Chapter 19: Her familiar scent
Luca’s pupils dilated, an unexpected surge of desire coursing through his veins in that moment. He released Sara’s wrists, but his hand lingered, cradling her neck, before pressing his lips to hers in a deep, possessive kiss.
Sara stiffened under him. Confusion clouded her mind. ’What is he doing? And why?’ she wondered.
When she kissed him back, the realization hit her, something hard pressed insistently against her.
With sudden strength, she shoved him away. Luca blinked in bewilderment as she sat up promptly.
"What-what’s wrong with you?" she stammered, her eyes darting toward him before quickly averting her gaze.
Luca smirked knowingly. "I think... My body liked it."
"What?" Sara shot him a glare, biting her lip in frustration. His smug expression made her want to kick him off the bed.
"You’re acting as if you don’t know," Luca teased, leaning back slightly.
"I’m leaving," Sara said sharply. "I’ll sleep with my grandmother. You can sleep alone." Without another word, she bolted from the bed and rushed out of the room.
Luca remained where he was, a slow, amused smirk curling across his lips as he watched her go. "Why is she reacting like that? Is she a virgin? That can’t be possible. She was with that bastard for a year," he muttered, feeling annoyed suddenly.
Lowering himself to the bed after switching off the light, he moved to the side where Sara was sleeping earlier. He buried his face in the pillow, getting her familiar scent.
He didn’t realize when the exhaustion hit over him, and he drifted off to sleep.
~~~~
Frida bit her nails as she was unable to connect with Asher. Since the morning she had been trying, but his phone was off. She even called at his house, but they were unaware of where he had left in the morning.
Grabbing the keys of the car, she decided to go to the station to file a missing report.
"Where are you going?" Diego interrupted her as soon as he spotted her hurrying down the stairs.
"To meet my boyfriend," Frida replied.
"It’s late," Diego said. "Go back to your room. If Dad finds out you are going out so late, he will scold you. Don’t try to bother him and ruin our mother’s name for not bringing you up well."
Frida nodded, and turned to go back to her room.
Once she entered her room, she once again called Asher.
To her surprise, the call connected and a few rings later, the call was picked.
"Where were you?" Frida asked. "I’ve been dying in worry since the morning."
"Be gentle. Ahh!" Asher whimpered in pain. "Can’t you see it’s burning?" He shouted at the doctor, who was treating his wound, the one he got after cigaratte burn.
"What happened? Are you hurt?" Frida asked with a panic-stricken voice.
"Don’t ask me, Frida. Your bitch sister has an insane husband. He got me kidnapped! Luca tortured me like hell in a dark place. He is dangerous, Frida. I made a mistake to even meet Sara on her wedding day. I thought I could use that as a chance to draw the media attention to ruin her image further. Why didn’t you tell me that Luca is such a dangerous man?" Asher asked, again wincing in pain.
"I-I didn’t know. Luca was just her childhood friend and crush. And he’s a billionaire with a heavy fortune bestowed on him from the young age," Frida replied. "He tortured you! That’s terrible. I-I will complained to the police."
"No. Don’t even think about it. Luca holds an unimaginable power," Asher stated. "I’ll hang up now. I’m just tired and want to rest."
"Sure." Frida lowered the phone and furrowed her brows together. She looked up for Sara’s contact and called her. But it didn’t connect.
"Why isn’t her phone connecting," she murmured with confusion.
~~~~
The next morning, Sara woke up at her usual hour. She couldn’t sleep well even beside her grandmother. Her mind churned with worry, what if the committee meeting went against her and they would hold her accountable for everything?
She poured herself a glass of warm lemon honey water and drank slowly, as if to soothe both her body and her restless thoughts. Setting the glass in the sink, she murmured to herself,
"I did nothing wrong. I have to brace myself and fight for it. Still... While leading Falcone Industries, I neglected what was happening right under my nose."
She moved toward the living room. Lost in thought, she didn’t notice Luca coming around the corner. She bumped into him and stumbled, but his strong hands caught her before she fell.
"Careful," he said, breathing slightly heavy.
She looked up and noticed he was glistening with sweat, clearly having just returned from a run.
"Thank you," Sara said softly, stepping back.
Luca studied her for a moment before asking, his voice low, "Are you ready?"
"Yes," Sara replied, thinking again about the committee.
Luca’s lips curled into a smile, thinking about their honeymoon. "It’ll be fun."
"What? Fun? Just don’t talk to me," she said immediately.
"Your mood swings are terrible," Luca teased, but his gaze shifted as Sara’s grandmother entered the living room, a shoulder bag resting over her arm.
"Grandma, good morning. Are you going somewhere?" Luca asked softly.
Sara quickly turned to look.
"Yes, dear. It’s time to go home," Katherine replied with a warm smile.
"Have breakfast with us, at least," Sara insisted, stepping toward her. "I’ll drop you home."
"No, I don’t want to trouble you. Besides, I’ve already called the driver. He’s waiting outside the mansion," Katherine said, pulling Sara into a gentle hug. She patted her granddaughter’s back with affection. "I’ll keep visiting you, and I’ll always stand with you."
Sara felt a lump in her throat. She pulled back slightly. "Thank you, Grandma."
Katherine kissed her forehead before handing over the shoulder bag. "I’ll take it. Come with me."
"You go ahead. I have something to talk to your husband," Katherine said softly, her eyes meeting Sara’s with a knowing look.
"Hmm." Sara walked away, leaving both of them alone.
Katherine took out a white envelope from inside the pocket of her coat. She walked to Luca and handed it to him. "I couldn’t give Sara and you anything on your wedding."
"It’s not needed, Grandma," Luca said.
"I know. You’ve everything. But it’s from a grandmother to her grandson-in-law and granddaughter." Katherine patted his hand. She gave him a smile and walked out of his sight.