(Stefano's POV)
I had never done anything like this before. Trying for someone. Trying to get their attention. Trying to make them look at me. Trying so hard that even Marko raised his eyebrows at me like I had grown a second head. But Sierra was ignoring me walking past me. Not looking at me, not talking to me unless absolutely necessary. And it was driving me insane. Not the anger-type insane, not the I want to break something insane. But I want her eyes on me, I want her voice saying my name again, I want to fix what she thinks she knows ,kind of insane. And I hated how unfamiliar it felt.
She stepped out of her room, hair still damp from shower, wearing that soft pastel sweater that made her look like a walking sunrise. I stepped directly into her path. "Sierra." She didn't stop, didn't look. Just walked around me as if I were a piece of furniture. I blinked, did she just—?
"Good morning," I tried again. She didn't even pause. I exhaled sharply. "Really? Sierra—" The only thing I got back was the sound of her footsteps fading down the hall. It was humiliating. But worse… it hurt.
Breakfast
She sat at the table, eating quietly. I slid into the seat across from her, leaning forward slightly. "So… you're going to campus with Angel?"
"Yes." Just brief, cold, she didn't raise her eyes from her plate once, I gritted my teeth. "I can drop you off."
"No need."
"Sierra—"
"Angel is enough." That one stung, really badly. I clenched my jaw, forcing air through my lungs because the sudden urge to make her look at me — really look at me — was so strong my fingers twitched.
(Sierra's POV)
Kept trying, Jerk. And I hated that it made my heart respond, I didn't want it to. He didn't owe me attention, I didn't owe him emotions. And yet… the look in his eyes when I walked around him this morning… as though I'd punched him with a hole. It almost made me stop, almost. But Luciana's words, her lies wrapped around truths, kept flashing behind my eyes.
"Stefano was never cold with me."
"He always loved me."
"Still does."
"We had nights he'll never forget…" I shook the memories away. They powerful enough to break my heart. So I just kept avoiding him. Even though it hurt me, too.
Campus
Right after class ended, I felt fingertips hook into my backpack strap lightly. "Wait." His voice. I shut my eyes briefly, steadying myself, then turned. "What?" I kept my voice even. He looked at me as if I had hit him. "I want—" He ceased, his jaw worked.
Then— "I need to talk to you."
"I'm busy."
"You're avoiding me." I didn't answer. He stepped nearer.
"It's because of what Luciana said, isn't it?" My throat constricted.
"Believe me," he continued, eyes darkening, "if you let her garbage push you away from me—"
"From you?" I snapped, anger rising. "Why would I care about you?" He flinched, actually flinched, my heart twisted painfully but I turned away.
(Marko's POV)
I'd never seen Stefano like this, ever. He's following her around campus like some lost confused wolf. Trying to talk with her, trying to get her attention. And Sierra… she was trying to be strong, but I knew her. In her avoiding him, I saw the pain in her eyes. I watched them from behind a pillar. Stefano latched onto her wrist-not hard, but desperate. "Sierra, stop walking away from me—" She jerked her hand back like it burned her.
"You stop! You don't get to demand anything from me!"
Stefano's face fell. And for the first time, I… felt scared. What if Stefano had only been doing this because he wanted information? What if he only wanted to win her back over just to destroy her later? What if this was part of the plan? I swallowed hard.
"Please don't be cruel to her again," I whispered to myself. "Please don't be that version of you." Because I loved Sierra, she was just like my little sister.
(Stefano's POV)
She stormed into the quiet corner of the architecture building, and I followed without hesitation.
"Sierra—"
"No."
"Sierra—"
"No!"
"Listen to me—"
"I don't want to hear anything from you!" Her voice cracked. That crack sliced through me like a blade. Closer, I stepped. She stepped back. "Sierra," I said again, softer this time, "whatever Luciana told you—"
"You didn't deny it."
"Because I didn't know what she said!"
She blinked, I continued, voice low, rough, "If I knew she was telling you half-truths and ninety percent lies, I would've stopped her. I would've destroyed her if she hurt you." Her lips parted slightly, her breath catching. "It does not matter," she whispered.
"We are nothing to each other."
"You don't get to say nothing," I snapped, not in anger, not violently, Just honestly.
"Not after everything."
My voice was soft. "Not after the way you look at me."
"Stefano—" Her eyes widened, there it was, the moment the tension snapped, but an understanding. A change in the air, her fingers shook. And for a split second… it felt like she wanted to reach for me. But she didn't. She averted her face, her eyes tiring quickly.
"I just can't handle it," she whispered. I whispered back, "Then let me deal with it for both of us."
(Marko's POV)
Looking on with heavy heart I saw that moment happen. The air between them… even from ten feet away, I felt it. Stefano was not faking this. He wasn't playacting. This wasn't part of the plan. This was real, raw , genuine. And precisely what terrified the living daylights out of me. Because if Stefano fell this hard… then remembered his hatred for Sierra's mother… My heart thudded painfully. "I hope you know what you're doing, Stefano," I muttered. For Sierra was innocent, soft, kind and fragile in ways she had kept from everyone. And I would protect her. Even from Stefano. If I had to.
(Sierra's POV)
Ending the Day in Turmoil At last, I walked away from him. But my heart remained there. Every step felt heavy. Every breath felt too sharp. The sound of his words kept echoing in my mind. You don't get to say nothing. Not after the way you look at me. And the way I do not stop staring at you. Instinctively, my fingers reached for my chest. I hated this, I hated the feelings. But most of all… I hated how much I didn't want him to stop trying.
(To be continued...….)