All Chapters of The Girl He Used for Revenge: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

When I woke the next morning, the space beside me was empty.Only the faint, cooled scent of cedar remained on the sheets. By our five-year unspoken rule, Luca always left before dawn, as if nothing had happened.When I washed up and went downstairs, there was a strange woman in the living room.She wore an ivory suit, blond hair pinned neatly back, with a crocodile handbag beside her and diamonds flashing on her wrist.Mom Grace waved me over warmly. "Elena, come here. This is Sophia Bellini, your brother's girlfriend."The word girlfriend still gave my heart a small, sharp pull.Sophia rose with a sweet, easy smile. "So you're Elena. Luca talks about you all the time. He says you're sweet and so easy to take care of."I touched her hand briefly, my fingers cold. "Nice to meet you."Luca was sitting at the other end of the couch. He heard every word and didn't explain. He only glanced at me, as if waiting for me to get jealous, question him, or lose control.I asked nothing and turned

I looked up at him and suddenly felt as if the man in front of me was a stranger.I used to think I understood Luca, his rare tenderness, his old wounds, his hatred of Mom Grace's kindness. Now I realized I only understood the parts he wanted me to see.I put the phone back on the nightstand. My voice was hoarse from the fever. "Is there something I shouldn't see?"Luca came over, scanned the screen, and tightened his grip on the glass until water sloshed over his hand. But he recovered fast, sat on the bed, and pulled me into his arms. "Just a few bastards running their mouths. You're still sick. Don't overthink it.""The engagement was a joke, too?"Luca kissed the top of my head, his voice so gentle it was nearly a lie. "Elena, I wanted to surprise you. Denmark and Malta both allow step-siblings with no blood relation to register a marriage. I've already asked the lawyers to prepare the documents. Once the family stabilizes, we'll leave Chicago and go somewhere nobody knows us."I h

At five in the morning, Luca woke by habit.The first thing he did was reach for the space beside him.Still empty. She hadn't come back all night.Luca's heart dropped hard. He returned to his room and was about to call someone to check Elena's location when his hand brushed two items under his pillow.A letter and a bank card.His movements stopped.In the past, when Elena wanted to cheer him up, she hid little gifts under his pillow: handwritten cards, cuff links, an out-of-print poetry collection, even a candy sealed in a glass bottle. It was their childish little ritual.Luca stared at the letter, and the gloom that had haunted him all night suddenly softened.She remembered his birthday. She was just being stubborn.He didn't open the letter. He only took the bank card to the study and asked his secretary to check the balance.Half an hour later, the secretary reported carefully, "Sir, there are three million dollars on the card."Luca's hand paused around his coffee. "Three mill

Two years later, I graduated from the University of London.That day, London was sunny for once. The lawn was full of graduates, and sunlight warmed the old stone walls.Mom Grace had flown in from Chicago. She stood in the crowd holding a bouquet of white roses, waiting for me.The moment I saw her, I ran into her arms. She laughed and patted my back, eyes red. "Our Elena finally graduated.""Mom, don't cry.""I'm not crying." She immediately denied it, then lowered her head and wiped the corner of her eye. "It's just windy."Caspar stood nearby with a camera. After two years of training, his photos were still hit or miss, but at least he no longer shoved people to the edge of the frame.I held Mom Grace's hand and stood on the steps, flashing a peace sign at the camera.When the shutter clicked, the ring on my finger caught the sunlight.Mom Grace noticed at once, and her smile was impossible to hide. "Caspar has good taste."I looked down at the ring. There was no huge diamond or fa