Luka felt as if his heart had stopped beating. His face flushed and heated up. He had not expected Caterina to be so determined to kiss him just to confirm to Leonardo that she no longer liked him. This attitude of Caterina's was a bit out of line, but Luka really liked it.Caterina stopped her kiss. She turned to look at Leonardo to see how he would react. As expected, Leonardo looked furious. Leonardo clenched his hands very tightly. His jaw seemed to have hardened so that his neck veins were clearly visible. He was really holding back now. If he followed his heart, he would have kicked Luka's ass."Now do you believe?" Caterina asked in a tone that sounded so cynical,.Leonardo did not answer. He stared at Caterina very sharply, his gaze like a wild animal staring at prey. His breathing sounded ragged."Now please don't—"Before Caterina could finish speaking, Leonardo approached and immediately grabbed her mouth. Caterina rebelled when Leonardo kissed her so brutally. There was so
"I can also finish you off by pulling my trigger." Alex suddenly arrived and pressed his gun to the back of Leonardo's head.Meanwhile, Marco chased Leonardo's men away from their business.Caterina turned to look at Alex. The man smiled at her, as if nothing had happened.Leonardo glanced with the corner of his eye. He was just playing around by saying he would finish Luka off, while the gun he was holding didn't actually have bullets. Even if he pulled the trigger, nothing would happen to Luka. Only the loud gunshot would disturb his hearing.Caterina looked so tense, as Leonardo was not an easy man to defeat. She was afraid there would be fighting and bloodshed. While there were many innocent people there. On the other hand, the longer they wasted time, the more blood the wound would waste. If this continued, the man could bleed to death."Do you know what you're doing?" Leonardo asked sharply. He didn't expect that the man he was always proud of and considered his own brother woul
"Kate, you go home and rest. Let me take care of Luka here." Alex said softly, looking at Caterina.Caterina immediately shook her head. How could she go home and rest while Luka was lying in the hospital because of her? If not for her, Luka would never be in this situation.Caterina wiped her wet cheeks. She had been unable to stop crying. She was silent, but the tears kept coming when she looked at Luka, who was sleeping on the hospital bed. Her heart ached. Leonardo was so cruel to him that everyone around him was always in danger."At least eat; it's late at night, and you haven't eaten at all." Marco reminded her.Caterina shook her head again."Kate, you'll get sick if you keep this up. Luka will also drop if you get sick." Alex tried to persuade. He was really worried about the attitude Caterina was showing. Her current attitude was the same as when Dante fell into a coma. Luka only had a gunshot wound to his shoulder; Caterina must know it wasn't as fatal as she thought."You
Caterina woke up in the morning when the doctor came to check on the wound on Luka's shoulder. She was quite surprised to see the room crowded with doctors and nurses. She quickly got out of bed with her face flushed with embarrassment."I'm sorry." Caterina apologized to the medical staff."It's okay. We're used to having couples like this. It is indeed very sad when our loved ones are lying sick in the hospital. It feels like not even a minute to part from them. Isn't that so?" The doctor smiled and said.Caterina could only smile as she rubbed the back of her neck to ease the awkwardness.Alex and Marco seemed to be watching. They were standing not far from the bed area. Caterina didn't know when the two men slept; they just looked so fresh."He said he wanted to be transferred to another hospital, right? The paperwork has been taken care of, and an ambulance will be here in an hour to take you." The doctor informed."Can I just go home, Doc?" Luka couldn't bear to stay in the hosp
Caterina sat Luka gently on the sofa. They had just arrived at Marco's luxurious mansion. A doctor was waiting there. The doctor was Marco's personal physician who usually worked to treat injured Phoenix Crew members. There were also Gabriel and Rossie, who were also doctors. Plus Caterina, who is also very familiar with the medical world. It made Caterina feel calm because Luka was surrounded by people who understood medical science.The mansion would also be much safer than the shed. This was because there was double security there. A warning alarm would go off when someone snuck in. There are many officers on guard, and there is a large supply of weapons. If Leonardo came back to attack, they would be protected by many people."Leo is such a bastard!" Rossi cursed in annoyance after he found out what happened. "I don't understand how you could keep him for a dozen years. What did you see in him? All he can do is kill and cause trouble."Caterina smiled slightly. She also felt very
"What did you do that Mr. Bianchi shot you? There's no way he did that for no reason." Adam asked after Luka's face appeared on his cell phone screen while they were doing a video call.Luka smiled sadly."Now you don't even favor your son at all. Can you condone when your son almost died at the hands of that man? I had avoided the dispute; he came out of nowhere and shot me." Luka tried to be convincing.Adam's brow furrowed. It wasn't that he didn't believe his son, but he found it very strange. In all the years he had known Leonardo, he had never had a disagreement with the man. Why would Leonardo suddenly shoot his son if there was nothing to anger him?"You know, this cooperation is very important to me. If this cooperation goes well, I can expand my business in Mexico. This is also for your and Sophia's future. You better come and apologize. I don't want to know; you just have to make up with him." Adam said firmly."Seriously? It turns out that I'm not that important to you. I
By three in the morning, Luka and Alex had arrived at the airport. They had deliberately come early so that Adam wouldn't get angry at having to wait for them. Luka touched his shoulder repeatedly; he felt so sore and painful."You should have listened to Kate and stayed at the mansion to rest." Alex commented after he saw Luka repeatedly touching his shoulder."You don't know my father. He's very short-tempered; his temper is explosive. If I don't come pick him up, he'll make a scene at the mansion." Luka explained why.The man in the white shirt sat in the waiting seat. In ten minutes, his father's plane would arrive. He was working on the right sentence to explain to his father why Leonardo had shot him.Adam and Leonardo had been friends for a long time, even since Leonardo's father was still around. The relationship originally started with Luka's father and Leonardo's father. After Leonardo's father died, the friendship was continued by Leonardo."Really? After meeting him a few
A white car stopped right in front of Luka. The man turned to look at his father. It was a look filled with hatred."You'd better get a taxi and stay at Leonardo's place. I'll meet you at noon after lunch." Luka said before getting into the car.Adam looked unhappy with his son's words, as if he were a stranger to him. However, remembering that he had beaten his son and trusted others more than Luka, he realized his mistake. He couldn't blame Luka for his attitude.The car drove at a moderate speed out of the airport area. When it reached the public road, Alex started driving at high speed."I don't think there are any doctors on duty at this hour; it's too early. Let's go back to the mansion and call for a doctor to come. Don't let Kate know about this." Luka gave the order. He was worried that Caterina would further forbid him to do anything after his wound was fully healed.Luka had been guarded by his father like a diamond in the rough. He could not be injured in the slightest bec
"Dad?" Caterina was taken completely by surprise when she came out of the room to find Dante standing at the door. She was petrified for a moment, staring at her father with a mind filled with question marks. Since when had he been there? Why was he suddenly there? What was he doing there? All these questions ruled Caterina's mind."Kate..." Dante said weakly. His eyes looked teary. His whole body was trembling. He couldn't help but feel, even more so after he learned that Caterina had died and finally came back from the dead. He did not expect that his daughter would go through so many difficult times because of him."I'm sorry." Dante said in a hoarse and trembling voice. He hugged Caterina very tightly. His embrace even made Caterina moan because of the pain in her wound."I'm sorry." Dante released the hug because he did not want to hurt his daughter further. He gently rubbed Caterina's shoulders. A knot of a smile appeared on his lips. However, his eyes were moist from crying.Wh
"I can help you if you want. You don't have to spend your time in prison. No one knows how long you'll be locked up there." The man in the formal suit spoke with emphasis. He had travelled from Mexico to Sydney after learning that Leonardo was involved in a criminal offense and had to deal with the law.If he had wanted to, Leonardo would have relied on his connections to get all charges dropped. However, he did not want to do that, as he realized that he was wrong. Moreover, Caterina forgave without wanting to prolong. He felt ashamed, angry, and disappointed in himself. There were countless mistakes he had made. There was no telling how much pain Caterina had received. He wanted to make up for all his mistakes, at least by being locked up in a detention cell for a few months."You don't have to do that. I wanted this." Leonardo replied expressionlessly.The man was quite surprised by Leonardo's refusal. How could he? How could he voluntarily submit himself to trial? He was the ruler
After a week in the hospital, Caterina was finally allowed to go home under the condition that she must always be under the doctor's care. Her pale face had also started to look fresh. Luka had really taken good care of her during her hospitalization. He even neglected his work during this week. For him, Caterina was more important than work. Even Adam also preferred to be in the hospital rather than working."Slow down." Luka said gently as he helped Caterina out of the car. He carried her, half-hugging her, to step into the house."Mommy!" Shopia ran over when she saw Caterina had finally returned. She hugged Caterina's legs very tightly, as there was a lot of longing building up."Where are the souvenirs, Mommy?" Shopia looked up, looking at Caterina with sparkling eyes. Her face looked radiant, a sweet smile gracing her lips. She didn't know anything about what had happened to Caterina, because Adam had told her that Luka and Caterina were travelling to Mexico for a week to take c
Caterina woke up in the morning when the doctor came to check her condition. She had slept very well the whole night, due to the effects of the medicine the doctor had given her. The woman frowned as she felt the glare of the light. Her eyes narrowed to look around. She was quite surprised to find Adam there."Uncle?" Caterina called out weakly.Adam approached with a smile. He felt guilty for all the things he had done to Caterina in the past. He felt guilty for hurting her. If he had known that Caterina was a victim of Leonardo's selfishness, he would never have antagonized her. He would have loved her with all his heart and regarded her as his own daughter."Stop calling me uncle; call me father from now on." Adam said with great tenderness. He rubbed the top of Caterina's head, the look in his eyes showing that he had truly accepted Caterina completely.Caterina smiled with a gentle nod. She was very happy with Adam's behavior because she felt as if she had a loving father. All th
"Kate! Where's Kate?" Adam ran in breathlessly. The whole city of Sydney recognized the middle-aged man. So, the security guards and doctors didn't dare to hold him back or reprimand him. The man looked very panicked, his face and eyes full of worry. Fortunately, he had not heard the news about Caterina's death. He had only heard from his men that Caterina was being treated at the hospital for being shot in her vitals.The door opened with Adam appearing behind it. The man looked at Caterina, who was sleeping on a hospital bed in the VIP room. There were numerous devices attached to her body."Dad?" Luka was surprised to see his father there. His brow furrowed, he looked around. His father had come alone."Why are you here?" Luka asked in a tone demanding an answer. He had told his men to keep this matter a secret from Adam or Shopia. Why was his father suddenly there?"Do you think I'm that cruel? I told you that I have recognized Kate as my daughter-in-law. Why would you keep a matt
"I'll take care of the administration so that we can take Kate's body directly to the crematorium for cremation." Alex said with a trembling voice. The man could not even believe that Caterina had died. The woman he had thought of as his only remaining family had left him.Alex took a weak step. His face was puffy and red. He was deeply lost and grieved over Caterina's death. There was no sentence that could describe his feelings at the moment. He even had to take care of the hospital administration when he was in such a state of grief."No! You can't take her to the cremation ground!" Luka said in a high tone. "Kate is still alive. Her body is still warm." He continued to deny. Perhaps because of his deep love, he couldn't accept reality.Alex ignored that sentence. He knew that what Luka was saying right now was just an expression of his pain. The longer he heard Luka's cries, the deeper his pain would become as he realized that he would never see Caterina again."Where am I?" The w
Hearing the doctor's words, Luka felt like his life was over. His heart stopped beating for a few seconds. He could not believe that Caterina was really dead. How could that be? This morning he was still joking with Caterina. He had only left her for a few hours because Caterina was going to choose a wedding dress. They were going to get married in the near future, but now it looked like it would never happen. This was because the bride-to-be was gone.Luka fell to his knees on the floor. He couldn't even cry because he was too shocked to hear the news. His face looked very pale, his eyes wide open.Alex immediately ran into the room. He ran over to Caterina. His tears immediately broke after he saw the pale face of Caterina who was sleeping on the operating bed. The eyes were now tightly closed. Her beautiful face looked very pale."Kate! You can't die! Who gave you permission to die?!" Leonardo's screams sounded so heartbreaking. He shook Caterina's body, hoping that she would rise
Leonardo paced back and forth in front of the operating theater. His body was still covered in Caterina's bloodstains after he hugged and carried her bloodied body. Caterina needed many blood transfusions. She was now in the operating theater to have the bullet removed from her body.As expected. The bullet hit Caterina's vital organs. It would be a miracle if she survived death this time. The doctors were trying very hard in there.Leonardo could not calm down at all. His face was flushed, his heart beating very fast. If Caterina didn't survive this time, he would really go crazy. Because Caterina died by her own hand.The medics had been working there for hours, but there was still no news. Leonardo continued to wait. He prayed silently, hoping that Caterina would be given the strength to survive her crisis this time."Bastard!" A punch suddenly landed on Leonardo's face. The man was so shocked, he almost fell down because the punch was really very strong.Leonardo's men approached;
"Kate! Kate! Do you still hear me?!" Luka became increasingly panicked when he could no longer hear any sound. His call connection with Caterina had been severed. The man's face looked deathly pale. A cold sweat began to break out suddenly. His heart seemed to stop beating. His hands trembled violently. His wild mind began to wander everywhere. He had thought of the worst thing that had happened to Caterina. Moreover, he had heard gunshots and screams just before the call was cut off."Let's hurry!" Luka ordered his men to drive at a faster speed.Luka could not calm down during the whole journey. He was very anxious. Every second that passed felt so slow."Can't you drive any faster?" Luka said in a hurried tone. He had lost the woman he loved so much. At that time he felt that his world was over. He survived only because of his daughter Shopia. Here he found his passion again after he met Caterina. He no longer wanted to feel lost for the second time. He loved Caterina very much. Ha