Chapter 19(Emma’s POV)Long after Luca had hurried out, I was still in the library, the sound of the door slamming echoing through the still space. I detested myself because his kiss still made my lips tingle. He made me feel confined, helpless, and worst of all, alive, and I detested that. I placed my fingers to my lips, trembling my hands as if I could erase the memory of his touch. However, despite my best efforts, the fire he started would not go out. He was utterly annoying, controlling, and smothering. However, beneath the layers of hate and anger, somewhere deep within me, was a horrible truth: every time he got close, my body betrayed me. It made me hate him.I grabbed the nearest book off the table and hurled it across the room. It hit the far wall with a dull thud, the sound breaking the oppressive silence.“How dare he,” I muttered to myself, pacing the length of the room. “How dare he think he owns me.”Because that’s what this was to him—a game of control. A sick, twis
Chapter 20(Luca’s POV)The door clicked shut behind me, sealing Emma away on the balcony. My hand lingered on the knob for a moment, as though some part of me was considering going back inside. But I didn’t.I stalked down the dimly lit hallway, my jaw clenched tight. Every muscle in my body felt coiled, taut with frustration and something I refused to name.She was driving me insane.I’ve dealt with power struggles my entire life—men who thought they could challenge me, families who tried to dismantle my empire, enemies who wanted to see me fall. I crushed them all without blinking. Yet this woman, this maddeningly defiant woman, was unraveling me in ways I couldn’t control.She thought she hated me. That was fine. Let her hate me. Hate was familiar, predictable. What I couldn’t stomach was the way her anger pulled me toward her, like a moth to a goddamned flame.I reached my study and pushed the door open, needing the solitude to regain control of myself. The low light of the desk
Chapter 21(Luca’s POV)I glanced at Emma as she sat stiffly beside me in the car, her arms crossed and her jaw set in defiance. The morning light caught the soft curve of her cheek, the delicate slope of her neck, and the way the dress I’d chosen clung to her figure.She looked every bit the queen she was meant to be, even if her expression screamed rebellion.Good.I preferred her this way—alive with fire, rather than shrinking from me in fear. A woman like Emma wasn’t meant to cower; she was meant to rise, even if it was only so I could break her walls down again.“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” she finally asked, her tone sharp enough to draw blood.I didn’t respond immediately, letting the silence stretch until I felt her shift in discomfort.“No,” I said at last, keeping my eyes on the road ahead.Her huff of frustration was almost amusing.“You can’t keep doing this,” she snapped. “Dragging me around without an explanation like some—”“Like some what, Emma?” I cut
(Emma’s POV)I stared out the window of the car, watching the blurred scenery fly by. The words Luca had spoken to me—so cold, so sure of himself—echoed in my mind like a never-ending drumbeat. I hated him. I hated everything about the way he controlled me, the way he looked at me like I was nothing more than a possession.But deep down, there was something else, something I couldn’t shake. A pulse of heat, a spark of desire that flickered in the dark corners of my mind whenever he touched me, whenever his eyes held mine a little too long. I could feel it now, a familiar tension coiling in my chest.And I hated myself for it.We arrived back at his mansion—my prison, my gilded cage. The door opened, and I stepped out of the car, trying to ignore the steady thrum of my heartbeat, the constant weight of his presence beside me. I couldn’t let him win. I couldn’t let him break me.But somehow, I was already broken.The cold air hit me as I walked through the front door, and the silence in
(Luca’s POV)I watched her retreat up the stairs, the sound of her footsteps echoing in the hallway, each step another subtle rebellion, yet each step I knew would only make her fall deeper into the web I’d spun for her.I had seen it in her eyes—the anger, the hatred—but beneath it, there was something else, something that made my blood burn. Desire. That subtle flicker of need that she could not deny, no matter how hard she tried to fight it.She hated me. I saw it in the way she looked at me, like I was the embodiment of everything she despised. But I knew better than anyone—hatred was a mask, and under it, there was always something far darker, something far more dangerous.I had tasted that on her lips earlier, and it only made me want more.The silence in the house was suffocating, but I relished it. The tension between us crackled like static in the air. She was playing a game, but so was I. And I would win.I could feel her resistance, the walls she was building between us. It
(Emma’s POV)I could feel the pulse in my neck, the rapid beat that echoed in my ears, like a warning, or maybe it was my body betraying me. I was angry—furious, in fact—but I couldn't deny the way my body responded to him. The way he made me feel when he touched me, when he kissed me.I hated him. I hated everything he stood for. His arrogance, his dominance, the way he thought he could just claim me as his, like I was some object for his taking.But when his lips had pressed against mine just now, when he had pulled me into him with that forceful grip, I couldn't lie to myself. There was something else there, something I didn’t want to acknowledge.I felt it—every time he kissed me, every time his hands were on me. A fire. A dangerous, scorching fire that threatened to consume me.I stepped back, as if putting distance between us could stop the inferno inside me from spreading. I pressed my palm against my forehead, trying to collect my thoughts."You're insane," I whispered to myse
(Luca's POV)I stood there, watching her, the air thick with tension. Emma’s resistance was almost laughable, yet I couldn’t help but be intrigued. She had the fire that I craved—fury and defiance, all wrapped in the most beautiful package. But what fascinated me even more was that despite all her anger, despite all her protests, I could feel the heat coming from her.She wanted this. She couldn’t hide it.Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to control her breathing, but her body betrayed her, as always. There was no hiding the way she responded to me. Her gaze flickered, soft and vulnerable, and I saw it—just for a second—the shift in her eyes.The truth.She wanted me.I could see it in the way she bit her lip, the way her pulse quickened whenever I moved closer. It was a dangerous game we were playing, and I was the one holding all the cards.I took a step toward her, closing the distance between us with the surety of a man who had no doubts. I had no need to rush this; I
(Emma’s POV)I hated him. I hated him with every fiber of my being. Every time he touched me, it was like he had control over something deeper than just my body. It felt like he had control over my soul, and that terrified me.My mind screamed at me to stop him, to pull away, to fight back—but my body betrayed me every single time. His touch, his dominance, it stirred something deep inside me. I had never felt this out of control in my life, and it was maddening.I sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers trembling as I pulled my shirt back down, covering the skin he had exposed. My body burned from his touch, and I hated how much I wanted to hate him. But every time I thought about pushing him away, a part of me remembered the way his lips had claimed mine, the way his hands had touched me, the way I had surrendered.No, I wasn’t surrendering. I couldn’t be. This wasn’t me.“Emma…” His voice cut through the thick air, and I stiffened. He stood in front of me, his expression unreadable,
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