Chapter 152 - One Hundred and Fifty-Two
Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Two
Alicia’s POV
The flight to Italy took over twelve hours. We had a layover in New York, then another in Paris, each stop making me more paranoid that Malachi would somehow catch up to us, that he’d be waiting at the next gate with that intense stare and all his explanations.
But he never appeared. We made it through both airports without incident, using the time to stretch our legs and pretend everything was normal.
Sophie barely spoke during the entire journey. Just stared out windows or at her phone, texting Charlotte and Cameron with updates that I’m sure made this whole thing sound like an adventure instead of what it really was. Running. Hiding. Escaping.
We landed in Milan in the early afternoon local time. The sun was bright and warm, completely at odds with how I felt inside. Cassie’s boyfriend David had arranged for a car to pick us up, a sleek black Mercedes with a driver who spoke minimal English but knew exactly where to take us.
The drive to Lake Como took about an hour. I watched the landscape change from urban sprawl to rolling hills to the stunning blue of the lake surrounded by mountains. It was beautiful. The kind of place people came for romantic getaways and dream vacations.
I was here to hide from the man I’d thought I loved.
The villa was even more impressive than the photos David had shown Cassie. Three stories of stone and glass perched on a hillside with views of the lake that probably cost more per night than most people made in a month. Privacy gates, security cameras, a garden that looked like something from a magazine.
Safe. Isolated. Perfect.
"Wow," Sophie said, the first word she’d spoken in hours. "This is where we’re staying?"
"For now," I said. "Until we figure out what’s next."