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Back home, I joined Angel in his grueling martial arts class; I also took up running, and I got fitter than I’d ever been.

I freakin’ worked hard to become the best possible version of myself.

In time, I was at the peak of my personal and career success.

I’d found my peace. I wasn’t going to let it go, given how hard I’d fought for it.

But I never quite relinquished Ana.

I still thought of her, took plenty of walks down the lake beaches where we first met, and even wrote lyrics with her in mind.

Still, I kept my yearning secret, even now that she was with us in Mijas.

Despite my craving, I set firm limits for myself.

I refrained from begging her to come back to me, and although she drove me wild each time I saw her, I held back from making any moves or commenting about her loser of a husband.

Even though Massimo was behaving like a right old bastard, I refused to badmouth the fucker. She needed to come to her own conclusion about his neglect.

If we ever got back together, I’d be open to it, but it’d only happen after we worked through what broke us the first time.

Our relationship would never be what it once was.

If we were to contemplate it, it would have to transform; we’d need healthy, strict boundaries, and solid respect and understanding for each other.

Most of all, we had to be willing to do the hard grind required for the rest of our lives to make it work.

First, she needed Massimo gone, given she wore his massive diamond ring on her finger. I also had no intention of helping her break her vows.

I would never share her with another man.

Ever.

Until that rock came off, she and I were a closed chapter.

After Ana and Raff caught up, she asked me to take her to her room.

‘I need a nana nap, and a shower,’ she said.

‘How’s the leg?’

‘I scarcely feel any pain anymore; it must be healing well.’

‘Good to hear, mama.’

I focused on settling her in, wheeling her to the spacious bedroom on the ground floor, and leaving her so she’d rest for a bit.

Later, after her siesta, she used the villa’s internal Siri speakers to ask me to fetch her.

As I walked in, my heart lurched.

Ana was in a white summer dress that accentuated her sun-kissed shoulders, the fabric cascading around her hips.

She wore delicate silver hoop earrings, and her brunette hair, pulled into a loose twist, revealed the stunning nape of her neck.

‘You showered and changed without any help?’ I said, arching a brow.

She shot me a soft smile that sent heat racing straight to my cock.