Emma’s POVI had always known that my life would never be simple. But I never imagined that it would spiral out of control this quickly. Standing in this mansion, surrounded by luxury, I felt more trapped than ever. Luca’s presence lingered in the air, thick with unspoken words and half-formed promises. I couldn’t shake the heaviness that weighed on me, like the walls were closing in, suffocating me.I had just found out that I was pregnant. Pregnant. The word echoed in my mind, each syllable more foreign and terrifying than the last. I didn’t know what to feel. This wasn’t a life I had imagined for myself. Not this life, not this reality, where everything I did seemed to be dictated by someone else’s choices.The silence of the room around me felt oppressive. There was so much I needed to say, so many questions I needed answers to, but Luca… Luca was just there, standing in the doorway, watching me, waiting for me to speak first. I had spent so many months avoiding this moment, tryin
Luca’s POVThe silence in the room felt like a weight, pressing down on my chest with a suffocating intensity. Emma stood by the window, her back turned to me, her body tense, as if the space between us was more than just physical distance. I could feel the storm brewing between us, a churning sea of emotions I couldn’t quite grasp. My thoughts raced, each one crashing against the other, a cacophony of confusion, guilt, and anger. Anger, mostly at myself.I had never been a man who feared much. Fear wasn’t something that had ever been a luxury in my world. But standing here, looking at Emma, knowing that I had pushed her to the edge, I felt something unfamiliar. Vulnerability. And it was uncomfortable. It was something I didn’t know how to handle.I had been distant, too cold, too focused on control. I had made decisions for both of us, not understanding—or perhaps not caring—that she had a voice in this life, in this marriage. I had thought that providing for her, keeping her safe, c
**Chapter 151: Luca’s POV**The weight of her tears still lingered in the air, and the silence between us felt more profound than anything I’d ever experienced. It wasn’t the kind of silence that demanded action. No, it was different. This kind of silence didn’t need words to fill the space. It was an understanding, a delicate balance that had shifted between us in a way I couldn’t fully comprehend yet. I couldn’t explain it. I hadn’t been able to for weeks, even months. The emotions I had been burying for years had surfaced, crashing to the surface all at once, and Emma… Emma was the only one who could unravel it all. I hated it. I hated that she held so much power over me. But I couldn’t deny it. Not anymore. She was the gravity that kept me grounded, even when the storm inside me threatened to tear everything apart.I watched her from the doorway, her figure silhouetted by the pale light streaming in from the windows. The room was silent, except for the soft sound of her breath, s
Emma’s POVThe silence between us was suffocating, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was different—this kind of silence felt like a pause, a breath before something else. Something bigger. Something that had the potential to change everything. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about him. About us. But after what happened in the last few weeks, I was starting to understand. Things had shifted, but I wasn’t sure yet if that shift was enough to undo everything.I stood by the window, the moonlight spilling across the room, casting long shadows. Outside, the city was still, as if waiting for the next move in a game that was far from over. I could feel Luca’s presence behind me. It wasn’t physical, not yet anyway, but there was an energy that stretched between us, an invisible thread that pulled at me, tugged at my resolve.For the longest time, I had pushed him away. Not physically—no, that wasn’t an option anymore. But emotionally? I had distanced myself, built walls around my heart because I
Emma’s POVI hadn’t expected it to feel like this. The weight of his presence, that constant pressure I had always tried to ignore, was finally seeping into every part of me. It had been hours since Luca had left my side, but his words—the ones that I hadn’t known how to process at the time—echoed in my mind, replaying over and over like a never-ending loop.I had believed, for so long, that I was protecting myself. That keeping him at arm’s length was the only way to shield myself from more hurt. But now? Now, I wasn’t so sure anymore.I had always told myself I was strong enough to stand alone, to handle the weight of the world without anyone else’s help. I had lived most of my life that way. When Rexxie turned on me, when betrayal and heartbreak had made me a stranger in my own skin, I had convinced myself that I was enough. That I didn’t need anyone. Not anyone, especially not Luca. Not the man who had taken everything from me.But now, standing in the empty room, I felt the lonel
Luca’s POVIt was a quiet kind of tension, the kind that makes you second-guess every step you take. Every word you speak. I could feel it in the air, hanging thick and heavy like the storm clouds I had learned to read so well in my years of controlling everything around me. But this—this was different. I wasn’t in control of it. Not anymore. And that, more than anything, unsettled me.She hadn’t said much. Not since I sat down across from her. Not since the first words of vulnerability left my mouth, words I never thought I’d be forced to say. But I’d said them. And now, here we were, caught between the fragile thread of what could be and the heavy weight of what had already happened. I was willing to meet her halfway, I was willing to give her the time she needed. But what if she needed more than I could give?I shifted in my seat, watching her eyes dart away from mine. The lines of uncertainty were etched so deeply into her face now, like a permanent scar she wasn’t sure how to hea
Emma's POVThe silence between us hung heavy, thicker than it ever had been. I had no idea what to say, no idea how to process the weight of what Luca had just told me. He wasn’t asking for forgiveness, he wasn’t asking for my love, but there was a quiet strength in his words. It was something I hadn’t expected. Maybe that was the problem: I didn’t know what to expect from him anymore. His actions, his words, had always been unpredictable—except when it came to the one thing that always stayed the same: his need to control.And now, he was asking me to let go of that control. To trust him, to give him the space to show me that he had changed. But the truth was, I didn’t know if I could. I didn’t know if I could ever stop seeing him as the man who had taken everything from me.My fingers tightened around the edge of the table, the sensation of the wood grounding me in a reality I wasn’t sure I wanted to face. Every part of me was screaming to pull away, to protect myself. To walk out o
Luca's POVI could still feel her presence in the room, lingering like smoke long after she had gone. Emma had walked away, but the weight of her words had settled in my chest, a heavy reminder that things could never be as simple as I wanted them to be. There was a part of me that believed we could move forward together, but she wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready to trust me. She wasn’t ready to forget all the things I had done to her.I stood at the door for a moment, my hand still hovering over the handle, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn back. The silence between us had become a wall, thicker than ever, and I wasn’t sure how to break it down. I wasn’t used to this kind of rejection, especially from someone who had once been my everything.I didn’t know what I expected when I had told her the truth, when I had tried to show her a side of me that I thought she could trust. But I had underestimated the depth of her pain. She wasn’t just angry at me; she was scared. Scared that I would
Emma’s & Luca’s POV (Combined POV, Epilogue)Emma’s POVI had always wondered if love was something that could truly save you. I used to think it was just a fleeting feeling, something that passed, something that couldn’t bear the weight of life’s complexities. But standing here, with Luca beside me, I realized that love wasn’t just a feeling—it was a force. A force that had pulled us through the worst of times and brought us to this moment.I watched Luca from across the room. He was sitting at the desk in the study, looking out over the sprawling estate that had once felt like a prison, but now felt like a home. The weight of the past was still there, but it wasn’t a burden anymore. It was just a part of us, woven into the fabric of who we had become.Luca’s hand moved over the documents in front of him, but his focus was elsewhere. He was thinking, just like I was. About everything we had overcome. About everything we had fought for.I stood up and walked over to him slowly, the ba
Emma’s POVThe morning light filtered softly through the curtains, casting a warm, golden glow over the room. I could feel the weight of Luca’s body beside me, his steady breathing a comforting sound. It had been a long time since I had woken up to this peace—this quiet certainty that, no matter what happened, everything would be okay.I shifted slightly in the bed, not wanting to disturb him, but craving the closeness that we shared. I rested my hand gently over my stomach, feeling the slight movement of the baby inside me. Our child. The child that had brought us closer, and in a way, had healed so many wounds between us.The events of the past few days seemed so far away now. The tension, the fear, the uncertainties—they all felt distant, replaced by something else. Something tangible. Something real.I glanced at Luca, his face relaxed in sleep, the hard lines of his jaw softened in a moment of vulnerability. It was a side of him I didn’t often get to see. The Luca I knew was the
Emma’s POVThe morning light filtered softly through the curtains, casting a warm, golden glow over the room. I could feel the weight of Luca’s body beside me, his steady breathing a comforting sound. It had been a long time since I had woken up to this peace—this quiet certainty that, no matter what happened, everything would be okay.I shifted slightly in the bed, not wanting to disturb him, but craving the closeness that we shared. I rested my hand gently over my stomach, feeling the slight movement of the baby inside me. Our child. The child that had brought us closer, and in a way, had healed so many wounds between us.The events of the past few days seemed so far away now. The tension, the fear, the uncertainties—they all felt distant, replaced by something else. Something tangible. Something real.I glanced at Luca, his face relaxed in sleep, the hard lines of his jaw softened in a moment of vulnerability. It was a side of him I didn’t often get to see. The Luca I knew was the
Luca’s POVI stood in the doorway, watching Emma as she moved around the kitchen, her presence consuming every inch of the space. It was almost too much to take in. How many times had I found myself in this position, silently observing her, unsure of what the future held but knowing that she was the one constant I could rely on?Her pregnancy had shifted something between us. I could feel the change in the air. Not just because of the child we were expecting, but because of the subtle, quiet intimacy that had begun to envelop our relationship. It wasn’t the fiery passion we’d once known—though that still flickered beneath the surface—but something deeper, something that tethered us together. It was the unspoken promise of loyalty, of building something lasting. Together.I’d never been the type to wear my heart on my sleeve. I didn’t show vulnerability, not the way other men might. But with Emma, it was different.The silence between us was comfortable now. No longer thick with uncert
Emma’s POVI leaned against the counter, staring at the small, almost insignificant pregnancy test that lay there, staring back at me. It felt like the weight of the world was in that little plastic stick, its truth just hanging there, waiting for me to fully comprehend it. The reality of it was still so fresh, so surreal, that I couldn’t quite process it. I was pregnant. And Luca—my husband, my partner, my betrayer turned savior—was going to be a father. A father to the child we’d conceived out of love and conflict, joy and pain. The thought should have filled me with more fear, but it didn’t.Instead, it stirred something deeper. Something undeniably tender. It was as if this little person growing inside of me was a symbol of all that had happened and all that was yet to come.The door to the kitchen opened, and I didn’t need to turn to know it was Luca. I could feel him, his presence as palpable as ever. He had this way of walking into a room that made everything feel like it was h
Luca's POVThe tension in the air felt heavier than it had in days, suffocating me with each passing minute. Emma had asked for time, and for once, I was going to give it to her. The selfish part of me—the one that still longed to close the gap between us and erase the pain of the past—wanted to push, to demand things move forward. But I had learned my lesson the hard way. No more rushing, no more pressing her for answers or action. She was right. She needed space, and I was going to respect that. But that didn’t make the waiting any easier.I leaned against the doorframe, watching her from across the room. She was standing by the window, her back to me, as the soft glow of the evening light bathed her in warmth. Even from this distance, I could feel the pull between us, an invisible thread that tethered me to her, no matter how much I tried to resist it.It had been days since that conversation, the one where she told me she wasn’t sure about us. Days that had felt like weeks. I hadn
Emma's POVThe weight of the silence in the house was unbearable. Every step I took felt heavy, like my body was still trying to recover from the conversation with Luca. I couldn’t shake the image of him standing at the door, his hand frozen on the handle, his expression a mix of frustration and guilt. I knew he was struggling, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I could let him wear that expression on his face.I had given him the space he needed, the time he asked for, but it didn’t feel like enough. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the vulnerability in his gaze, the raw emotion he had tried so desperately to hide. He wasn’t the same man who had hurt me before; that much was clear. But was that enough for me to let him in again?My mind kept replaying everything that had happened between us. There had been so many promises, so many moments of tenderness, but I couldn’t erase the past. I couldn’t pretend that what had happened before didn’t matter. Luca had hurt me in ways I couldn’t
Luca's POVI could still feel her presence in the room, lingering like smoke long after she had gone. Emma had walked away, but the weight of her words had settled in my chest, a heavy reminder that things could never be as simple as I wanted them to be. There was a part of me that believed we could move forward together, but she wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready to trust me. She wasn’t ready to forget all the things I had done to her.I stood at the door for a moment, my hand still hovering over the handle, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn back. The silence between us had become a wall, thicker than ever, and I wasn’t sure how to break it down. I wasn’t used to this kind of rejection, especially from someone who had once been my everything.I didn’t know what I expected when I had told her the truth, when I had tried to show her a side of me that I thought she could trust. But I had underestimated the depth of her pain. She wasn’t just angry at me; she was scared. Scared that I would
Emma's POVThe silence between us hung heavy, thicker than it ever had been. I had no idea what to say, no idea how to process the weight of what Luca had just told me. He wasn’t asking for forgiveness, he wasn’t asking for my love, but there was a quiet strength in his words. It was something I hadn’t expected. Maybe that was the problem: I didn’t know what to expect from him anymore. His actions, his words, had always been unpredictable—except when it came to the one thing that always stayed the same: his need to control.And now, he was asking me to let go of that control. To trust him, to give him the space to show me that he had changed. But the truth was, I didn’t know if I could. I didn’t know if I could ever stop seeing him as the man who had taken everything from me.My fingers tightened around the edge of the table, the sensation of the wood grounding me in a reality I wasn’t sure I wanted to face. Every part of me was screaming to pull away, to protect myself. To walk out o