Chapter 18
Luigi felt like someone had detonated a bomb inside his chest, his entire world crumbling into dust.
He dug his nails into his palms until they drew blood, desperately trying to keep himself from completely falling apart.
So to Aurelia, their two years together had meant nothing. He was just some random hookup she’d forgotten about.
“Aurelia, you’re fucking heartless!” The words tore from his throat like a wounded animal’s cry.
Aurelia stopped and turned back, her eyes empty as winter.
‘Luigi, you’re the last person on earth who gets to call me heartless.”
Each word landed like a blade, precise and devastating.
Who was the heartless one here, really?
Her heart had been obliterated years ago-shattered by graduation night, pulverized by her parents’ cruelty, destroyed by Luigi’s lies and betrayal.
Sometimes a person really can incinerate every hope they’ve ever carried in one devastating moment.
he second Aurelia had submitted her application to New Mexico Tech, she’d encased her heart in ice so thick nothing could penetrate it.
lever again would she let anyone close enough to destroy her.
saac watched the brutal exchange with growing alarm, his protective instincts flaring as he saw the pain flickering behind Aurelia’s composed mask.
Aurelia, are you alright?” His voice was gentle, concerned.
le made a mental note of Luigi’s name and the obvious threat he posed to Aurelia’s wellbeing.
urelia straightened her shoulders, her armor sliding back into place. “I’m fine, Isaac. Let’s go.”
fter four years of rebuilding herself from nothing, she wasn’t that broken eighteen-year-old anymore.
hosts from her past couldn’t touch her now.
ler research was her fortress, her salvation, and nothing-especially not Luigi-would interfere with the life she’d built.
saac could sense the storm brewing beneath her calm exterior but wisely shifted to safer ground.
Professor Xavier just sent word about the Arizona expedition. We need to collect specimens from the Sonoran Desert for the hepatitis compound esearch. You’ll be leading the new graduate students.”
He’ll probably brief you officially in the next day or two.”
Already?” Aurelia looked genuinely surprised.
Taking inexperienced students into the field so soon felt rushed. Their theoretical foundation was still shaky at best.
And one of those students was Luigi, which made her jaw clench involuntarily.
Isaac read her expression like an open book, his concern deepening. “If you’d rather not deal with it, I can lead the expedition instead. Professor Xavier trusts your judgment-he’d understand if you needed to step back.”
Isaac had watched Aurelia command respect from everyone in the lab through pure brilliance and dedication. She was Professor Xavier’s star, and
everyone knew it.
But Aurelia refused to let personal baggage compromise her professional integrity. Running away wasn’t in her DNA.
14-50
Chapter 18
“No.” Her voice was steel “My responsibility, my mission. I can’t keep hiding behind other people. I need to prove I can handle this myself.”
She remembered how the serdor students had sheltered her when she first arrived-always ready with answers, always protecting her from the harsh realities of academic life.
But she was a teaching assistant now. Time to show she could stand alone.
Isaac’s chest tightened with admiration for her strength, even as he worried about what this Luigi situation might do to her. He knew better than to push when she’d made up her mind.
“It’s not set in stone yet. We’ll wait for Professor Xavier’s return and finalize everything then. But Aurelia-” His voice turned serious. “If you need anything, anything at all, you know I’m here.”
The intensity in his voice made her look at him more carefully, but she simply nodded. “I know. Thank you.”
space.
They walked to the equipment room in comfortable silence, securing all the confiscated phones before heading back to their shared office
Isaac pulled out an elegant bakery box, his movements careful and deliberate. “You mentioned craving Zuccotto last month, so I asked the cafeteria manager to special order some from that Italian place you love downtown. I thought maybe you could use something sweet today.”
His thoughtfulness caught her off guard, warmth blooming in her chest despite her emotional exhaustion.
Aurelia opened the box to reveal the perfect dome-shaped dessert, its delicate sponge cake exterior hiding layers of cream and candied fruit.
She took a careful bite, and for the first time all day, her expression softened into something resembling genuine happiness.
‘Isaac, this is incredible. Exactly what I needed.” Her smile was real unguarded.
She looked up to thank him properly, and that’s when she saw it-
The unmistakable tenderness in Isaac’s dark eyes, the way he wa
protect.
anching her like she was something precious and fragile that he’d do anything to
The realization hit her like a freight train. Isaac wasn’t just being kand
He was in love with her.
