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All Chapters of Everyone Had a Key but Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

My phone rang as I stepped out of the elevator.“Elena.” Luca's voice was low, familiar. “Don't let Isabella get to you. She opens her mouth before she thinks.”I stopped beside the glass doors of his building.“How long has she been living here?”A pause.“Her apartment's being renovated. It's only for a few days.”“There are hotels.”“I have three empty guest rooms. Why would I put her in a hotel?” Irritation sharpened his voice. Then he exhaled. “Look, sweetheart. I know how that sounded. Come back upstairs. Let's have dinner.”For three years, an empty room had never been an option for me.“Your rule was that your home was private,” I said. “Apparently, you meant private from me.”“That's not what I meant.”“Then you should have been clearer.”“Elena, it's a photograph and a spare key. You're making this into something it isn't.”Behind him, I heard Isabella say something I couldn't make out.Luca's voice cooled. “I'm not doing this over the phone. Come upstairs when you're ready t

Chapter 2

I took my suitcase down from the top of the wardrobe.For the past two weeks, I'd rehearsed a sensible explanation for staying: I had a job here. Moving abroad was expensive. Starting over could wait.None of those had been the real reason.I'd been afraid of what leaving would mean for Luca and me.Now I packed the notebooks from my master's degree, my laptop, and the clothes I would need for work. The research I'd once been so proud of had spent long enough gathering dust while I arranged my evenings around his schedule.My phone lit up beside the suitcase.Isabella had posted a screenshot of my breakup message.Enough with the drama. It's getting embarrassing. 🙄The comments were already piling up.Another breakup threat. Terrifying.She's an office assistant. What exactly does she think she's bringing to the table?Luca could have anyone. She should be grateful he even looks at her.I read them once.Then I left a comment of my own.It wasn't a threat. You're welcome to stop discu

Chapter 3

“Isabella came to apologize,” Luca said. “At least hear her out.”The door swung shut behind us. He pulled out a chair, still holding my arm, and I stumbled against the table as he urged me into it.Pain shot through my ankle.I sucked in a breath.Luca let go immediately.“Elena?” He crouched halfway, reaching for me. “Let me see.”“Oh—Luca!”Across the table, Isabella jerked her hand against the edge of a hot serving dish. Her waterglass tipped over.“That burned. God, that really hurt.”He turned instinctively.She held out her hand before he could look back at me.My phone buzzed.Dr. Reed.Just confirming before we issue the ticket: you're ready to travel tonight?Across the table, Luca wrapped a cold napkin around Isabella's fingers. She leaned toward him, explaining where it hurt.Yes, I replied. I'm ready.A moment later, the booking confirmation arrived. Departure just after midnight. One connection, then Copenhagen.I saved the ticket.Luca called a server over to help Isabel

Chapter 4

Two of Luca's friends stepped through the open connecting door, drinks in hand.“Told you she'd cave.”“Pay up. Luca wins.”One of them glanced at Isabella's wrist.“All that drama, and a bracelet was all it took.”Luca's brief, relieved smile died when he saw my face.“Elena. It wasn't—”“A bet?” I asked.He looked toward the men. “Get out.”Neither moved until his voice dropped.“Now.”They left.“I'll explain,” he said.“You can keep the explanation. I want the bracelet.”Isabella undid the clasp.“Here. Since it's so precious.”Instead of placing it in my hand, she tossed it.It fell short.The little glass oval struck the edge of the marble table, then shattered against the floor.For one second, I couldn't hear anything.Then I was kneeling, gathering silver links and fragments of glass. The painted portrait had split through the middle. Half my mother's face lay beside the chair leg.A tear hit the back of my hand.She'd been dead for so long. There was so little of hers left.“

Chapter 5

Luca stepped out of Isabella's treatment room and checked his phone again.Nothing.He'd tried Marco twice. His oldest friend wasn't picking up either.Then the phone rang in his hand.Relief hit him so quickly that he answered without looking.“Elena, finally. Where—”“It's me.”Marco.Something in his voice made Luca straighten.“What happened?”“I saw Elena at the airport. I was heading out for the Boston meeting. She had a suitcase, Luca. A big one.”“Which terminal?”“Luca—”“Which terminal, Marco?” He was already walking. “I'll be there in twenty minutes.”“Her flight's gone.”Luca stopped.“I tried to call you before they closed the gate,” Marco said. “You didn't pick up.”He'd been with Isabella, telling himself he'd leave the moment the doctor finished with her foot.Then he'd go to Elena's apartment.He'd apologize. Have her hand checked. Replace the bracelet.He knew dealers who could find jewelry older and rarer than that. He hadn't imagined the money would be a problem.He

Chapter 6

The institute's housing coordinator met me outside a quiet apartment building in Copenhagen.My room had its own bathroom, a desk beneath the window, and a small kitchen shared with two other researchers.It was better than I'd expected.The coordinator helped me register my fingerprint for the front door, then placed a key in my hand.“Welcome, Elena. Let us know if you need anything.”“Thank you.”I stood in the doorway after he left, looking down at the key.No phone call from the lobby.No waiting for someone to come and get me.No following at another person's heels, grateful to be allowed inside.I put my suitcase beside the bed and my mother's photograph on the desk.Then I closed the door.Three days later, the cut on my palm was healing and I could walk without much of a limp.I went to work.The team was small and busy. People asked what I thought, then listened to the answer. No one knew Luca's name. No one cared who I'd dated.There were interviews to plan, data to review,

Chapter 7

I nodded.“I understand. Thank you for looking.”I wasn't ready to leave it with anyone yet. I gathered the pieces, tucked the pouch into my bag, and went outside.Luca followed.“Elena. I'm sorry.”I stopped a few feet from the door.“I didn't understand how much it meant to you.”“You knew it was my mother's.”He swallowed.“I didn't know Isabella would break it.”“No. But you gave it to her.”“I let her try it on. It wasn't a gift.”“It wasn't yours to lend.”He looked away.“When I asked whether the repair was finished, you said it wasn't. Then you used it to make me say what you wanted.” I held his gaze. “Your friends had money on whether I'd give in.”“I didn't tell them to bet.”“You still played along.”He had no answer to that.I was surprised by how calm I felt. Talking about it no longer pulled me back into the room. I could remember what he'd done without wondering how to make him love me properly afterward.“I loved you, Luca. That was something I chose to give you. You tr

Chapter 8

Marco called from a number I didn't recognize.“Elena. It's Marco.”“How did you get this number?”A pause. “I asked around. Look, I'm sorry to call. It's Luca.”“What about him?”“He's barely dealing with anything back here. Meetings are piling up. Our shipping partners are threatening to pull out, and half the captains think they can start making their own rules.”I set my pen down.“Could you talk to him?” Marco asked. “Get him to come home? He won't listen to us.”“Then you'll have to decide what to do about that.”“Elena, the whole family could—”“Marco. We broke up. Managing Luca's life isn't my job.”He went quiet.“Don't give my number to anyone else. And don't call me about him again.”After a moment, he said, “You're right. I'm sorry.”I ended the call and went back to work.The next morning, Luca wasn't outside.A colleague glanced toward the street as we came in.“No flowers today. Was that an ex?”“Yes.”She nodded, leaving it there.I appreciated that more than she probab

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