Chapter 18: To be mine forever
At the long dinner table, Luca’s gaze lingered on Sara, who quietly focused on the food in front of her.
"Grandma, please eat a little more. I even asked the cook to make meatballs just for you," Sara said, already lifting the ladle to serve.
"No, dear. My stomach is quite full." Katherine dabbed her mouth delicately with a napkin before gesturing toward Luca. "Serve them to Luca instead." She lifted her glass and sipped her water with poise.
After a moment, she rose. "I’ll go and rest now."
"Grandma, I’ll walk you to your room," Sara offered quickly.
Katherine shook her head with a soft smile. "No, no. Don’t leave your meal half-finished. A maid will take me to the guest room."
"Goodnight, Grandma," Luca and Sara said at the same time. He glanced at Sara with amused eyes, while she shot him a sharp glare in return.
"Goodnight," Katherine replied warmly before leaving the dining hall.
Luca leaned forward with a smirk. "You didn’t even serve your dear husband. Planning to starve me?"
Sara snapped her head toward him. "You’ve got two hands. Use them yourself."
"If I leave this table hungry," Luca drawled with an intentional mischief, "you’ll have to make it up to me in the bedroom."
Sara froze mid-bite, choking slightly. She hurriedly reached for her glass, gulping water before slamming it back down. "Can’t you keep your mouth shut while eating?" she muttered in exasperation. Grabbing the ladle, she scooped food into his bowl with quick, annoyed movements.
"Here. Eat, and let me eat too."
Luca grinned triumphantly before spearing a meatball with his fork, his eyes never leaving her face.
Once they finished, they went upstairs. Sara brushed her teeth first before returning to the room. After her, Luca used the washroom. When he entered the room, he found Sara was lying in the middle of the bed.
"You can sleep on the couch. The bed is mine," Sara said.
He laughed at her with amusement.
"We won’t share a bed. I cleared you already," Sara stated sternly while holding the duvet tightly over her body.
"Yesterday I let you be on my bed because it was your first day. I won’t entertain your tantrums daily," Luca stated, walking to bed. "The bed is large enough to fit two people." As he almost lowered himself to the left side of bed, Sara swiftly moved there, preventing him from sitting.
Just as he moved to lower himself onto the left side, Sara was quicker. She slid over and planted herself there, blocking him.
Luca rubbed the skin above his eyebrow with mock exasperation, then darted toward the other side, but Sara moved again, cutting him off.
"You can’t win against me," she said with a small, confident smirk. "So go quietly over there," she added, gesturing toward the couch.
Luca chuckled softly, shaking his head. Without hesitation, he leapt over her, landing squarely on the empty side of the bed.
"Hey!" Sara gasped, propping herself on her elbows.
"You can never win against me," Luca murmured with a mischievous grin before tugging at the duvet she clutched like a lifeline.
Sara lunged to pull away, but his arm circled her waist, pulling her against his chest. Her back pressed firmly into him, and instinctively her hands gripped his arm.
"Let me go!" she yelled, squirming.
"Nope," Luca said softly. "You’re sleeping with me on the same bed." The next moment, he pinned her down, holding both her hands above her head.
"See, you’ve lost, Wife," Luca said with a teasing grin.
"Fine. I admit my defeat. Now, you should let me go," Sara softened her voice a little just to get rid of his grip.
"If you have, then kiss me," Luca demanded.
"What did you say?" Sara thought she heard him wrong.
"Kiss me like a good wife," Luca said.
"Never. Now, move away. I will scream. I mean it."
"Scream all you want. Your grandmother is on the first floor. She won’t hear us. As for the servants, they don’t live in the mansion. We both are alone. By the way, we didn’t consummate our marriage. We should do it. Don’t you think?"
With a single hand, he firmly held her wrists above her head while the other one he rested on her waist.
"It’s a contract marriage, Luca," Sara said.
"And then, we officially got married. I’ve been thinking that just like your father intervened in my plans, and ruined them, blowing off the meaning of the deal we both shared, I should do something similar. A contract marriage for the lifetime. You’re trapped with me as my wife forever. What do you say?"
"You can’t do that! You cannot," Sara reminded him of the legal clauses.
"Well, I can. You’re forgetting that I hold power and money both to do everything I want," Luca stated with a grin.
Sara was tired of his schemings. He had always been like this. And it was true. He possessed both power and money.
Seeing her stop protesting, Luca wondered, ’What is she thinking? Turns out Grandma was right. Sara has thrown me out of her heart completely. Well, that was my initial aim. But within a day, I’m contradicting my own words. I want her to be mine forever, not just for a year.’
"Don’t you hate me?" Sara then asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You hate me and want to live you entire life with me. That’s ridiculous. Don’t play with me."
"I never said I hated you. You always thought that," Luca pronounced. Flicking the bridge of her nose with his fingers, he leaned down. "Maybe if you try harder, I may start liking you."
"I won’t. I will sleep with you on the same bed. Now, let my wrists go."
"Not without a kiss," Luca teased her more. But what Sara did next completely caught him off guard. He felt her soft lips against his rough ones.
"Now, I kissed, so you should move away," Sara said.