Chapter 43: Trying to hide
Jonathan’s eyes widened slightly as he opened the door. "Mr. and Mrs. De Augustino! I thought you both would return after three more days," he said politely, surprise flickering across his face.
"The plan was that," Luca replied, setting down his bag, "but we decided to come back early."
Sara didn’t wait for anyone. She walked past him without a word, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she disappeared down the hallway.
Jonathan glanced after her, then turned back to Luca with a faint, knowing smile. "Sir, it seems Madam is still upset with you."
Luca let out a quiet chuckle. "That’s her charm," he said lightly before heading upstairs.
When he entered the bedroom, Sara was pacing the floor, phone pressed to her ear. Her voice was sharp, laced with impatience.
"Where are you?" she demanded. "You owe me an explanation for what you did in the boardroom that day."
A pause. Her expression softened slightly, but her tone stayed firm. "Alright. I’ll see you in two hours."
Lowering the phone, she turned toward him. "I have to meet Julia tonight."
"You could have asked her to meet tomorrow. We just got back from the trip, you must be exhausted," Luca said, his tone carrying concern.
"I’m fine," Sara replied curtly. "Julia’s leaving the country tomorrow. Someone texted me mid-flight, so I have to meet her tonight."
"Oh. Then I’ll come with you," Luca offered. "Go ahead and freshen up first."
"You don’t need to bother yourself," she said, already turning toward the washroom.
Luca’s voice stopped her mid-step. "Why does it feel like you’re trying to create distance between us?" he asked softly. "I’m not doing you a favor, Sara. So please, don’t push me away. And I am sorry if I’ve hurt you."
Sara didn’t respond. Without a word, she disappeared into the washroom.
Luca exhaled slowly and sank onto the edge of the bed, then leaned back against the headboard. He pulled out his phone. After a moment, he scrolled through his contacts and tapped on a name.
"Good evening, Sir," Fabio’s voice came through the line.
"Evening," Luca replied smoothly. "Did you find out anything about Julia? I asked for that information before I left for the honeymoon."
"Yes, Sir. The report is ready. I assumed you’d prefer to review it after returning. Should I email it to you?"
"Yeah. Do that," Luca said, his tone quiet but firm. "Also—" he added, almost as an afterthought, "I’m in Madrid now."
He ended the call, staring at his phone screen for a few seconds before setting it aside on the nightstand. His mind wasn’t on the honeymoon anymore, it was already moving toward Sara’s sudden shift in mood.
"Why the hell did we even meet Claudia?" Luca muttered under his breath, rubbing his temple with a deep frown. "Her comments somehow hurt Sara... and my stupid lies didn’t help either."
Just then, his phone buzzed on the nightstand. A new email notification flashed on the screen.
He tapped it open, scrolling through the attached document, his brows furrowing as he skimmed the details. Before he could finish reading, his phone began to ring again. Fabio’s name lit up the display.
Luca answered immediately. "Yeah, I got the mail."
"Sir," Fabio began, "there’s something important I thought you should know right away. Julia secretly dated Diego in the past, about two years ago. Hardly anyone knows about it... except for Diego’s close friend, Ryan."
"Does Ryan still work at Falcone Industries?" Luca asked in a calm tone.
"Yes, Sir," Fabio replied promptly. "He’s the manager of the Financial Department. In fact, it was Ryan who submitted the financial report for the last three months last night. Diego prepared it, as per your order."
Luca hummed in thought, leaning back against the headboard. "I see. I want everything you can find on Ryan."
"Understood, Sir," Fabio said.
"One more thing," Luca added. "Julia’s leaving the country tonight. File for a travel ban immediately. She’s the one who presented evidence against Sara in the committee inquiry meeting. Until we know the full truth, she doesn’t go anywhere."
There was a brief silence before Fabio replied, "Consider it done, Sir."
Luca ended the call and set his phone aside, his mind still turning over the new information. "I wonder if Sara already knew about this," he thought, a faint crease forming on his forehead.
He leaned back against the headboard and closed his eyes, intending only to rest for a moment, but exhaustion caught up with him, and he drifted into a light sleep.
When he stirred awake, the room was dimly lit. Sara stood beside the bed, a thin blanket folded in her hands.
"Oh, you’re awake," she said softly, placing the blanket over him. "You should go back to sleep. I’ll go with the driver."
"No. I’ll go with you," Luca said firmly, swinging his legs off the bed. As he slipped on his shoes, his tone shifted. "Sara... did you know Julia and Diego were secretly involved? They were dating each other."
Sara froze with her eyes widening. "What? No! Who told you that?" she asked in disbelief. "That can’t be true. You must have gotten the wrong information."
Luca arched a brow at her. "It’s not wrong," he said flatly, standing and heading toward the washroom.
Sara followed, stopping at the doorway as he turned on the tap and splashed water over his face. "Julia never told me," she murmured, almost defensively.
Luca straightened and looked at her reflection in the mirror. "And why would she?" he asked. "People rarely confess what they’re trying to hide. Didn’t you see how Julia stood against you in the boardroom?"
He took out the towel from the wall cabinet and wiped his face with it.
"Let’s go then," Luca said with a determined look.
"Luca, you’ll stay in the car. I want to see if Julia will tell me the truth or not. I hope you understand," Sara said with a soft tone.