CHAPTER 15

Sasha had spent years preparing for this moment.

She had imagined it over and over again—wondering how she'd feel when she finally saw him again.

Would she feel anger?

Hatred?

Or nothing at all?

But now, standing in the shadows of the grand penthouse meeting hall, her breath hitched.

Matteo De Luca stood across the room, his presence as commanding as ever.

But he was different.

Colder.

Sharper.

The boyish arrogance he once carried had hardened into something more lethal.

He no longer moved with that casual, easy confidence she remembered.

Now, his steps were calculated. Precise. As if every move had been pre-planned for maximum control.

His once messy, dark brown hair was now neatly styled—shorter on the sides, with just enough length at the top to show that some things about him hadn't changed.

But what truly caught her off guard?

His eyes.

The Matteo she knew had bluish-brown eyes that always carried a glint of amusement, a spark of mischief—even in his most serious moments.

Now?

There was no warmth in them.

They were still bluish-brown, but colder, darker, almost unfeeling.

Like twin storms, swirling with everything he had seen and lost.

His olive-toned skin had taken on a more severe look, his cheekbones sharper, his jawline more defined.

He was perfection. Unreachable, untouchable.

And yet—

He was right there.

And he didn't even know she was, too.

For a brief second, their eyes met.

A flicker. A moment so brief, so fleeting, Matteo didn't even register it.

Sasha felt it in her bones.

The sharp pang of a past that refused to die.

The love that once existed. The betrayal that burned it to the ground.

Her fingers curled into a tight fist, nails digging into her palm to force herself back to reality.

Matteo didn't recognize her.

Why would he?

The girl he once knew no longer existed.

He was looking at Sasha Rossi, not Alessia Rossu.

And that was exactly how she wanted it.

"Of course, he looks better than ever. Fate is just cruel like that."

"I spent years turning myself into a different person. Meanwhile, Matteo just upgraded into a sharper, more ruthless version of himself. How utterly predictable."

"Oh, look. The man who ruined my life is now the most powerful version of himself yet. And here I am, the assistant to the empire I'm about to burn to the ground. Lovely."

Sasha kept her expression blank, her posture composed.

But inside?

She was waging a war.

A war between the past and the present.

A war between the girl who loved him and the woman who would destroy him.

Sasha took a slow, steady breath.

Now wasn't the time to be distracted.

She had work to do.

From her position in the shadows, she scanned the room. Matteo's inner circle was gathered—his top men, the ones who ensured the empire ran like a well-oiled machine.

They were focused on their conversation, discussing the next shipment—a route that had been working flawlessly for months.

That was about to change.

Sasha had already planted the first seed.

A simple miscalculation in their supply reports.

A slight delay in the coded messages to their international partners.

A tiny shift in the information being fed to Matteo's men.

It was nothing big.

Not yet.

But it was enough to make his men question each other.

Enough to make Matteo start wondering why things were slightly… off.

"It's nothing."

Matteo brushed off the minor errors.

A missing report? A miscommunication? These things happened in an empire this large.

But Sasha could see it—the slight crease in his brow.

He didn't like things being out of place.

And that?

That was exactly what she would use against him.

"Welcome to the game, Matteo. You don't even know you're playing yet."

Sasha turned, slipping away before he could ever truly see her.

This was just the beginning.