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Luca’s cold eyes pierced through me, calculating and distant, as Alessandro and Isobel followed him out of the private lane. Alessandro’s frustration was obvious, while Isobel’s presence made my stomach churn. I turned back to Luca, trying to suppress the tremor in my voice.
“You know what, Luca?” I spat, the weight of my decision settling in. “I‘ m done. We’re finished. Do whatever you want with her–congratulations on your new arrangement.
I moved to leave, but Luca stepped in front of me, gripping my arm with force. His jaw clenched, and his dark expression sent a chill down my spine.
“Elena, what the hell are you talking
about?” His voice was low and dangerous,
his hold tightening as if he wasn’t willing to let me walk away.
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I pulled away from his grip, locking eyes with him, my chest rising and falling with barely controlled frustration. “I‘ m talking about you and Isobel. Every damn time she calls, you drop everything to be with her. How am I supposed to trust you? She runs your life, Luca. Not me.”
The tension was suffocating as I continued, my words spilling out in a flood I couldn’t stop. “Do you even remember what
happened two days ago? It was my birthday, Luca. I asked you to be home early, but what did you do? You left. For her.”
“It was business,” he growled, as if that excuse could smooth over everything.
“Oh, I’m sure.” My tone was sharp, cutting through his feeble defense. “Every ‘business meeting‘ you have with her, I hear about it. But when she calls, you don‘ t hesitate, you don‘ t question it- you just go. Drop everything. You act like her personal lapdog, Luca.” My finger
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jabbed into his chest, each word. punctuated by the weight of my disappointment. “And when I try to ask for just a little of your time, I’m the one being unreasonable? I’m the one being ‘difficult‘? Maybe the real problem is that I didn’t ask like she does–no demands, no ultimatum.”
Luca stood silent, his gaze darkening as he absorbed my words. For once, he had nothing to say.
I turned my glare toward Alessandro and Isobel. Alessandro looked conflicted, as if torn between stepping in or staying out of it, while Isobel stood there, her lips. twitching into a smug little smile, amusement dancing in her eyes. That smile only fueled the fury burning inside
- me.
I couldn’t hold back anymore. My voice dropped to a lethal growl. “You think this is funny, Isobel?”
Isobel’s smirk faltered for a second, but
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she quickly regained her composure, her tone falsely sweet. “Elena, you‘ re overreacting. There’s nothing going on between me and Luca. We‘ re just handling business, that’s all.”
“You‘ re right,” I said, my voice icy.
“There is nothing between you and Luca- at least nothing worth salvaging anymore.”
Luca finally stepped in, his voice rough.
“Elena, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.” His words were
uncharacteristically soft, and it stopped me in my tracks. He rarely apologized, and for a moment, I almost believed him.
“Isobel’s like family. You know that.”
I turned to him, my heart aching but firm.
“It doesn’t matter, Luca. Whatever she is to you, whatever excuses you make, I’m done with this.”
He reached for me, but I slapped his hand away, the finality of my decision hanging in the air. “Don’t touch me. Don‘ t come
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looking for me. We re over.”
Without another glance, I walked away.
I pushed through the restaurant’s back exit, the cold night air hitting me as the sounds of the city filtered in. My heart pounded, not from exertion but from the storm of emotions swirling inside me. As I made my way down the street, the occasional passerby cast curious glances my way, but I ignored them. Let them gossip. Let the whispers spread.
Once home, I knew what I had to do. I needed to erase every trace of him. I went straight to my phone, deleting all the photos of us. It felt like cleansing a bitter sort of freedom as I scrubbed him from every corner of my life.
Luca. Alessandro. Isobel. I blocked them all. They could no longer haunt my thoughts with their casual betrayals. Every picture, every message was gone. Yet as I stared at the now–empty gallery, a hollow ache remained in my chest.
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Why hadn’t I done this sooner? How had I let myself be so consumed by someone who never truly valued me?
With Luca out of the picture, I threw myself into work, desperate for a distraction. My office had always been a place of control, order, and right now, I needed that more than ever.
Work became my solace, and I started taking on project after project, keeping myself so busy there was no room for my mind to wander back to him. Vincent, my boss at the publishing house, noticed the change immediately.
“Elena, you’ve been turning in excellent work lately. What’s going on with you?” he asked one evening, his curious tone
laced with concern.
I shrugged, forcing a smile. “I’ve just realized how much I love my work. That‘ s
all.”
Vincent looked at me, his eyes narrowing
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slightly as if he didn’t quite believe me.
“Well, whatever it is, keep it up. Just make sure you‘ re not burning yourself out.”
I nodded, though deep down, I knew I was already burning out–just in a different way. But that didn’t matter. As long as I kept going, kept pushing, I wouldn’t have to think about Luca, Isobel, or any of it.
Late that evening, long after most of my coworkers had left, I packed up my things, preparing to head home. The office was quiet, and the darkness outside the windows mirrored the emptiness I felt inside. As I made my way to the door, Vincent called out from his office.
“Hey, Elena. Need a ride home? It’s late.”
I hesitated, but something in his tone told me he wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“Sure, thanks.”
The drive was quiet, but as we pulled up to my apartment, I noticed something off. A
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familiar car sat parked across the street–a sleek black sedan with tinted windows. My heart sank. I didn’t need to see his face to know who it was.
Luca.
Even from a distance, I could feel his presence. He was waiting, watching, just like always. I clenched my fists, my stomach twisting in knots. I didn‘ t need this–not tonight.
“Elena?” Vincent’s voice pulled me back to the present.
“Yeah. Thanks for the ride,” I mumbled, quickly stepping out of the car.
As I walked toward my building, I felt Luca’s eyes on me, but I refused to look back. Let him wait. Let him wonder. This
time, I wouldn’t be the one looking over my shoulder.
