Chapter 7: Luca's POV

My steps carved an invisible trench into Roberto’s floor as I moved around in deep thought. My breath was loud in my ears, my chest tight with everything I hadn’t said yet. 

The apartment reeked of coffee and faint lavender which was Rob’s attempt to create a calming workspace, but nothing could calm the storm in my chest right now.

"You're going to burn a hole into my rug, man," Roberto said, not looking up immediately. 

His fingers were still flying across the keyboard, probably running the last simulation again for the third time in a row.

But when he finally did glance up and saw my face, his brows creased. 

“Luca?” he pressed, more serious this time. “What’s going on?”

I stopped in my tracks, fists clenched so hard that my nails bit into my palms. “I did it again,” I muttered, barely above a growl.

Roberto tilted his head. “You did what again?” he asked, half-rising from his chair.

For a moment, I thought about dodging it, maybe making up something stupid, like burning my tongue on hot coffee or screwing up our launch code but it wasn’t about that and I wished it was.

He squinted at me. “Wait… is this about the project?” His lips twitched into a smile, excitement flickering in his eyes. 

“Because dude, if you’re talking about the tech pipeline issue, I finally got it to run clean. The smart contract loop is working flawlessly. No lag, no leaks. We’re about to revolutionize how tech can handle mafia data movement anonymously. This could change everything for us, man,” He continued, throwing his hands into the air in excitement.

I tried to force a smile, to give him that moment of shared victory we always celebrated with fist bumps and whiskey shots but my face wouldn’t cooperate. 

Immediately Roberto saw that I was still not smiling, he stopped grinning.

“Why aren’t you even half as happy as you’re supposed to be? This is a big win for us and you put up a face like someone just died? Come on, what’s wrong with you?” He quizzed, his arms stretched out in demonstration.

“It’s not about the project,” I said finally, my voice tight and low. “It’s about my father.”

The air seemed like it thinned and Roberto instantly sat back slowly, the celebratory gleam vanishing from his eyes. 

“What about him?” He asked, his hands sitting prim on his lap.

I opened my mouth to speak but the words wouldn’t form. It seemed like it was being suppressed from within and no matter how much I tried, I just kept opening and closing my mouth like an imbecile.

“Talk to me, you know you can, right?” He muttered.

I smiled faintly, “Of course, I mean you are my childhood friend. I’ve literally known you for ages,”

“’So what is the problem with your dad this time?”

“It’s just…you know…” 

The vibration of my phone interrupted my speech. I frowned, reaching into my pocket. I wasn’t expecting a call so who could it possibly be?

I pulled it out, and my heart stuttered when I saw the name lighting up the screen. It was Carol and that was unlike her. I’d made us exchange numbers so she could reach me anytime she needed to, but she never seized the opportunity, at least not until now. 

I shot Rob a glance. “Give me a second,” I murmured and darted into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me with a quiet click. 

The sound echoed in my head like a trap snapping shut. 

I pressed the phone to my ear. “Carol?”

She didn’t speak right away. All I heard was soft sniffing. The kind that made your stomach drop because it only meant that tears were about to flow any moment

.

“Carol, what’s wrong?” My voice came out sharp, fear rushing in so fast that I almost felt dizzy. “Talk to me, please.”

“I…I…” She began to stammer a response, but her voice cracked so hard, it sounded like someone had broken her in two.

“Carol,” I called her again, forcing my tone to soften. I gripped the edge of the sink with one hand, trying to ground myself. 

“It’s me. You’re safe. Just talk to me, okay?”

“I shouldn’t have called,” She whispered, her breath shaky and seemingly unsteady. “I didn’t know what else to do. I tried to keep it together but…”

“But what?” My heart was pounding, my pulse loud in my ears. There was a pause on the other end.

“Luca…” She sighed, and just the way she said my name made something inside me ache. “About what happened… earlier between us.”

I froze, the images of it flashed in my head, especially the way her skin had felt under my fingertips, the way her lips had trembled when she told me she wasn’t supposed to want me but she still wanted me and the look in her eyes when she gave in anyway.

“I thought I could handle it,” She continued, voice shaking. “I thought I could just… pretend it meant nothing. But…”

A bang sounded from her end and she gasped.

“Carol? What was that?”

“Nothing,” She replied quickly, but the fear in her voice said otherwise.

“Carol, where are you right now?” I demanded. “Who’s with you?”

“I can’t talk for long,” She whispered. “He’s back.”

My hand clenched around the phone as my knuckles turned white.

“What the hell do you mean he’s back?” I hissed. “He doesn’t usually return by this time.”

“He came early,” She said, voice dropping even lower. “He came back and… and I think….”

The world tilted beneath me. “Think what?”

“Carol, what are you thinking?” I demanded again but she started sniffing hard like she was about to burst into tears.

“You know I enjoy it so much but what happened ought…” 

The line dropped dead as she was still trying to articulate her words.

“Carol?” I said quickly. “Carol!” I called out but there was dead silence from her end. I didn’t know she had dropped the call till I stared at my screen and saw the call ended icon dangling at the centre.

“Damn it!” I exclaimed, staring at my phone like I could make her keep talking again.