# Chapter 4 - The Slap *

The morning after the beach party was soft and golden. The sea was calmer now, whispering to the shore like it had nothing to hide. Birds wheeled through the sky. Everything felt peaceful.

But **Lia** was a storm.

She sat stiffly in the backseat of the car, her arms crossed tight, her friends’ chatter a muffled blur in her ears. She hadn’t told them what happened last night, not the room, not the kiss, not the joke.

Not the heat in her face when she’d realized he hadn’t meant any of it.

She couldn’t stop replaying it. The way his voice had teased, the slow kiss that left her breathless… and then the door shutting with that final, mocking line.

> *“I was just joking. Didn’t think you’d actually kiss me.”*

*He was joking.*

And she’d kissed him like an idiot.

As the car curved along the coastal road, a familiar figure caught her eye.

**Alessio.**

He was standing near the beach gate, talking to another man — Marco. His sunglasses were pushed up into his dark hair, and he was laughing like his world was perfect. Like he hadn’t just humiliated someone the night before.

Lia sat up straighter, her blood simmering.

“Stop the car,” she said.

Sade glanced back. “What?”

“Pull over. Please.”

“Lia, what—?”

But Lia was already unlocking the door. Her sandals hit the sand with purpose as she stormed out. Her friends exchanged glances but didn’t follow.

Alessio turned when he noticed her.

His smile returned instantly, amused and a little cocky. “Oh,” he said. “You again.”

She didn’t answer.

He slid his sunglasses down. “Back for another—”

**SLAP.**

The crack echoed across the beach.

The air stilled. Even the seagulls flapped away, startled.

Alessio’s head turned with the impact. He froze, his hand slowly rising to touch the reddening spot on his cheek.

Lia’s voice came sharp and clear. “That was for last night.”

He stared at her, stunned. “You kissed me.”

“You *asked* me to.”

“I was teasing—”

“I didn’t know that.” Her eyes burned into his. “You were a stranger in a half-unbuttoned towel, making jokes I didn’t understand. You made me feel stupid. And then you laughed.”

He opened his mouth. Then closed it again. The arrogance faded just a little.

She turned away without waiting for a reply. But as she walked, she felt it. The sting of tears that never fell. The rush of humiliation twisting into something stronger *dignity*.

> *She hadn’t planned what she would say. But she couldn't let him walk away thinking she was a joke.*

When she slid back into the car, Sade blinked at her, jaw dropped.

“Okay, you’re going to tell us *everything,*” Eva muttered from the back.

“Drive,” Lia said calmly, ignoring her racing heart.

“...Damn,” Sade whispered, putting the car into gear.

---

Back at the roadside, Alessio stood motionless.

Marco raised a brow. “Okay. You definitely deserved that.”

Alessio nodded slowly, lips twitching. “Probably.”

A pause.

“She didn’t know I was joking,” he said quietly, almost to himself.

Then a faint grin spread across his face. “Now I *really* want to see her again.”