บททั้งหมดของ Ruthless Claim: บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 20

Eva’s laughter rang through the penthouse like a breeze Aria hadn’t felt in months, light, familiar, utterly normal. They sat cross-legged on the plush living room rug, a plate of pastries between them, city lights blazing beyond the glass. “I can’t believe he flew me here,” Eva whispered. “Jet and everything. Does he always move like that?” Aria smirked. “Luca doesn’t do halfway. Even when you don’t ask for it.” “Especially when you don’t ask for it,” Maria chimed in, flopping beside them with a glass of juice. Aria’s hand drifted to her belly more habitually now than thought. “He says it’s not control. That’s care.” Eva’s eyes softened. “And is it?” Aria didn’t answer. The question wasn’t simple anymore. Luca had been quiet all day, working from the shadows of the penthouse but always near. Not hovering, just present. When she stood too long, he noticed. When she skipped a meal, a tray appeared like magic. She’d once hated the way he loomed. Now she wasn’t sure how

Lucia De Rossi stood in the doorway like a verdict. Tall. Elegant. Glacial. Wrapped in a pearl-hued coat that probably cost more than Aria’s tuition, she didn’t need to speak to command the room. Her presence alone stole the air from it. Aria straightened instinctively, smoothing her dress like she was the one being judged. “Lucia,” Luca said, voice low but firm. “Don’t Lucia me,” she replied coolly, her eyes never leaving Aria. “I asked for her, not you.” Maria glanced at Aria, as if Aria needed a life vest. Eva, still barefoot in a robe, froze by the staircase. Aria swallowed and stepped forward. “I’m Aria. You wanted to speak with me?” Lucia’s gaze swept over her from bare feet to the soft swell of her belly. The disdain was unmasked. “Alone,” she ordered. Luca moved instantly, blocking the space between them. “That’s not going to happen.” His voice carried steel. But Lucia didn’t flinch. “I didn’t fly ten hours to be treated like a shareholder,” she said crisp

The video spread like wildfire.By morning, it had already crossed a million views. By noon, it was on gossip blogs, Twitter feeds, and TikTok edits set to dramatic music. Her name trended alongside Luca’s.Aria sat at the breakfast table, a mug of untouched tea cooling beside her. Her phone lay face down, buzzing with each new notification she refused to check. She had turned off the sound hours ago, but the vibrations still felt like tiny earthquakes beneath her skin.She pressed her palms against her temples, trying to steady her breathing. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the grainy video playing in her mind, her crying outside his building, her belly visible beneath her dress, that cruel voice narrating over it, and the caption:How much is too much for a few weeks qwomb?Eva paced the kitchen like a caged tiger, her messy bun tilting dangerously. “This isn’t gossip anymore. This is war,” she muttered, snatching up her own phone. “It’s everywhere. Instagram reels, campus g

The car hadn’t even pulled away from the gates when Aria spoke, her voice thin but sharp.“Don’t. Don’t look at me like that.”Luca’s gaze flicked from her trembling hands to her eyes. “Like what?”“Like I’m another piece on your chessboard. Like this is just another move in whatever game you’re playing.”His jaw tightened. “This isn’t a game, Aria. Not anymore.”“Could’ve fooled me,” she muttered, staring out the tinted window at the swarm of press, camera flashes popping like fireworks.Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating. Finally, Luca leaned forward and knocked on the divider. “Take us to the villa.”Aria’s head whipped toward him. “The villa? You mean your family’s estate?”“It’s secure. Private. No one gets in without my permission. They won’t touch you there.”Her pulse quickened. “Or maybe you just don’t want them to see us unraveling.”That landed. For a second, his expression cracked before the mask slid back into place. “You think this is unraveling?”“Fee

The villa was tranquil the next morning, as though the weight of last night still lingered in the halls. Aria stirred awake, sunlight spilling through the heavy curtains in ribbons of gold. For a moment, she let herself stay still, cocooned in the soft sheets, her heartbeat slowing against the silence.Her mind replayed fragments of the night before: Luca’s guarded confessions, his restless pacing, the way his eyes had burned when he said he would risk everything. She should have been furious, or suspicious, or unsettled. Instead, she felt something more dangerous. She felt tethered.The door creaked open.“Awake?” His voice was low, edged with caution.Aria blinked up at him. Luca leaned against the frame, dressed casually in a white shirt with the sleeves rolled and the first few buttons undone. He looked nothing like the untouchable man who’d stared down the boardroom or the paparazzi. He looked human. Almost… ordinary.“You’re watching me sleep now?” she teased, though her voice c