"
I’m sorry,” I whispered, letting my eyes fill with genuine distress, blarring with fear of rejection. “I couldn’t stop myself. I’m so alone, Fabio. I see the kindness in your eyes, and I… I just… I need it.”
I kept my hands lightly on his chest, feeling the frantic, hammering rhythm of his heart beneath the starched shirt.
“You are twenty years old, Tiana. You are the daughter of my best friend. You are under my care!” he hissed, his grip tightening painfully on my waist. “This is insane. This is wrong. You are grieving!”
“I am,” I insisted, pushing the narrative. “And this is the only thing that makes me feel real, Fabio! The only thing that stops the silence. I don’t want your pity. I want to be under you. I want you inside me”
His jaw clenched. He looked away for a moment, wrestl
