CHAPTER 287
KATYA POV
The moment the panel slid open and he stepped out, my heart dropped straight into my stomach.
Oh God.
How long had he been there? How much had he heard? Every word Chiara had said replayed in my head all at once — the questions, the excitement, the Was it him? — and heat rushed up my neck, spreading across my face.
I couldn't breathe. Romeo stepped fully into the room like he belonged to the air itself — silent, controlled, untouched by the tension that had just swallowed me whole.
He was dressed in dark clothes. A black shirt, sleeves rolled just enough to reveal the hard lines of his forearms. Dark trousers. Everything about him was sharp and clean.
And the mask. It sat perfectly on his face, cold and unreadable. Chiara straightened immediately beside me.
"Good morning, Don Romeo," she said quickly, her voice suddenly polite, respectful — the dramatic excitement from seconds ago disappearing like it had never existed.
