Flashback
Five years ago.
The music was loud. Laughter filled the hall. Lights shimmered across the room as guests danced, unaware of the danger closing in.
Mel stood near the main hall entrance, adjusting her dress, searching the crowd. She had a strange feeling in her chest—restless, uneasy—but she brushed it aside.
Then the first scream rang out.
Gunshots followed.
Panic exploded through the room. People ran in every direction, tables overturned, glass shattered. Smoke filled the air as explosions rocked the building.
"Lucas!" Mel shouted, her heart pounding as she pushed through the chaos.
She saw him near the center of the hall, clutching his chest, blood staining his shirt. Without thinking, she ran toward him.
A shot rang out.
Mel threw herself in front of him, feeling the heat of the bullet rush past her shoulder as it hit the wall behind them.
"Lucas, move!" she cried, grabbing his arm.
His eyes were wild—dark, unfocused, filled with fear and pain. Blood soaked his hand. In the flashing lights and smoke, he couldn't see clearly. His mind replayed the warning he'd been given.
The assassin looks like her. The dress. The hair.
Mel reached for him again. "It's me—Isabella!"
But he didn't hear her.
The knife was still lodged in his chest. With shaking hands, he pulled it free, his breathing ragged. When Mel stepped closer, trying to steady him, instinct took over.
He turned suddenly.
Pain flashed across her face as the blade sank into her side.
Mel gasped. Her body stiffened in shock. "Lucas…" she whispered, disbelief flooding her eyes.
The noise around them faded. All she could see was him—his face frozen in horror as the truth slowly dawned on him.
Blood spilled between them.
"No—no, no," Lucas whispered, catching her as her legs gave out. "Isabella… God, no…"
She collapsed into his arms, trembling, her strength slipping away. Sirens wailed in the distance as the room spun, the party turning into a nightmare.
Lucas pressed his hand against her wound, tears falling freely.
"I'm sorry," he begged. "I'm so sorry… please don't leave me."
But Mel's eyes fluttered shut as darkness pulled her under—leaving behind a moment that would haunt them both forever.
Back to the present ...
"If I could go back in time, mia amore, I would," Lucas said softly, his voice heavy with regret.
Mel didn't answer. She stood still, her arms wrapped around herself, listening.
"Months after the incident, I was in Spain," he continued. "I tried to remember the face of the person I stabbed. I forced myself to recall it over and over again… but every time I tried, her face was blank." His voice cracked. "That terrified me."
Mel's breath trembled. "So you forgot her?" she whispered.
"No," Lucas said quickly. "I couldn't forget her—because I didn't even know who she was." He shook his head. "That's when I started searching. I needed to know who that girl was."
He looked down at the floor.
"I called your brothers. I begged them to help me. They blocked my number." His jaw tightened. "Two years later, when I came back from Spain, I tried approaching them in person. They ignored me like I didn't exist."
Mel closed her eyes, tears slipping out.
"I called your parents," he went on quietly. "I asked about you. About the girl who was stabbed. No one would speak to me. No one listened."
His shoulders sagged.
"I was done, Isabella. Depressed. Confused. Lost." He laughed bitterly. "I didn't know who I was anymore."
She turned to face him. "So what did you do?"
Lucas met her eyes. "I went back to Spain." He hesitated. "I only returned after I killed Armando… and his wife."
Mel gasped softly.
"I became the new Don," he said. "But power doesn't come free. I was forced into a betrothal—to Natasha."
Pain flashed across Mel's face.
Lucas stepped closer, his voice lowering.
"And still… none of it filled the hole you left behind."
He paused, lifting his gaze to hers, searching desperately for forgiveness.
"Then I found new information," he continued. "I discovered that the girl I stabbed had been in the hospital for a year. A whole year, Isabella."
Mel's breath caught.
"She was discharged later," he said. "But there were no records. No name. No medical history." His voice broke. "It was like she vanished."
He reached for her hand, stopping just short.
"And now you're standing here in front of me."
His eyes glistened.
"All this time… it was you."
Silence filled the room—heavy, aching—while Mel stood between the man who shattered her past and the truth that had finally come to light.
---
Lucas's composure finally shattered.
He staggered back a step, his breath uneven, his chest tight like it might cave in. His hands shook as he dragged them through his hair, his eyes burning with unshed tears.
"Isabella…" his voice cracked. "Please—"
"This is too much," Mel said suddenly, her voice rising as tears streamed down her face. "It's too much to take in."
She looked at him, really looked at him, and all the pain she had buried came rushing out.
"I can't easily forgive you for all you've done, Alessandro," she cried. "For goodness' sake, I was in a psychiatric home for a whole year!"
Lucas froze.
"I'm allergic to alcohol because of you," she continued, her voice shaking with rage and hurt. "You made me this way."
He took a step toward her, his face breaking. "I didn't know—"
"You made me go through horrible things," she cut in. "I can't attend normal parties because of you. I can't breathe in places like that without losing control."
Her hands trembled as she spoke.
"I was isolated," she whispered.
"Pitied by my own friends and family."
"I was treated like a ticking time bomb because of the episodes I had whenever alcohol was around."
Her voice broke completely.
"Do you know how that feels?" she sobbed. "Do you know how many nights I prayed—prayed—for the person who ruined my life to suffer the way I did?"
Lucas dropped to his knees.
"I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly. "Isabella, I swear—"
She stood up suddenly, her tears still falling but her voice firm now, final.
"If it's forgiveness you're looking for," she said coldly, "you won't get it. You don't deserve it."
Lucas looked up at her, completely shattered.
"Atone for your sins in hell, Lucas."
With that, she turned and ran out of the house.
Outside, the cool night air hit her as she sprinted toward the frat house. Andre, Kelvin, and Valentino were still there, waiting—watching. The moment they saw her, they moved toward her.
"Mel!" Andre called.
Behind her, Lucas followed, desperation in his voice.
"Isabella, wait—please! Let's go back to the way we were—"
"Dude, leave," Valentino snapped, stepping between them.
Mel turned one last time, her eyes empty of warmth.
"Just go back," she said quietly as she stormed off into the crowds. "Go back to wherever you came from."
Lucas stood frozen as she disappeared into her friends' arms—alone, broken, and finally facing the weight of everything he had destroyed.
Andre, Kelvin, and Valentino followed after her, calling her name, but Mel didn't stop. She stormed back into the party, the music pounding around her like white noise, her emotions boiling over.
"Lucy—what happened?" Andre asked, reaching for her arm.
She pulled away and headed straight for the swimming pool.
Without looking back, Mel slipped out of her dress and left it on a chair, revealing her bikini underneath. The cool night air kissed her skin as she walked toward the water and dove in, joining the others already laughing and splashing in the pool.
Moonlight reflected off the surface of the water, illuminating the tattoo along her skin as she emerged, her hair falling loose, clinging softly to her shoulders and framing her perfectly.
Her friends stopped short.
"Damn, Lucy," they all said at once, staring in surprise.
Mel didn't respond. She just floated there, letting the water drown out the ache in her chest, letting the noise swallow the memories.
A few of the basketball players who had invited them over noticed her and walked closer, eyes lingering—not crudely, but with clear admiration.
"You look…" one of them paused, searching for the word, "…enchanting."
Mel gave a faint, tired smile—not because she felt confident, but because she wants to forget about what happened tonight .
For now, the water held her together.