Semua Bab The Wrong Kind Of Right: Bab 81 - Bab 90

The study was colder than usual.Not in temperature, but in atmosphere, a sterile, punishing stillness that made every breath Luca took feel like an intrusion.He stood by the window with his back to the door, hands in his pockets, suit still impeccable despite the sleepless night. Outside, the estate gardens were being cleared of all remnants of last night’s chaos. Guests were long gone. Security was doubled. The press were camped at the gates like vultures.And Paolo?He was already seated behind his desk.Luca didn’t turn when he entered.Didn’t speak.But he didn’t need to.The tension hanging between them was older than the scandal, older than the gala, older than Asher, older than any one thing. It was legacy born, made of blood and expectation.Finally, Paolo broke the silence.“We’re holding a press conference.”His voice was as crisp and cold as the marble underfoot.Luca said nothing.Paolo continued, undeterred. “You’ll make a statement. Discredit the footage. Call it manip

The roads narrowed as the city lights faded behind them, and Asher realized Luca wasn’t going home. Wasn’t headed toward any of the usual Virelli properties.He was driving without purpose, or maybe too much of it.Eventually, the sleek black car pulled off the main road and coasted down toward the shore.The beach.Asher slowed.He knew this beach.Of course he did.It was the one Luca used to escape to when things got unbearable.The one no one else in the family seemed to remember. An empty, windswept stretch of sand guarded by jagged rocks and a near abandoned jetty. No security. No lights. Just crashing waves and the illusion of solitude.He parked a short way back, behind a slope of wild dune grass.From there, he could see the Virelli car sitting quietly near the edge of the sand.The door was still open.Luca stood at the shoreline, his coat fluttering slightly in the wind. His shoes had been kicked off, his bare feet pressed into the damp sand as the tide crept closer.The oc

The beach was empty.Too quiet.Too still.Asher stood at the water’s edge, soaked to the bone, his arms limp at his sides, eyes scanning the horizon like the ocean might give Luca back if he just stared hard enough.He’d been there for hours.Refused to leave.Julian had called him three times. The convoy had already reached the compound. No one knew where he was. He didn’t care.None of it mattered.He’d searched the waves until his vision blurred. Walked the shoreline like a madman. Screamed Luca’s name into the wind until his voice gave out.But there was no sign of him.Just the mocking rhythm of the tide.In and out.In and out.It was cruel, how indifferent the sea could be. How it could devour something so precious without a trace.He sank down to the sand, elbows resting on his knees, face buried in his hands.You let him drown.The words pulsed through his skull like a mantra.He’d been right there. He could’ve reached him sooner. Could’ve shouted, stopped him, something.Bu

Asher’s face stayed still. Unreadable“I hated you,” he said, voice even. “For a long time.”“I deserve that.”“I hated you for making me believe in something. For building a future with me in secret, only to vanish when I was still clinging to it.”“I know,” Luca said, his voice cracking again. “And I hate myself for it too. Every day. I thought walking away would protect us both. But the truth is, I was a coward. I let him break me. I let myself believe there was no other way.”“Paolo?”Luca nodded. “He controls everything. My image, my schedule, my marriage… hell, he even controls Serena. You think it’s a coincidence she never left either? We’re both just playing the roles he wrote for us. I thought I could endure it for a few years. But now, it’s like I can’t breathe anymore.”Asher finally moved. Turned toward him fully.“And what do you want now?”Luca hesitated. “I don’t know if I get to want anything.”“That’s not an answer.”Luca looked down, voice quiet.“I want to stop pret

Luca stepped back from the podium.“No further comments.”He walked away from the mic.Straight toward the side door.He passed Paolo, who stood there rigid, eyes wide with rage, mouth half open like he’d just been slapped in front of his entire empire.Luca didn’t even look at him.He walked past his father like he was nothing but dust.And when he stepped into the hallway beyond the press room, heart still racing, the door closed behind him with a final click, like the slamming of a cage.He exhaled.Shaky. Shivering. But alive.And then...Footsteps.Asher rounded the corner fast.Neither of them spoke at first.Then:“You really did it,” Asher said, voice low and stunned.Luca gave him a trembling half smile. “Yeah.”“Jesus, Luca…”“I couldn’t lie anymore,” he whispered.“You realize the fallout from this...”“I don’t care.” Luca looked him dead in the eye. “If I lose everything, I lose everything. But I’m done losing myself.”Asher stared at him, and for the first time since they