I began to silently gaze at Cesare's desk, unable to gather my thoughts. The fact that Cesare was treating me with such coldness and distance after the restless night was another blow to my already exhausted mind. A part of me wanted to stand up and leave without saying a word, but I knew that doing so would only give Cesare more power. And I wasn't going to allow that. No, this time I had to stay calm and think strategically.
"I-I think I didn't hear you well. Could you repeat what you just said?" I stammered, unable to believe that I was about to be exiled from Rome. The only thing I could focus on was finding a way to avoid leaving Rome. I knew I had told him last night that I wanted to leave and other things, but that was just to make him dependent on me and ensure that what happened in the past would never happen again.
