ログインEmma
The moment my eyes open, the publisher’s email flashes through my mind, bringing a smile to my face.
I turn my head and find Luca sleeping peacefully beside me, his hair slightly messy against the pillow. As if sensing me looking at him, his eyes slowly open, and the moment he sees the bright smile on my face, his lips curve into one of his own.
“What are you smiling about?” he asks, his voice still rough with sleep.
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Emma“What did my father say to you?”The question hangs between us, and for a moment, I forget how to breathe.Luca is watching me closely, his eyes searching my face for an answer I know I cannot give him.I force myself to look away.“He just wanted to talk about you,” I say quietly. “About your career and everything happening with the professional organizations.”Luca’s expression doesn’t change. “That’s all?”I nod, hoping the movement looks convincing. “Yes. He was worried about the attention around us and how it might affect your future. We talked about it, that’s all.”The lie feels horrible the moment it leaves my mouth.Luca continues studying me, and I can tell he knows there is something I’m not saying. He has always been able to read me more easily than I want him to, and right now, I hate how exposed I feel
EmmaI keep staring at the closed file between us, unable to decide whether I’m more afraid of what Richard knows or what he intends to do with it.My fingers remain pressed against the cover as I finally look up at him. “What are you going to do with this?”Richard studies me from across the desk, his expression unreadable. He takes another slow drag from his cigar before resting it in the crystal ashtray.“That depends on you.”My stomach twists. “So this is a threat?”“No.” His answer comes calmly, almost casually. “It’s an explanation.”I let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh. “You investigated my entire life, found things I never told anyone, and put them in a file in front of me. I’m not sure what else you would call it.”Richard doesn’t react to my accusation. Instead, he folds his hands together on the desk and looks at me with
EmmaI don’t tell Luca the truth about where I’m going.“Where are you going?” Luca asks as I grab my bag.“I’m meeting a friend,” I reply, adjusting the strap over my shoulder.He takes a deep breath before approaching me and pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. “Come back soon. I’ll miss you.”I return his smile, hiding the guilt behind it as I keep the truth to myself:The lie comes out more easily than I expect, which makes me feel even worse about it. I grab my bag, avoid his curious expression, and promise I’ll be back later.I don’t give him enough time to ask questions.A few minutes later, I’m sitting in the back of a taxi, watching the city pass through the window while Richard’s words from last night replay in my head.We need to have a private conversation.I still don’t know what he wants f
EmmaThe arena is still buzzing with the excitement of the championship when Luca finally finds me after the celebration.His hair is damp from the locker room, his jersey still clinging to him, and the smile on his face makes it impossible for me not to smile back.He reaches for my hand and intertwines our fingers before leading me toward the VIP section.Where are we going?” I ask, glancing toward the VIP section as he leads me in that direction.“To see my father.”My smile fades slightly when I spot Richard Hayes standing near the entrance. He looks exactly as composed as he did before the game, as though his son hasn’t just won the biggest championship of his college career.Luca doesn’t hesitate. He walks straight toward him with me beside him, our fingers still intertwined.
EmmaI spend most of the morning trying to convince Luca to change his mind.Not because I don’t want his family to know about us. I do. More than anything, I want to be able to stand beside him without another lie between us.But telling his family that our relationship started as fake dating feels like throwing a match into a room full of gasoline, especially when I know exactly how Richard Hayes reacts when things don’t go according to his plans.Luca, however, seems completely determined.“You could still change your mind,” I say as I sit beside him on the couch, watching him tie his shoelaces. “You don’t have to tell them everything at once.”He glances at me with an amused smile. “You’ve been saying that since breakfast.”“Because you haven’t liste
EmmaI decide to surprise Luca because, after everything he has been through lately, I think he deserves one evening where he doesn’t have to think about hockey, reporters, his father, or what comes next.The championship has changed everything for him.Between the game, the interviews, the photographs, and everyone suddenly knowing about us, he hasn’t really had a chance to breathe.So when I wake up this morning, I decide I’m going to make tonight about him.Nothing extravagant, just something personal.And I start with the cake.I stand in the kitchen staring at the recipe on my phone while flour covers almost every available surface.The bowl in front of me looks nothing like the neat baking videos I watched last night, and I’m beginning to question whether cake batter is supposed to look this suspicious.I dip the spoon into the mixture and taste it.I immediately regret it.“Too sweet,” I mutter, reaching for the sugar container before remembering that I already added the sugar.







