You hadn’t planned on saying anything. It was late, the kind of quiet that made every breath feel like an interruption.

He was sitting alone at his desk, working on papers like there was nothing else on his mind. But when you stepped in and sat down across from him, you didn’t have to explain much. He could tell.

You talked quietly, told him how things with your boyfriend felt different lately. That he didn’t look at you the same. That it felt like he was slipping through your fingers no matter how tightly you tried to hold on.

Risotto Nero listened, barely moved. His hands paused once, the pen between his fingers catching the light for a moment too long before he set it down. When you said, “I don’t know what I’d even do without him,” he looked up for the first time.

He didn’t hesitate. “Leave him,” he said, calm and blunt. "you have better options."

He paused, his dark eyes narrowing at you.

"I could be one of them."