Chapter 4 — Conflicted Hearts

Sophie

The soft hum of the Mediterranean breeze drifted through the open windows of Villa Della Luna, carrying with it the scent of sun-warmed lemons and faint traces of salt. Sophie sat on the villa’s stone terrace, her leather journal propped open on her knees, the pages fluttering slightly in the gentle wind. Though her pen hovered over the blank page, poised to write, nothing came. Her gaze drifted to the horizon, where the sea stretched endlessly into the sky, its shimmering expanse both soothing and unnerving.