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Home / He Signed Away Our Engagement While Planning Our Wedding / Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Lahat ng Kabanata ng He Signed Away Our Engagement While Planning Our Wedding: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

10 Kabanata

Chapter 1

After three days of the silent treatment, my fiancé, the Capo of the Moretti family, took his assistant, Bella, on an island vacation.He expected me to be driven mad with jealousy, just as I always had been. But when he returned to Valmont a month later, he found a different woman.He made me give up my corner office. I didn't fight him. I just packed my things and handed it over.To prop Bella up, he discredited me in front of a key partner at the annual family meeting, just so she could shine. I didn't try to prove my innocence. I just accepted the family's reprimand and took my punishment.When Lucas wanted to put Bella in charge of the family's most profitable business, I didn't even get angry. I handed over all the necessary documents without a fight, letting him redistribute power as he saw fit.Bella was smug."See? What did I tell you?""A woman like her just needs a firm hand. One trip to the island and she's terrified of losing you. Look how obedient she is now."Lucas bough

Chapter 2

I glanced down at the screen; the professor had already cut the connection.I calmly slid the satellite phone into the pocket of my robe.Just as I was trying to figure out how to explain the half-sentence he'd overheard, the private phone in Lucas's pocket buzzed.It was a text from Bella.She had sent a picture of herself feeding stray dogs on a Sterling Heights street, the plunging neckline of her dress on full display."Very cute," Lucas replied.She texted back instantly: "Are the puppies cute, or am I?"Lucas stared at the screen, the hard line of his lips softening into a gentle smile. "Both are nice."Seeming to remember I was still there, he quickly wiped the smile from his face and put the phone back in his pocket.He walked over and, out of habit, pulled me into his arms, leaning down to kiss my forehead."Baby, why aren't you in bed?" his voice was low and tender. "I told you not to stay up so late. It's bad for your skin."He didn't even ask about the "agreement" I'd menti

Chapter 3

My hand, raised to knock, froze.Before I could decide whether to leave them to it, Bella "happened" to see me. She let out an exaggerated gasp and hastily stepped away from Lucas."Elara? What are you doing up here?"A look of surprise also crossed Lucas's face. He quickly smoothed his slightly rumpled suit and walked towards me, his tone gentle. "Baby, what are you doing up here?"His voice was deep and magnetic, like a lover's whisper. "You know the rules for this floor. Did you forget? Or did you just miss me that much?"Of course, I hadn't forgotten. The original rule had been: "No one is to come upstairs and disturb my work, except for Elara."Now I understood. While he spoke of a unique love, he was comfortably installing his new plaything in a territory that was supposed to be mine alone.But it didn't matter. I was leaving anyway.My voice was flat. "The vault manager said you were looking for me."At these words, Lucas raised an eyebrow as if he'd heard a funny joke.He walke

Chapter 4

Lucas's tall frame went rigid.But Bella's eyes lit up, and a smug, triumphant smile touched her lips.She composed herself almost instantly, but not before I had seen it."Elara, how can you talk to the Capo like that? You two were about to be married…""Enough, Bella. You can leave now."Lucas cut her off, his voice cold. He did not even turn to look at her.Bella's face went pale, irritation flashing in her eyes. She put on a show of calming Lucas down, suggesting they talk things through.She left with a look of quiet satisfaction.After she was gone, Lucas glared at me. The gentle facade he had maintained was now completely gone."Elara, have you lost your mind? I already agreed to marry you, what more do you want?""Take back what you just said. I will not honor this document. Now, burn it, and I will pretend tonight never happened."His arrogant, self-assured expression made the situation feel absurd.And then, a wave of sadness washed over me.I knew his behavior was, in part,

Chapter 5

I had no intention of getting drawn into a fight with him.If he insisted on using the family's power to keep me, I was prepared for mutually assured destruction.When he saw I was actually about to call the Commission, the color drained from Lucas's face.He lunged forward, snatched the phone from my hand, and slammed it down, severing the connection."Elara, are you fucking insane?""I am not insane," I said, meeting his gaze calmly. "I just want to confirm whether a Capo's word still holds any weight with the Commission."Seeing me push back like this for the first time, Lucas was visibly shaken.He clenched his jaw, took a deep breath, and his tone finally softened."Alright, Elara, stop this. I know you are upset about Bella. Starting tomorrow, I will move her out of the inner circle. I will not see her anymore. Is that good enough for you?""As for our wedding, I will start arranging it right now."He pulled out his phone and swiped the screen open."I had someone start building

Chapter 6

The screen lit up.The arrogant, life-and-death power Lucas usually commanded was gone.His eyes were bloodshot, and the way he yanked at his tie revealed an exhaustion I had never seen in him before."Elara, can we stop this? It has been long enough. Let's make up, okay?"His almost humble tone was jarring. It was also absurd.To this day, did he still think I was just throwing a tantrum out of jealousy?"When I let you go, it was not because I did not care. I knew you needed space, so I let you run around Ovesia.""Elara, we have five years of history. We have walked through hails of bullets together. Are you really going to throw all that away?"Before I could say anything, he gestured casually with the hand holding his cigar.His voice softened."Let's not talk about the ugly parts. Come back tomorrow. I have a surprise for you.""It is something you have dreamed of for years.""I was going to wait until you got back, but I cannot wait any longer. Let me give you a preview."With t

Chapter 7

When I ended the video call, Lucas was still on screen, looking as if he had not yet processed what I had said.He stood frozen, and the antique ring box in his hand fell to the floor with a thud.But I knew him too well.He would sober up soon enough.And he would quickly find a way to save face.He should have seen this coming the day he trampled on my dignity just to make Bella happy.Lucas's drama did not affect me this time. I put the call out of my mind and threw myself completely into my research.Realizing, perhaps, that I was dead set on leaving, Lucas made no further attempts to win me back.He began taking Bella to all the major casinos in Mesa without restraint, flaunting his wealth at underground parties, even letting the underworld tabloids capture them in intimate moments on his yacht.Our lives had become two parallel lines, heading in completely opposite directions.While they were popping champagne in a Sterling Heights penthouse to celebrate seizing a minor smuggling

Chapter 8

"I know you still blame me. But I know I was wrong. I really do.""I will find a way to deal with the business in Valmont, and then we can forget everything and start fresh."His sentimental act was laughable."Are you 'finding a way to deal with it'? Or have your territories already been devoured by other families, leaving you on the brink of collapse?"Though I had left the Moretti family, my intelligence network on the dark web was still active.I had been told that not long after I left, the Mesa casino Bella took over had fallen into chaos.Her foolish decision to disrupt the established flow of money attracted the FBI's attention, costing the family a massive amount of illicit cash.To protect her, Lucas had to bow and scrape before the old godfathers and other bosses.Worn down by his persistence, the old godfathers reluctantly gave him one last chance.That was around the time he video called me, trying to lure me back with a title.I did not know if he was sincerely trying to

Chapter 9

"What is it?"A flicker of hope ignited in Lucas's dim eyes, as if he were grasping at a final lifeline.I took out a USB drive and handed it to him. "This has all the damning evidence of Bella conspiring with rival families and betraying the Moretti family's secrets.""Contact the enforcers now. Make her pay the price, according to family law."Lucas froze."Once we are back together, the family will be our shared concern. There is no reason to hesitate when it comes to upholding its honor."I pressed the USB into his hand.Lucas did not reach for his phone."Elara, Bella… she was just greedy and was tricked. She does not deserve to die.""And what about me?"I looked at him, a cold smile on my lips. "When I worked myself to the bone for you and nearly died of exhaustion, all the humiliation I endured for her sake… did I deserve that?""Besides, she is out there, running free. How can I be sure you two are not still in contact?"I leaned in, my lips close to his ear. "But if you get r

Chapter 10

The next morning, an informant from the dark web sent me an encrypted message.It said Lucas had been ambushed on a road outside the city and hit by heavy gunfire. He had been shot multiple times and was on the brink of death when he was taken to an underground clinic.What I did not expect was that when Lucas woke up, he stared blankly for a long moment, his eyes as cold as ice.The first thing he did upon coming to his senses was to issue the family's highest order of retribution.It was not until later, when my intelligence network pieced together the full picture, that I understood.The frantic call he had answered on that stormy night had been a life-or-death warning from a trusted subordinate.Lucas arrived only to find it was a trap set by Bella and a rival family, an attempt to kill him and seize his remaining assets and territory.Fortunately, his subordinate had shielded him with his own body, pulling him from the bullet-riddled, wrecked armored car with his last breath.This

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