Lahat ng Kabanata ng Falling for the Enemy : Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

I never thought I’d see my mother and father in the same room again.Not without a war breaking out.But here they were, standing stiffly across from each other in the grand living room of Luca’s family estate, both looking as uncomfortable as I felt. My father, Richard Hayes, had his usual stern expression in place, arms crossed like a man preparing for battle. My mother, Caroline, sat on the edge of the couch, clutching the hem of her skirt as though it could ground her in this storm.And on the opposite side of the room, Matteo Russo, the man who had once dictated our lives with nothing more than a glance, leaned against the fireplace with his usual air of detachment.Luca sat beside me, his fingers laced tightly with mine, his presence the only anchor keeping me from unraveling. Across from us, Ethan and Cassie watched everything unfold in tense silence. Lila was somewhere in the house, keeping herself out of the line of fire.This was going to be a mess.The silence stretched, th

Walking out of that room should have felt like a victory.Instead, it felt like an open wound.The final confrontation with my parents had been inevitable. A long time coming. And yet, as Luca and I stepped outside into the crisp night air, my chest still ached with something I couldn’t quite name.Luca squeezed my hand. “Talk to me.”I let out a breath, watching it mist in the cold. “I don’t know what to say.”His jaw tightened. “They don’t deserve you, Sienna.”Maybe. But that didn’t stop the part of me that had always wanted them to fight for me. To love me the way they were supposed to.I turned to face him fully, searching his gaze. “Am I a bad person for feeling… empty?”Luca frowned. “No.” He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, his touch grounding me. “You spent your whole life hoping for something different. It’s okay to grieve the fact that it didn’t happen.”Grieve.That was what this was.Not anger. Not even relief.Grief for the childhood I never had. For the love I ne

The Russo estate was intimidating, even in daylight.A sprawling mansion that spoke of old money and silent power, it sat on acres of land, secluded from the rest of the world as if it were its own kingdom. The gates alone were taller than me, lined with security cameras and guards that didn’t just look at you—they assessed you.I shouldn’t have been nervous.I had survived Matteo. I had survived the debt. I had survived betrayal, heartbreak, and the kind of chaos that could break a person.But meeting Luca’s parents in a setting like this—when I wasn’t just the girl he was dating but the woman standing beside him, challenging the rules of this family—felt like a different kind of battle.Luca’s hand was firm in mine as we walked inside. “Breathe,” he murmured.I exhaled slowly. “I am breathing.”He smirked. “I meant normally.”I rolled my eyes, but the amusement helped.Inside, the house was as pristine as I expected—high ceilings, marble floors, expensive chandeliers casting golden

The air in the Russo estate was suffocating.Tension dripped from the walls like poison, seeping into every breath, every glance, every unspoken word. It had been days since that disastrous dinner, since the truth about our families had been ripped open like a wound, raw and bleeding.Luca hadn’t spoken to me since.I hated the silence.Hated the way he looked at me like I was another betrayal he hadn’t seen coming.Hated the way my mother walked around like a ghost, burdened by the weight of her choices.Most of all, I hated the way Matteo Russo still sat in his goddamn study, untouched by the chaos he’d created.I stood outside the heavy oak door, my heart hammering. It wasn’t fear keeping me frozen—it was anger. A slow-burning rage that had been festering for years, buried beneath the surface, ignored for too long.Not anymore.I didn’t bother knocking.The door slammed against the wall as I strode inside, my pulse roaring in my ears. Matteo was seated behind his desk, sipping an e

The Russo estate had never felt like home.Not in the beginning, when I’d been dragged into this world against my will. Not in the middle, when I started to understand the rules of the game. And certainly not now, after everything had come crashing down.It was just a house. A beautiful, sprawling, bloodstained house.But as I stood in the grand hall, staring at the heavy oak doors, my heart pounded like I was about to step into a battlefield.Because in a way, I was.I had spent the past few days waiting. Waiting for Luca to come to me. Waiting for the weight of everything to settle. Waiting for the storm to pass.But it hadn’t.And it wouldn’t.Not unless I faced it head-on.Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and pushed the doors open.Luca was inside, sitting in one of the chairs near the fireplace, his elbows resting on his knees. The dim light cast shadows over his sharp features, but his eyes—the eyes that had always seen through me—locked onto mine the second I entere