Chapter 136: Chapter 136
REINA
The ocean was quieter now.
The yacht drifted slowly across dark water, its lights scattering gold reflections that moved like broken pieces of glass. The music had softened into something almost distant, like it belonged to another world entirely.
I didn’t even realize I had been staring at Paolo until he spoke.
"Reina."
His voice pulled me back gently.
I blinked and found him already looking at me.
Not like before.
Not playful. Not distracted.
This time his gaze felt heavier. Like something inside him had shifted.
"What is it?" I asked softly.
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he reached for my hand across the table and held it longer than usual. His thumb stopped moving. That alone made my chest tighten.
"Before anything else tonight," he said, "I need you to listen to me properly."
Something in his tone made me sit straighter.
"Okay."
Paolo exhaled slowly, like he was choosing every word carefully.
"My mother was the first woman I ever loved."
That caught me off guard.
I stayed quiet.
He continued.
"Before Elisa. Before anyone else in my life. It was her. Completely her."
His jaw tightened slightly, like the memory still hurt.
"She wasn’t perfect," he added quietly, almost like a confession. "But to me she was everything. Safe. Warm. The only person who made the world feel like it wasn’t trying to crush me all the time."
His hand squeezed mine once.
Then released.
Like he needed space just to keep going.
"She died when I was younger," he said. "And I never really recovered from it. People say time heals things like that. But it doesn’t. It just teaches you how to breathe around the pain."
My throat felt tight.
I didn’t interrupt him.
Paolo leaned back slightly in his chair, eyes drifting toward the water like he could see something beyond it.
"I don’t talk about her much," he admitted. "Because when I do, I remember everything I lost."
Silence stretched between us.
Then he looked at me again.
And this time, something in his expression softened.
"But then you came into my life."
My breath caught slightly.
"Paolo..."
He shook his head gently, stopping me from speaking.
"No. Let me finish."
His voice lowered.
"I didn’t expect it. I didn’t plan for it. I wasn’t looking for anything. But somehow you became..." He paused, like the word was too big to say quickly. "My calm."
My heart started beating harder.
"I don’t just see you as my wife," he said slowly. "I see you as the person I come home to in my mind even when I’m not there. The person I trust my silence with."
His thumb brushed over my knuckles again.
"I want you to understand something," he added. "I don’t want a wife who only stands beside me. I want someone I can lean on too. Someone I can be soft with without feeling like I’m losing control."
His eyes stayed locked on mine.
"And I want you in every part of my life, Reina. Not halfway. Not temporarily. Fully."
My chest felt too tight to breathe properly.
I swallowed.
"I am here," I whispered.
Paolo gave a faint smile at that.
"I know."
Then he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket.
My brows furrowed slightly.
He pulled something out carefully.
A small black velvet box.
My stomach flipped instantly.
"What is that?" I asked.
He didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he looked at the box like it carried weight.
Not physical weight.
Emotional weight.
Something sacred.
"This," he said quietly, "belongs to my mother."
The air in my lungs seemed to stop.
He opened the box slowly.
Inside, resting on dark fabric, was an emerald necklace.
It caught the light immediately.
Deep green stones shimmered like something alive.
It wasn’t just jewelry.
It felt like history.
Like memory.
Like grief turned into something beautiful and painful at the same time.
My lips parted slightly.
"Paolo..."
He lifted it carefully.
"My mother used to wear this all the time," he said. "I used to stare at it when I was younger. I didn’t understand it back then. I just knew it made her feel... strong."
His voice softened.
"After she died, I couldn’t even look at it properly. I kept it locked away. I thought if I saw it too often, I would forget her the way she looked when she was alive."
He stepped closer.
Now standing beside me.
"I avoided it for years," he admitted. "Even when I missed her. Especially when I missed her."
His eyes lowered to the necklace in his hand.
Then back to me.
"But tonight," he said, "I want you to have it."
My entire body froze.
"What?"
Paolo nodded once.
"I want you to wear it."
My voice came out barely above a whisper.
"Paolo, this is your mother’s..."
"I know what it is," he cut in gently. "That’s exactly why I’m giving it to you."
He stepped behind me slowly.
My breath hitched as I felt the cool chain brush against my skin.
"I kept thinking about what she would do," he said softly while placing it around my neck. "If she were here. If she met you."
The clasp clicked.
A soft sound.
Final.
Secure.
The necklace settled against my chest, heavy and warm in a way I didn’t understand yet.
"I think she would have liked you," Paolo murmured near my ear.
My eyes stung instantly.
"And I think," he continued, "she would want you to have something that means this much to me."
His hands rested lightly on my shoulders.
"I want you to be part of everything I carry, Reina. Even the parts that hurt."
A tear slipped out before I could stop it.
I quickly wiped it away.
"Paolo..."
He turned me gently to face him again.
His thumb brushed my cheek.
"No crying," he said softly, though his voice was unsteady too. "Not tonight."
I laughed weakly through the emotion.
"You can’t say things like that and expect me not to."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
Then the mood shifted again.
Not fully gone.
Just softer.
He leaned closer slightly.
"Come here," he said.
My pulse jumped.
He wasn’t kissing me yet.
But he was close enough that I felt the tension between us change.
Slow.
Heavy.
Dangerous in a different way.
His fingers traced lightly along the edge of the necklace at my collarbone.
"You look beautiful like this," he murmured.
My breath caught.
"Paolo..."
He smiled faintly.
"What?" he asked softly. "I can’t say that?"
Something about the way he said it made my stomach tighten.
Not just affection.
Something else was in it.
Heat. Teasing. Control he wasn’t fully letting go of.
He didn’t move away immediately.
Instead, he stayed close.
Too close.
His gaze flicked to my lips for a second.
Then back to my eyes.
Slow.
Intentional.
I swallowed hard.
"Are you trying to distract me?" I asked quietly.
His smile deepened slightly.
"Maybe."
My heart skipped.
He leaned back just enough to break the tension.
But not enough to remove it.
Dinner continued after that.
But everything had changed.
Every glance he gave me felt heavier.
Every touch lingered longer.
When he leaned across the table, his sleeve brushed my arm and stayed there a second too long.
When he spoke, his voice dropped lower than before.
When he laughed, it felt like he was laughing at something I wasn’t fully part of yet.
And I started noticing things.
The way he watched me when I wasn’t looking.
The way his fingers tightened slightly when I leaned closer.
The way he kept finding excuses to be near me.
Green lights.
That was the only way I could describe it.
Signals.
Soft permission.
Silent pulling.
But my mind kept misreading everything.
Turning warmth into something sharper.
Something more dangerous.
Something I wasn’t sure I was ready to name.
And the necklace rested against my chest the entire time.
Heavy.
Beautiful.
Like a promise I didn’t fully understand yet.
And I had no idea that tonight wasn’t just a celebration.
It was a turning point.
One I wouldn’t be able to undo.
