Azalea

When I look back at the woman I used to be—that frightened girl drowning in debt and impossible choices—I can barely recognize her anymore.

She feels like someone from a story I once read, not the life I actually lived.

Living with Adriano had never been simple. He was a storm wrapped in expensive suits, danger disguised as protection. He could be cruel one moment and tender the next, like two different men sharing the same body. He was everything that should have scared me away, yet somehow, against all logic, he became mine.

That night, when the house was quiet and Amira was tucked safely in bed, Adriano...