.

The victory felt monumental, even if I had to act like it was no big deal. Convincing Vee to join me for a casual evening under the stars hadn't been easy, but damn if I wasn't impressed with myself for managing it.

"Impressive night, huh?" I said, leaning back in my chair with the casual confidence of a man who knew he'd won.

She glanced at me over the rim of her glass, one brow arching in that way that always drove me insane. "What exactly am I supposed to be impressed by, Moretti? The stars? Your rooftop? Or your uncanny ability to stare at me like I'm a Rubik's cube you can't solve?"

I chuckled, not even bothering to deny it. "I'll let you decide. But I'm going to assume the answer is 'all of the above.'"

She rolled her eyes, but the smirk didn't disappear. "Keep telling yourself that."

We sat in comfortable silence for a moment, the distant hum of the city filling the air. I could feel the tension between us—always there, always electric—but tonight it felt softer. Less jagged.

"You know," I began, swirling the whiskey in my own glass, "I'm pretty good at reading people."

"Oh, really?" she said, feigning interest.

"Yeah," I said, leaning forward just a little. "And you, Valeria, are the most complicated person I've ever met."

Her lips twitched, but she didn't look up. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Moretti."

"Who said I'm flattering you?" I asked, grinning.

That earned me a laugh—a small one, but it was there, and it was like a damn prize to me.

"I let the moment linger before taking a breath. "You know, growing up in the Moretti house wasn't always as glamorous as people think."

Her eyes flicked to mine, curiosity sparking just enough to keep me going.

"We were chaotic, loud, and always in each other's business," I continued. "Mamma used to call us her 'hurricane children.'"

"Sounds accurate," she quipped, but her tone was softer now.

"Marco was the broody genius, always with his head in a book. Dante was the responsible one—like a second dad sometimes. He was practically our brother growing up. My parents adopted him when he was six. His parents died in a car crash. And the twins..." I shook my head, a grin spreading across my face. "They were a walking disaster, constantly trying to outdo each other in who could cause the most trouble."

"Let me guess," she said, sitting up slightly. "You were the golden boy?"

"Hardly," I admitted. "I was... ambitious. Too ambitious, maybe. Always pushing boundaries, testing limits. Mamma used to say I'd either become a leader or land myself in prison."

She snorted. "Sounds about right."

"But the thing is," I said, my voice softening, "no matter how chaotic things got, we were always a family. Mamma made sure of that. Dinners together every night, no excuses. Family vacations that always ended in some kind of disaster. And Dad... Dad would just sit there with this look of utter adoration, like he couldn't believe he'd been lucky enough to have all of us."

Her expression shifted, just slightly. It was subtle, but I saw it—the way her eyes softened, the way she looked down at her glass like it held some secret she wasn't ready to share.

"What about you?" I asked, keeping my tone light. "Any fond memories of growing up?"

Her gaze snapped to mine, guarded as always. "I told you, Moretti. My past is off-limits."

"I'm not asking for the gritty details, Vee," I said gently. "Just... anything good. Something that made you smile."

For a moment, I thought she'd shut me down again. But then she sighed, setting her glass down on the table.

"There was a park," she said quietly. "Not far from where I grew up. They had this swing set, and... I don't know. It was stupid, but I used to love swinging as high as I could, feeling like I could touch the sky."

I didn't say anything, didn't push. I just let her words hang in the air, letting her decide how much to give.

"And there was this old man who ran an ice cream cart," she added after a beat. "He always gave me an extra scoop, even when I couldn't afford it. He called me 'piccola'—little one."

She smiled then, a small, fleeting thing, but it was enough to make my chest ache.

"Sounds nice," I said softly.

"It was," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

The silence that followed wasn't heavy or awkward. It was... peaceful. Like we'd reached some unspoken understanding.

"Thank you," I said after a while.

She blinked, caught off guard. "For what?"

"For letting me see a little more of you."

Her cheeks flushed, and she rolled her eyes, but there was no venom in the gesture. "You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"I've been told," I said, leaning back with a satisfied grin.

She picked up her glass again, taking a sip as she looked out at the city. And I? I just sat there, watching her, wondering how the hell I'd gotten this lucky.

Vee didn't let people in. I knew that. But tonight, she'd let me see a sliver of her world, and damn if I wasn't going to hold onto it with both hands.

Because for all her sharp edges and guarded walls, Vee was worth every effort it took to get close to her.

And I wasn't going anywhere.

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˗ˏˋ Author's note ˎˊ˗

Heyy (✿◡‿◡)

Please Vote and comment to make another insignificant human happy (^◕.◕^)

Question of chapter:

Vanilla or Chocolate?

Both.

you are awesome <3

Byeeee

Izel

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