Chapter 38: Bond of enmity
Hearing his name, Luca froze, his hand falling slowly to his side.
"You will never speak of divorce in my presence," he warned, his voice low and edged with restraint. His breath brushed against her skin as he leaned closer, his nose tracing the curve of her neck. "I told you—you’re bound to me in this life," he murmured, lifting his head so his eyes could meet hers. "Remember how it feels when you’re with me."
Sara held his gaze, not flinching. "And what about you, Luca?" she asked. "Has it always felt like this for you?" Her fingers brushed along the sharp line of his jaw, lingering as if searching for the truth beneath his skin. "You told me once you felt nothing for me, not even an ounce. But your eyes, your touch, the way you react..." She gave a faint, knowing smile. "You can’t hide that from me. I affect you, don’t I?"
"Of course your touch affects me," Luca confessed with honesty. "So tell me, what are you going to do about my desires? Will you let me—"
He stopped when Sara pressed her finger firmly against his lips, silencing him.
"You’re such a liar," she whispered, her voice trembling with anger and hurt. "Do you really think I’ll believe you after the way you laughed at my feelings? I would never have walked away if you hadn’t humiliated me that night. You made me cry, Luca. You have no idea how much it hurt."
Luca’s brow furrowed, a flicker of regret crossing his face as his chest tightened painfully at her words.
"It won’t happen again," Sara said, "because I will keep myself in control."
She stepped back quickly, breaking away from him, and walked out of the house without looking back.
’I did hurt her badly,’
Luca thought, his gaze following her retreating figure. ’And it’s going to take time to earn her heart again.’ If not for his parents, and the rest of the family, he would never have done what he did. Back then, keeping Sara close would’ve only dragged her into the chaos of his life and it would have only affected her.He exhaled slowly and turned his head, catching sight of her standing on the porch with her arms crossed, the cool evening light outlining her silhouette.
’But at least she’s by my side,’ he mused, a faint sense of relief softening his features. ’Now that I have everything, I can finally protect her.’
~~~~~
Diego leaned back in his chair, his neck and back aching from hours of tension. "That bastard," he muttered under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck before glancing at his watch. It was past eight. He’d never stayed this late at the office before, but since two days, he didn’t have a choice.
"I can’t keep doing this," he said to himself, straightening in his seat. With a weary sigh, he pulled out his phone and opened his email. He let out a low, bitter chuckle, seeing all the four companies where he had applied rejected his applications.
"Perfect," he scoffed. "Just perfect. Luca must be behind all of this."
Diego shut down his computer and finally left the office. The parking lot was nearly empty. As he slid into the driver’s seat, his phone buzzed against the dashboard, an unknown number flashing on the screen.
He answered with a sigh and lifted it to his ear.
"Diego, return to the office," came his manager’s impatient voice. "You were supposed to send me the report before nine."
Diego frowned. "Ryan, you haven’t gone home yet?"
"I can’t," the manager said tersely. "Not until I forward the quarterly financial report to CEO Luca’s assistant."
Diego’s jaw tightened. "I’m coming," he muttered, ending the call.
His frustration boiled over. He slammed his hand against the steering wheel repeatedly for a few seconds, trying to shake off the anger that had been building all day.
"I’m going to kill you, Luca," Diego muttered, eyes burning with resentment. "First you demoted me to a mere assistant, and now you won’t even let me go home in peace." He straightened his tie and headed back to his department, where Ryan waited beside Diego’s desk.
"I was going to submit it in the morning," Diego said, dropping his bag on the table. His system was already on; he sank into the chair and opened the files.
"Secretary Fabio called the moment you left," Ryan said. "Just finish it now, we still have more than forty-five minutes."
Diego hummed under his breath and focused on finishing the report, his fingers moving swiftly over the keyboard.
"By the way," Ryan said casually, pulling out a chair and sitting beside him, "CEO Luca’s your brother-in-law now, isn’t he? You could use that to your advantage, earn a few favors, maybe. Just get along with your sister."
Diego’s jaw tightened. "Sara’s my stepsister, Ryan. And you know exactly what my relationship with her is." He gave a short, bitter laugh. "Luca demoted me to an assistant the moment he took over this company."
"That’s why you should change your approach," Ryan suggested, leaning back. "Sara’s too kind and foolish. If you show her you’ve changed, she might help you."
"I don’t pretend," Diego said. His eyes fixed on the screen as he skimmed through the report one last time, checking for errors. "Not with her. I simply hate her for making me feel low from the time I was first introduced to her. With her, I only can share the bond of enmity. It was a perfect chance to throw her into the prison, but that fucker saved her somehow."
Ryan gazed at him and chuckled when Diego sent a print command to the printer.
"I’ve finished the report, Ryan. Sent it to his assistant. And I’m taking a leave tomorrow. I’ve an important work," Diego asserted.
"Don’t tell me you’re thinking of applying some other company," Ryan said.
"No. It’s something personal. Good night," Diego said and grabbed his office bag before walking away.