Chapter 32 Dangerous Confessions

The drive stretched long and winding, the city’s harsh skyline dissolving into rolling hills and endless fields. Mariana leaned against the car window, watching the scenery change as Diego’s sleek black Aston Martin cut through the quiet countryside. The road smelled of damp earth and pine, the kind of scent that tugged at something distant in her memory, something safe. She turned to Diego. His grip on the wheel was firm, his jaw clenched as if he were fighting something inside himself. His usual controlled demeanor softened under the weight of whatever he wasn’t saying.