CHAPTER 83

“All I wanted to do was weed”

Sharon whispered to herself

She was seated on his couch, watching TV. But her attention wasn't on the screen

Infact she paid no mind to it

Luca had decided that he cooked better, with a few open buttons

In fact only two buttons were left, that prevented him from being completely shirtless

And the most annoying thing—

He seemed completely oblivious to it all. Like he had no idea what he was doing to her

She could see his muscles ripple with the slightest movement. If he held a pan, or whisked, or stirred, she studied.

She watched him knead a piece of dough. His movements were precise, calculated, ethereal.

Never in her life had she wished to be rolled up flour. To think that she once dreaded the thought of his hands around her neck.

His jet black hair fanned his forehead slightly. And every time he pushed it back, she felt goosebumps on her skin

So what if he was supposed to use a hairnet?

The view was majestic

“Are you okay?”

Luca asked, taking a pause from cooking

“Yes I'm fine”

“Do you need anything?”

“No”

Luca narrowed down his eyes

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“No— no you're not”

“Okay”

Sharon tried to focus on what she was watching, but her mind unconsciously drifted back to Luca, no matter what she did

He served them lunch in the dining. All the while Sharon was seated on the couch, trying not to look at him

“I'm gonna take a quick shower. You can start eating”

Sharon watched him walk away, and felt her heart instantly tighten in dissapoitment

She walked to the dining, and sat down. Her appetite left her immediately

Luca was a great cook, and the food looked perfect

But she was going to wait for him. Because she was getting used to his presence. And if he wasn't there, when he wasn't there—

She couldn't find the right sleeping spot, food didn't taste the same, and the sun didn't shine as bright

“Is this what it means to love someone?”

Sharon asked herself

She casually scratched her wrist with the fork she was supposed to use to eat the fruit salad

She was anxious, because it was new to her. The feeling of genuinely wanting someone

Had she finally accepted that she was beginning to love him?

She didn't realise she had drawn blood, until she saw Luca standing next to her, with a bandage

Staring at her, with the most painful expression she had ever seen

******************

He didn't utter a word, didn't reprimand her.

He just attended to her injury, and placed the bandage on her wrist

Sharon felt terrible. It wasn't a habit, but once every now and again, she did.

Luca didn't look at her with judgement. He just looked pained

“Stand up”

He told her

Sharon stood up slowly, trying to avoid eye contact with him”

He sat down, and placed her casually on his lap, so she could straddle him. She couldn't escape his eyes, it was almost impossible

Luca took her bandaged wrist, and placed a soft kiss on the exact spot she injured. The kiss was slow, and deep

Like he was trying to pass a message

“Do you remember that day?”

“What day?”

“The day I was hurting myself, and you tried to stop me”

“Yeah, I remember”

“Fuck! That was the day I stopped thinking straight. After everything I did to you, you'd rather have me divorce you

Than hurt myself because of you—”

“Luca”

He pressed a kiss to her lips,

“I don't want you hurting yourself, I don't want you to feel as sick I feel every time I do it”

He cupped her chin

Promise me that whenever you want to hurt yourself, you'll tell me the reason

Sharon nodded, with tears in her eyes

You have to promise me you'll never drink to the point of hurting yourself. You'll never bang your head on the wall and shut me away when you feel like shit—

Instead— you'll come to me”

“I promise”

She heard him say. His lips curved into a smile

Luca took another fork, and took a piece of food

“You're banned from using cutlery momentarily Baby girl”

“Then how am I supposed to eat?”

“I'll feed you”

He did feed her. He was hell bent on stuffing her. After she had her fill, he moved to the salad

He placed a piece of fruit in her mouth

Sharon took it with her teeth, without breaking eye contact

“Who's going to feed you?”

“I can feed myself—”

Luca stared wide eyed at Sharon

She never chewed. The piece of strawberry was still in her mouth

Sharon took his face in her hands, and brought his his lips to hers. She let her lips cover his, and slipped the strawberry into his mouth.

Then she broke the kiss. She pressed her nose against his neck, and kissed him there

But Luca couldn't stop looking at her

It was like she had unlocked something inside of him, something dark