Chapter 235

• Gianna’s POV
• The apartment felt too quiet. Usually, I enjoyed the stillness after a long day, but now it felt suffocating. My fingers itched to grab my phone, to type out the message I’d been holding back, but I stopped myself before the thought could gain momentum.
• I slumped onto the couch, hugging a throw pillow as I stared at the blank TV screen. Matteo’s face lingered in my mind. It refused to go away no matter how much I willed it to. The way his eyes lit up when he talked about something he was passionate about. The way he always found ways to make me laugh, even when I didn’t want to. And the way he looked at me—like I was the only person in the world that mattered.