Chapter 3

My hand, raised to knock, froze.

Before I could decide whether to leave them to it, Bella "happened" to see me. She let out an exaggerated gasp and hastily stepped away from Lucas.

"Elara? What are you doing up here?"

A look of surprise also crossed Lucas's face. He quickly smoothed his slightly rumpled suit and walked towards me, his tone gentle. "Baby, what are you doing up here?"

His voice was deep and magnetic, like a lover's whisper. "You know the rules for this floor. Did you forget? Or did you just miss me that much?"

Of course, I hadn't forgotten. The original rule had been: "No one is to come upstairs and disturb my work, except for Elara."

Now I understood. While he spoke of a unique love, he was comfortably installing his new plaything in a territory that was supposed to be mine alone.

But it didn't matter. I was leaving anyway.

My voice was flat. "The vault manager said you were looking for me."

At these words, Lucas raised an eyebrow as if he'd heard a funny joke.

He walked to his desk and pressed the intercom. Less than a minute later, his second-in-command entered.

"Did you authorize her to come up?" Lucas's lips were smiling, but his eyes were cold as steel.

The subordinate sensed the charged silence. He glanced from Lucas's dark expression to Bella's pained, innocent look and quickly weighed his options.

"I'm sorry, Capo. Elara insisted on coming up."

"I see."

Lucas sighed softly and turned to me, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.

"Darling, you're putting me in a difficult position."

"I thought you'd learned your lesson. I didn't realize you were still so desperate that you'd resort to these little tricks."

He moved closer, his breath warm on my skin. "Since you're so worried about me, why don't you just move into my office and watch me like a hawk? Or maybe plant a bug on my suit to satisfy that ridiculous possessiveness of yours?"

I stood there quietly, without even the desire to argue.

"Capo, don't be angry with her." Bella leaned against him softly, her hands on his chest as if to soothe him. "Elara was just worried, that's all. We were just discussing casino business, all for the good of the family."

She turned to look at me, a hint of challenge in her eyes. "Elara, I don't think you want the family to see us as a joke, do you?"

I looked at her triumphant expression and found the situation almost comical.

Even without knowing the full story, I knew this had to be a setup by Bella.

The subordinate had lied simply because everyone in the Valmont underworld knew that Bella was the woman Lucas currently favored most.

But even if I said so, Lucas probably wouldn't believe me.

I couldn't be bothered to speak. Lucas, however, took my silence as a protest. He wrapped his arm around my waist, his grip so tight it was almost painful.

"You don't need to explain to her, Bella."

"The family has its rules. Since Elara cares so much, we'll handle this according to the rules."

"Revoke Elara's top-level biometric access to the headquarters building. And as punishment, remove all her bodyguards."

On the streets of Valmont, taking away a person's bodyguards was a death sentence.

The subordinate paled, hesitating. "But Capo, Elara is already..."

He was probably about to mention my departure from the family, but before he could finish, Lucas waved his hand dismissively.

"Do it," Lucas snapped. "This is for her own good. To make her understand the rules."

"Besides, I know my woman. She won't object."

The subordinate didn't dare say more and retreated with his head down.

I thought for a moment and prepared to leave as well, but just then, Lucas gently took my hand.

His anger spent, he reverted to his affectionate persona.

"Elara, do you know how much I love you? Everything I do is for your own good."

"I am the Capo. If I don't punish you according to family law, how can I command respect? I'm protecting you, understand?"

Bella chimed in as well, "That's right. The mafia has strict rules. If you don't understand something in the future, you should ask the Capo more often. Or hey, you can even ask me."

Lucas gave her an appreciative glance.

"Bella's right. She has the family's best interests at heart and she respects our relationship. You should learn from her."

"Always my little green-eyed monster." He caressed my face. "That's what I love about you. Every bit of that jealousy just proves how much you care."

Learn what?

Learn how to flaunt herself on his desk? Or learn how to make a complete mess of accounts worth hundreds of millions?

A short, derisive laugh escaped me, but I couldn't be bothered to call him on his lie. Seeing my silence, Lucas assumed I had finally relented.

He kissed my forehead gently and said in a warm voice, "I know you only acted that way because you love me so much, and I do feel guilty about it."

"But I have to say, you've really matured lately. To make it up to you, we'll pick out rings tomorrow and set a wedding date. I want the whole world to know you're my woman."

"Married?"

Before he could finish, I laughed softly. I took a step back, out of his reach.

I pulled my hand from my pocket. With a sharp snap, I slapped the dissolution agreement onto the desk in front of him. The one bearing his signature and the family seal.

"Lucas, we're done."

"I've already left the family. From now on, we go our separate ways."