(VALENTINO'S POV)
I walk out of the shower after taking a cold bath, but somehow, I still feel like I'm burning.
Water drips from my hair and runs down the sides of my face, my neck, and my chest. The bathroom mirror is still fogged at the edges, but the center is clear enough for me to see myself.
So I stand there for a long moment… staring at my face.
At the exhaustion sitting under my eyes.
At the version of myself I barely even recognize anymore.
My body looks like it belongs to someone who's been dragged through hell and left there, and maybe that's exactly what happened.
My gaze drops straight to the scar on the left side of my chest.
Slowly… I lift my hand and rest my fingertips over it. The second I touch it, a dull ache spreads underneath my skin.
It hurts when I press a little harder.
This isn't something that disappears with time.
It's a permanent part of me now.
A mark I'm going to carry for the rest of my fucking life.
