Page 64 of The Art of Ruin

I open my mouth to agree automatically, already shifting to follow, but Letty’s small hand tightens in his coat, her voice soft and uncertain as she looks up at him.

“But… we didn’t skate yet.”

The words aren’t a complaint.

Just quiet disappointment.

Adriano stills, his gaze dropping to her face, something in his expression shifting in a way that’s almost imperceptible unless you’re looking for it. I watch him drop to his haunches so he can speak to her on her level, but she puts her arms out and he lifts her easily, bringing her between us.

I hesitate, then step closer before I can second-guess it. “He’s gone,” I say quietly, keeping my voice low so it doesn’t carry. “And security is already here.”

His attention lifts to me, sharp, assessing.

“We don’t need to leave immediately,” I add, more carefully this time. “Not if it means cutting her day short for something that’s already over.”

For a second, I think I’ve pushed too far.

The air between us tightens, his expression unreadable as he looks at me like he’s weighing something he doesn’t usually have to consider.

Then Letty shifts again in his arms, her fingers curling into his coat. “Please?” she asks softly.

That’s what does it.

Not me.

Her.

Adriano exhales slowly, his gaze dropping back to her, his hand coming up to smooth over her hair in a gesture that feels more instinct than thought.

When he looks back at me, the control is still there.

But something has adjusted.

“We can stay,” he says finally, his tone calm, decisive. “But not for long.”

He relents, just enough to make it seem like his decision all along. Always the litigator.

Relief settles in my chest anyway, so I let him have it. I’m getting my way. If he has to think it was his choice and not his daughter’s, then I’ll let him have it. “That’s fair,” I say quietly.

His gaze holds mine for a second longer, like he’s making sure I understand exactly what that means.

Then he shifts Letty slightly in his arms. “You wanted to skate,” he tells her.

Her entire face lights up instantly. “Yes.”

“Then we skate.”

And there it is—that inconvenient flicker of awareness that makes him harder to dismiss than I’d like.

The way he looks at her, like nothing else matters in that moment, lands somewhere I don’t want to examine too closely.

I shut it down immediately.

9.Adriano

By the timethe house settles into something resembling quiet again, I’m already working. That in itself isn’t unusual. Structure, information, and control have always been the most efficient way to keep everything where it belongs, and under normal circumstances, the steady rhythm of it is enough to quiet whatever doesn’t need my attention.

Today, it isn’t. I feel unsettled and I don’t like it. Christmas has come and gone in the blink of an eye, the days racing past quicker and quicker.