LUCA'S POV. I felt adrenaline in my veins as I walked out of the elevator and towards my office, shooting a salute to Maya on the way. I was feeling pumped because I'd just received the money I'd lent to a businessman I'd met some time last year, and he'd added the required interest—it was a freaking huge sum of money— and coupled with that, Mr Richardson's partnership with me had attracted the attention I was expecting, I couldn't even count with two hands, how many famous billionaire's had reached out to me for an association. It was amazing, really. Business was looking so fucking good now, and I was here for it. Nothing could ruin my mood when business was going well, not even the thoughts of Scarlett and what had happened in the gym. Shit. I'd promised myself that I wasn't even going to remember it. It shouldn't even have mattered to me that she said she was over what had happened, that she was going to tell her boyfriend and apologize to him, but somehow it did. It mattered s
SCARLETT'S POV. My legs were shaking as I made my way towards the Jeep that was waiting for me at the usual spot, all the while knowing that Abby was looking at me with worry in her eyes, but I didn't turn back to look at her, I just kept going, walking with my head a jumbled mess.I couldn't even tell what I was feeling. Everything was all over the place. All my thoughts were making my heart ache, and I actually felt like I was going to choke, or explode or just straight up puke all over the floor, creating a show for everyone to see. To say I was shattered after what I'd heard was an understatement. I was completely broken, so deeply hurt that I wondered how I was ever going to deal with the information I'd just absorbed. How was I going to get used to it?"Scarlett?" Abby called, voice holding so much concern and fright over my horrible state. I didn't want to turn back because a part of me was angry at her for ruining my day, for ruining the fantasy I'd created in my head about
LUCA'S POV. I couldn't believe it, I'd been right about that asshole, Kevin all along. I'd just always had the feeling that he was up to no good, and even though Raph had said that he wasn't quite sure if he was one of the guys who had been sitting in their apartment back, I just knew that it was him. It had to be him. I never liked the guy. And now I felt bad for Scarlett. She literally almost killed herself because of the guy. Heck, she loved him so much, even I who knew nothing about love could tell. I wondered how she was going to feel when she got to know about his true colours. I was going to make sure that I got to the bottom of everything with that guy. If he and his roommates were tying young girls up and gagging them then that meant he had to be punished by the law. I had developed a soft spot for girls in those kind of situations ever since what had happened to Isabella. I could understand how it felt to know that a man was ruining your sister, and I didn't want anyone
LUCA'S POV. My heart was racing at an alarming speed, and the collar of my shirt was sticking to my neck and back because of the heat I was feeling. God. I had to calm myself down. I wanted to calm down, but I just couldn't, Scarlett was shaking in my arms and before we'd broken in, she had been about to swallow so many fucking pills. Shit. I felt a rush of all the feelings from the day I'd heard about Isabella's death, and my heart pounded faster.What if we hadn't broken down that door fast enough? Would Scarlett have really ended her life just like Isabella? What could have driven her to having such thoughts in the first places?Was I seriously asking that question? Of course she had been frustrated! Everything I'd put her through was bad enough to make her contemplate ending her life. Oh Hell. I felt like such an asshole. Could I have possibly been the reason why she wanted to end her life? Gosh, I hoped not. "I think we might need to take her to the hospital... Umm... maybe ...
SCARLETT'S POV.I had no idea when I'd fallen asleep but I woke up with a pounding headache and a dry mouth. I winced when I turned my head towards the couch where Luca was sitting, and felt a sharp pain in my neck. Shit. I was messed up. And it was all because of Kevin. After what I'd heard yesterday, I couldn't quite explain what had come over me. But I knew that immediately I'd gotten into my room and shut the door, all I'd wanted to do was just break things, vent my anger somehow. A fraudster? Kevin was a damn fraudster! My chest had hurt as I thought about the fact that he probably had started dating me for the same reason as he did with Abby's friend's sister. But I wondered though, why was he still putting up the act even after knowing that my father's company had gone bankrupt? From what Dad had said before we separated, he was completely broke and owing so many people including Luca, and I wasn't the kind of child who frequently requested money from my father, so frankly,
LUCA'S POV. The relief I had felt seeing Scarlett talk and alive was unexplainable. I'd just woken up from a horrible dream where everything that had happened yesterday had played out, but with a different ending. In that dream, I didn't save her fast enough from taking those pills and she ended up dead in my arms while I sulked in regret. I knew the dream was stemming from the fact that, that was something that had happened with Isabella. I'd been late to save her and had ended up sulking for the rest of my life. That was why immediately she had taken those gulps of water, I'd pulled her in for a hug, unable to stop myself any longer. For some reason my mind was convincing me that she was Isabella, and I'd saved her. It was messed up, but to be honest, hugging her made me feel so much better about what I'd done. I felt like with her, I'd corrected something at least. I'd done what I was supposed to do before it was too late. I just closed my eyes and imagined her to be my sister
SCARLETT'S POV. FIVE DAYS LATER. I groaned as the morning sunlight pierced through the curtains, searing into my throbbing head like a merciless dagger. Oh God, I'd cried all night again and now the effects were showing up with no mercy. Placing a hand to my temple, I blinked away the remnants of sleep and tried to recall what had transpired last night. Memories floated around my head, dancing just out of reach. All I could remember was taking a few glasses of whiskey and that was it. But with the pounding headache and hangover feeling I was having, I realised that it must've been much more than that. With a sigh, I shifted amidst the tangle of sheets and propped myself up on the edge of the bed. As I gingerly stood, vertigo threatened to pull me back into the comfort of sleep, but I forced myself to steady my steps. The least I could do was to face the consequences head-on, as tumultuous as they might be. It was my fault for drinking when I knew fully well how bad the morning aft
LUCA'S POV. The meeting that was supposed to be brief had quickly turned into a full on two hour long debate between me and the other shareholders. They'd all had one idea or the other about how they wanted the company to operate going forward, and even though I disagreed with all their opinions and felt like they were being shallow minded, I still had to indulge them and try to make them understand my reasoning. Finally the meeting concluded with the disagreement still between me and the shareholders and I felt frustrated as I organised the mountain of files on my desk, wondering when I was finally going to go through them like I'd promised Maya. And when I looked at the open drawers and the crumpled pieces of paper all centimetres away from the trash can, I realised that my office was a mess. It was so unusual for it to be that way, and I questioned myself. Was I losing it? Was I allowing thoughts of Scarlett and her father to consume me that I no longer cared to take care of my