Chapter 3 The Boy With His Eyes

Chapter Three: The Boy With His Eyes

The apartment door creaked open, and Luca came running, socked feet slipping on the hardwood floor.

"Mama!" he shouted, launching into Alessia's arms.

She dropped her coat by the door and caught him midair, burying her face in his damp curls. His warmth melted through her cold skin, grounding her in a world far from church bells and betrayal.

"Hey, baby," she whispered, kissing the top of his head. "Were you good for Auntie Grace?"

"Uh-huh," he said, proudly. "We made pancakes for dinner!"

Grace stepped into the hallway, arms folded, eyebrows raised. "You did it, didn't you?"

Alessia didn't answer. She set Luca down and walked straight to the kitchen. Her hands were shaking again. Not from fear this time-but from everything she hadn't said.

Grace followed. "Did he see Luca?"

"No," Alessia said, opening the cabinet and grabbing a glass. She poured water, gulped, and leaned against the counter like the weight of the world sat on her shoulders.

"I dropped the bomb. Right in the middle of his wedding."

Grace let out a low whistle. "Damn."

"He didn't even deny the marriage." Alessia's laugh was tight. "But when I showed the photo... the look on his face. He didn't know about Luca. I thought it would satisfy me-seeing him fall apart. But it didn't. It just... hurt."

Grace crossed her arms, softer now. "Do you still love him?"

Alessia didn't speak.

Outside, thunder rolled in the distance.

"I hate what he did to me," she said finally. "But when he asked for Luca's name, he looked... broken. Like someone who'd lost something he didn't know he had."

"He did," Grace said gently. "He lost you. And a son."

A small voice interrupted them.

"Mama, who's Ethan?"

Both women froze.

Luca stood in the doorway, clutching his stuffed lion, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Alessia knelt down slowly, forcing a calm smile. "Where did you hear that name, sweetheart?"

"You said it. When you hugged me. You said, 'You don't deserve to know him, Ethan.'"

Alessia swallowed hard.

She hadn't realized she said it out loud.

"That's... someone I used to know," she said softly, brushing a curl from Luca's forehead.

"Is he a bad guy?"

She hesitated.

"No. He's someone who made a big mistake."

Luca nodded, processing this. "Like when I colored on the wall and said it was the dog?"

Alessia smiled, her eyes burning. "Kind of like that."

Luca looked thoughtful. "Do you still love him?"

A dagger in the chest.

She kissed his cheek. "I love you. That's what matters."

And in the quiet after bedtime, with Luca asleep beside his lion and Grace gone home, Alessia stared at the ceiling and wondered...

Was it really over?

Or had it only just begun?