All Chapters of THE DE LUCA BARGAIN : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

LORENZO'S POVThe meeting should have ended twenty minutes ago.Instead, three captains were still arguing over shipping routes while Damiano stood beside me, quietly checking his phone every few minutes.Checking the security reports, and routine, everything was fine until his expression changed.He looked up."The detail assigned to Mrs. De Luca just checked in."I didn't look away from the documents in front of me."And?""Mrs. De Luca left the estate." my pen paused."With Vittoria." that explained enough."Destination?""Manhattan." I nodded once. "Security?""They're with them." I returned to the file."Good."The meeting continued, at least it tried to but ten minutes later, Damiano's phone vibrated again.He frowned this time."What is it?""The convoy changed route."I looked up immediately. "Why?""They've stopped at Chairman Alessandro's residence." I went silent and closed the file instantly. Every man around the table noticed.Damiano already knew what I was thinking."I

ISABELLA'S POVThe lockdown had become easier to endure, not because I enjoyed it, but because eventually, even restlessness grew tired.Most mornings followed the same routine, breakfast, the library, lunch, a walk through the gardens if security deemed it safe, dinner, and another quiet night inside the estate.It was becoming dangerously easy to mistake routine for peace. This morning I was done with the first routine and was getting ready for the second when a knock sounded on my bedroom door."Come in."The door opened, revealing Vittoria.She leaned casually against the frame, a pair of sunglasses resting on top of her head."I come bearing good news."I closed the book in my lap."Should I be worried?""Only if you've developed an irrational fear of museums."I frowned."Museums?"She walked inside."There's a private exhibition opening this afternoon.""And?""And we're going."I blinked, wondering what part of what happened the last time she doesn't get."I thought I wasn't a

LORENZO'S POVI had barely touched the coffee growing cold on my desk when a knock sounded against the study door."Come in," I said standing close to the window.Seeing Damiano step inside, I went to sit down.But something about him seemed off, he looked different, and too composed.Whenever he looked that calm, it usually meant something was about to go down."We found him." He said the minute he came close.The room suddenly became cold, I slowly lifted my head."Where?" I asked him."Caffè Bellini."I stared at him."He isn't hiding?"Damiano shook his head."No."Silence stretched between us.It felt almost as if he wanted me to understand what that meant before he said anything else, for some reason. "He's been sitting there for nearly an hour.""He hasn't tried to leave."I leaned back in my chair, of course he hadn't.Francesco wasn't waiting for an opportunity, he was waiting for me.As if he could read my mind, Damiano folded his arms."It could be a trap."A humorless smi

ISABELLA'S POVI barely slept a wink last night, every time I closed my eyes, I found myself back in the sitting room.All I could think of was his hand around mine, and the kiss.I turned over for what felt like the hundredth time before finally giving up.The first rays of morning filtered through the curtains as I climbed out of bed.Perhaps if I reached the dining room early enough, I could avoid him altogether. I thought to myself.It was a foolish hope, the moment I stepped inside, I saw him.Lorenzo sat at the head of the table, already dressed for the day. A newspaper lay open before him, though judging by the untouched coffee beside his hand, he hadn't read a single page.He looked up the instant I entered.Our eyes met, for one suspended moment, neither of us moved.Then, almost simultaneously, we looked away."Good morning," I murmured and cleared my throat."Morning." That was all he said.I took my usual seat, deliberately leaving an empty chair between us.A maid stepped

ISABELLA'S POVMy suitcase lay open across the bed.For several minutes, I simply stared at it. I had already packed most of my clothes, yet somehow I couldn't bring myself to close the damn thing.A vacation, that was what Lorenzo had called it.As if I were an ordinary woman preparing to escape the city for a few days.Not a woman whose husband had recently discovered that his greatest enemy had somehow found her.Not a woman who had kissed that same husband in the middle of the night and had spent the rest of the night wondering what the hell she'd done.I folded another dress and placed it inside the suitcase. Leaving was a good thing.Actually...I knew it was.This wasn't the first time we kissed but ever since that night something had changed, I could feel it every time Lorenzo walked into a room. Every time our eyes met.Every time I remembered the warmth of his hand at my waist. It had become impossible to pretend nothing had happened, and perhaps some distance would help.I c