Share

Chapter 2

Author: Velvet
After Luca left, I picked up my purse and headed for the side exit.

The music in the ballroom had stopped. Staff were clearing champagne and place settings, and two empty hooks marked the spot where the DeLuca crest had hung. The guests who knew nothing about the prank were being guided toward the hotel bar.

Marco and the others remained by the drinks table.

Bianca stood in the middle of the room directing the staff. The moment she saw me, she came over.

“Elena, don’t leave yet. Luca will fix this.”

“How?”

“He’ll cancel tonight and arrange something proper later.” She lowered her voice. “He only recently took control of the family. He can’t make decisions based on his feelings alone. You understand his position better than anyone.”

Every word sounded sympathetic. Together, they reminded me that I had no right to expect a promise from him.

“I do understand him. That’s why I never asked him to make tonight real.”

Bianca’s expression tightened.

“I’m only worried you’ll do something impulsive. Luca hates being threatened with abandonment.”

“I haven’t threatened him.”

I walked past her toward the coatroom.

Laughter rose from the bar behind me.

Marco had picked up one of the ivory place cards I had written by hand. A silver DeLuca crest was embossed along the edge, and the guest’s security number was written on the back.

He slid it beneath his glass.

“At least these things are still useful.”

Wine spilled over the rim and soaked into the card.

One of the men laughed. “Careful. Elena spent days making those.”

“When has she ever stayed angry?”

Marco lifted his drink. The wet card clung to the base before falling to the floor.

“Last Christmas, she brought Luca breakfast the next morning.”

The laughter started again.

Bianca hurried over and picked up the ruined card.

“Stop. She worked hard on these.”

Marco glanced at her. “Now you’re defending her? You were the one who bet she’d believe the engagement.”

“I didn’t tell you to destroy her things.”

“It’s one card.”

Luca returned in time to hear him.

“Marco.”

The laughter died.

“Boss, I was only trying to help.”

“Apologize.”

Marco looked at me as though the order made no sense, but he lowered his glass.

“Sorry, Elena.”

I said nothing.

Luca took the stained card from Bianca and tried to wipe it clean. The ink had already bled.

“Pack the rest carefully,” he told the staff. “Anyone who damages what she prepared can leave the DeLuca family.”

No one laughed after that.

Bianca began placing the remaining cards back in their box.

“Luca has handled it,” she said softly. “Let tonight end here. There’s no reason for everyone to be embarrassed.”

“The only person embarrassed tonight was me.”

Luca frowned. “Bianca, give her some space.”

“I’m trying to help.” She passed me with the box in her arms, then paused. “He loves you. You’re the only person around whom he lets his guard down enough for people to joke like this.”

I used to believe that made me special. Now it sounded like permission.

One of Marco’s men had been drinking too much to notice the change in Luca’s mood.

“Boss, didn’t you say she would never leave over this?”

Luca’s gaze snapped toward him.

The man faltered. “You said five years meant more than one joke.”

“Shut up,” Luca said.

“You said it in the group chat.”

“I said shut up.”

The man finally stepped back.

I looked at Luca.

“You told them I would always stay?”

“I trusted what we had.”

“You were certain I would forgive you.”

“We’ve been together for five years.” He came closer. “I never believed you would walk away without letting me make this right.”

For five years, I had bandaged his gunshot wounds, waited through nights of family violence, and canceled my own plans whenever he called.

He remembered every choice. He had turned them into proof that I would stay forever.

“Go home,” Luca said. “My driver is waiting at the side entrance. I’ll come to you when I’ve finished here.”

My phone vibrated inside my purse.

Dr. Keller had sent another message.

The car is on its way. Be at your apartment by eight thirty and bring your passport. I’ll meet you at the airport.

I turned off the screen.

“All right. I’ll go home.”

Relief softened Luca’s face.

“Wait for me.”

I took my coat and walked past him.

My phone lit again. A countdown had appeared beneath my itinerary.

The car would arrive in one hour and forty minutes.
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App

Latest chapter

  • His Fake Engagement Cost Him Everything   Chapter 9

    I accepted the international trial before my flight left New York.Dr. Keller read my email from the seat across the aisle and gave me a brief nod.“You understand that this will add at least another year to your work in Zurich.”“I understand.”“You will also be responsible for coordinating six hospitals.”“I know.”She closed her laptop.“Then welcome to the next stage.”The trial began two months later.Under the approved trial protocol, our screening method identified patients likely to develop the abnormal response before they received the newer medication batch. Those patients entered an alternative treatment arm and were monitored separately.For the first several months, I expected something to go wrong. Each hospital followed a different routine, one laboratory submitted incomplete records, and a supplier delayed the materials required for testing. I spent long evenings reviewing reports and early mornings speaking with teams in three time zones.Every hour belonged to work I

  • His Fake Engagement Cost Him Everything   Chapter 8

    Five months later, our preliminary study was accepted for presentation at a medical symposium in New York.The expanded analysis included records from six hospitals. The results supported the association I had identified and revealed a way to screen patients before they received the newer treatment batch.Dr. Keller asked me to deliver the presentation.When I told my mother I was returning to New York for three days, she offered to meet me at the airport.“You don’t have to,” I said. “The hospital arranged a car.”“I have not seen my daughter in five months. I’m coming.”She was waiting beyond customs and wrapped both arms around me. “You look rested,” she said. I laughed because I had slept four hours on the flight.During the drive, she told me Luca had returned my belongings three months earlier. Everything had been packed and labeled, and he carried the boxes upstairs himself. He asked whether I was well. My mother told him to ask me.Luca had stopped sending daily messages. His t

  • His Fake Engagement Cost Him Everything   Chapter 7

    Three days after Luca returned to New York, the first batch of samples arrived from the partner hospitals.Dr. Keller divided the team into two groups. One group repeated the original analysis without seeing my report, while I led the second group in examining the twelve cases I had identified.If both groups found the same pattern, we would have enough evidence to revise the project.For the next four days, I rarely left the research center before midnight.Luca sent one message every morning, asking whether I had eaten, slept, and secured the apartment.I replied only that I was safe and did not need additional guards.He never mentioned the emerald ring.On Friday evening, one of the researchers brought me the first set of results.“They do not match,” Anna said. “The abnormal marker appears in only seven of the twelve samples.”I checked the report twice. Five failed cases could make the association too weak to justify changing the study.Dr. Keller entered the laboratory while I w

  • His Fake Engagement Cost Him Everything   Chapter 6

    I arrived at the research center half an hour early after checking the data three times. The patients had been treated at different hospitals and received different initial diagnoses, which explained why no one had compared their records.I sent the report to Dr. Keller and was preparing to enter the conference room when she stepped out of her office.“Did you organize these cases last night?”“Yes.”“Did you verify the original records?”“All twelve. Each patient developed the same abnormal marker after standard treatment, although the severity varied.”Dr. Keller turned to the final page.“If your conclusion is correct, we may need to change the direction of the study.”“I think we should begin with an independent validation.”She studied me for several seconds before closing the report.“Present your findings to the team at ten.”Luca was waiting in the reception area downstairs.He still wore the same dark suit from the previous day, although he had changed his shirt. Two cups of c

  • His Fake Engagement Cost Him Everything   Chapter 5

    I entered the conference room at eight the next morning.Dr. Keller introduced me briefly and said nothing about why I had changed my mind at the last minute. She assigned me a set of patient data that the team had not finished analyzing.“Two researchers were originally responsible for this section, and we have six weeks left,” she said. “If you need the assignment adjusted, tell me today.”“I can finish it.”After the meeting, I remained in the laboratory until evening. I had been away from the project for three months, yet much of the data still felt familiar. I had helped design the initial research plan before choosing to remain in New York.By five o’clock, I had identified the first connection the previous analysis might have missed.Dr. Keller reviewed my results and asked me to present them at the next morning’s team meeting. Before leaving, she reminded me that the project did not require anyone to prove their ability by working all night.I packed my laptop and left the rese

  • His Fake Engagement Cost Him Everything   Chapter 4

    By the time the plane landed in Zurich, it was almost afternoon.As soon as I turned on my phone, more than twenty missed calls and messages appeared. The earliest one had arrived shortly after takeoff.Elena, what do you mean you’re leaving New York?A few minutes later, Luca had written again.Answer me. We are not ending five years with a text message.At first, his tone remained controlled. He told me Marco had been sent out of New York, everyone involved in the bet would be punished, and Bianca would apologize to my mother in person. He admitted that he had underestimated how deeply the night had hurt me, but he still believed everything could be resolved once we met.Later, he returned to the apartment.Your luggage and passport are gone. I found the ring.If you want to join the Zurich project, I won’t stop you. I’ll come for you after the port vote, and we’ll discuss this face-to-face.He still saw my departure as a more serious version of our usual arguments. In his mind, I on

More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status