19
T hree days after their return from Europe, Alessandra was still immersed in her happy bubble.
After one week in sunny Monte Carlo and another one spent roaming the French countryside, she was more relaxed than she could ever remember being.
Their trip had been everything she could have wished for, with Roman acting like the perfect husband for the whole two weeks they were abroad.
It was Wednesday morning and Roman had left home early for a meeting. He’d been on edge about something as he changed into a suit and kissed her goodbye absentmindedly. Now, half an hour later, Alessandra was still in bed where he’d left her, unable to find the will to get up.
Eventually, after some more minutes, she finally swung her legs over the edge of the bed and dropped to her feet on the cool floor. She took her time in the shower, dressed comfortably then headed downstairs to grab some breakfast and her daily dose of caffeine.
Around ten o'clock, their cook Annika made an appearance.
“Good morning, dear,” she greeted from the threshold to the living room.
Alessandra turned to give her a smile from the couch where she was watching TV. “Hey, Nika.”
“I need your help with the grocery list today.”
“Sure. When are you going out?”
Annika glanced at her watch. “As soon as we make the list. I want to be back in time to get lunch ready for you.”
It took them a little over fifteen minutes to finish up the list. By ten-thirty, Annika had left the house, and Alessandra was alone once again.
Out of boredom and because it was a surprisingly hot morning, she decided to go for a swim in the pool.
Upstairs, in the bedroom, she opted for a tiny bikini that had a thong for a bottom and was paired with a strapless bra.
No one would see her in the risky thing, and she really wanted to make the most of what was left of August's scorching heat.
Her skin would hate her for it by the time she was fifty, but for now, she was young and unbothered by what her senior years had in store for her.
On her way to the pool, she took out a bottle of cold water from the fridge and grabbed her sunglasses from the kitchen counter. The sun was already burning much too hot for that hour, so she applied a thin layer of sunscreen lotion, waiting a few minutes before jumping in the water.
She swam the first lap, her body gliding through the water effortlessly. She loved to swim, and even though she’d done it daily on their vacation, she could never get enough of it. The still-cool water caressed her heated skin, managing to put a contented smile on her face immediately.
Ah, summer.
She was going to miss it when September finally rolled around and brought with it rainy days and the pumpkin spice lattes she wasn’t a fan of.
As she reached the end of the pool and turned around to start again, Alessandra froze, her heart leaping into her throat when her gaze caught on an unexpected sight.
Sitting on a lounge chair and watching her as if it was the most normal thing in the world, was the last person she ever expected to see in her new home. His eyes met hers, dark and troubled.
“Luca?” she croaked, grabbing the edge of the pool with one hand so she didn’t go down to the bottom from sheer shock. “What are you doing here?”
He stood then, taking a few steps in her direction. He was wearing navy slacks and an untucked white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, looking very different from the impeccably dressed version of him she knew.
“ Bella ,” he said in a tight voice, his forehead creasing with a look of near despair. “I've missed you so fucking much.”
Panic engulfed her, propelling her body out of the water. Oblivious to the little she was wearing, she took hurried steps until she was standing in front of him, half-naked and dripping water. “Are you insane?” she whispered furiously, her heartbeat pummeling her chest. “How did you get in?”
Luca's eyes dropped to her chest, as if unable to stop himself from admiring her body. They’d been engaged for four years, yet he had never seen her like this.
Realizing just now that she was basically wearing two minuscule pieces of fabric, she blushed and darted for the lounge chair he had vacated.
She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, but it was too late.
When she turned around, it was obvious Luca had been staring at her naked ass, even if for just a few seconds.
His gaze snapped up to meet hers. He swallowed thickly before saying, “I watched your cook leave then came in through the kitchen.”
“Luca, this is dangerous,” she hissed, eyes drawn to the French doors, expecting them to burst open at any moment. “You can't be here.”
“I needed to see you. I texted you a few weeks ago.”
“I blocked your number.”
His jaw set, but he didn’t reply to that.
“I came by last week, but you weren't home. I found out later from Matteo that you were in Europe.” There was an urgency to his voice that sounded alien coming from him. In the time she had known him, he’d never been the emotional type. None of the men she grew up with were.
“Matty knows you're here?”
She was going to kill her brother if he was somehow involved.
“No. Nobody knows.”
“Luca, please , you have to leave. If someone catches you here...” she trailed off, gaze drifting back to those damn doors.
“It's been driving me crazy,” he continued as if she hadn't spoken, his voice taking on a raspy edge. “Knowing you're here; that he's touching you.” He shook his head, and the motion made Alessandra look at him again. “It's all I can think about.”
“I'm his wife now. There's nothing to be done about it.”
“Run away with me.”
Were she not so distressed by his presence, she would have laughed at the audacity of his proposal. But as it was, she didn’t feel amused in the least.
“What?” Her stomach clenched with anxiety. She needed to make him leave before disaster struck. “I can't do that. I don't want to do it. Think about what you're saying.”
“I know what I'm saying. I don't give a shit about your father's deal with the Russians. He took you from me. It's not fucking fair. You were mine .” He spoke feverishly, eyes roving over her face, watching her reaction.
“And then things changed. From the very start, it wasn't up to either of us to decide our fates. Our fathers negotiated our engagement on our behalf. It was them who decided to break that engagement in the end.”
“And now we can say 'fuck you' to the both of them and make our own destiny.”
Alessandra shook her head, taking a step back, desperate to put some distance between them. “It's too late for that.”
Luca's face clouded with suspicion. “Are you in love with him? Is that it?”
“How I feel about my husband doesn't concern you,” she snapped in return, her anxiety giving way to irritation. She didn't want to talk to him about Roman. She just wanted him gone.
He stepped closer, his hand finding her upper arm, squeezing the wet flesh there. “Fuck, bella , don't do this. I know I made a mistake. I shouldn't have let things get this far in the first place.”
Feeling like he'd burned her with his unwanted touch, Alessandra tried to pull her arm away, but he didn’t let go. With a frown, she attempted to talk some sense into him. “Please, I'm begging you, don't make this more difficult than it has to be. You need to move on and forget about me.”
He swallowed thickly, drawing her a little closer still. “I can't. You're still mine.”
“Luca, please,” she pleaded, a terrible feeling of dread settling in the pit of her stomach, making her nauseous.
They stood, facing each other, their eyes holding a silent conversation. He was still looking at her as if by some miracle she would come to her senses and follow him to the end of the Earth if needed be. She, instead, was on the verge of a nervous meltdown.
“Is this what you do behind my back?”
The low rumble of a voice startled both of them.
Alessandra wrenched free from Luca's grip, her heart nearly exploding inside her chest as her eyes found Roman standing on the patio. The look on his face was murderous, and if it weren’t for that ice-cold gaze that pinned her to the spot, her knees would have collapsed the second she heard his voice.
“Roman,” she whispered, fingers tightening around the towel wrapped around her body like a shroud.
Her husband reached behind him to pull out his gun, pointing it at Luca so fast she barely had time to react.
Horror and adrenaline filled her bloodstream, and without even thinking, she stepped in front of Luca, one hand raised up defensively. “Wait, please, no!”
Behind her, another gun cocked with an ominous clicking sound. She tried to ignore it, keeping her attention on her husband instead.
The expression on Roman's face went from angry to incredulous before he caught himself. “Get the fuck out of my way, Alessandra.”
“Please, let me explain.”
“Explain what?” he seethed, voice filled with venom. His eyes flicked to her face briefly, and what she saw in them made her want to cry. “That you're meeting with your ex-fiancé in my fucking home?”
“It's not like that.” Her voice trembled, and she hated that she could barely gather her thoughts enough to form a single coherent sentence.
“Move,” he ordered, his gaze fixed on the man standing behind her.
Behind Roman, the doors opened again, and Alek came out of the house, looking bewildered.
“Whoa! What the hell is going on here?” He drew out his own gun, but kept it lowered, his gaze moving from Roman to the intruder. By the look of aversion crossing his face a moment later, it didn’t take long for him to connect the dots and recognize who Luca was.
Alessandra felt Luca's hand on her waist as he tried to push her away. Roman took a step forward, blue eyes so dark they looked almost black. “Don't you fucking touch my wife.”
“She should have been my wife, stronzo ,” Luca gritted from behind her, though he dropped his hand a second later.
It was the last straw for Roman. The empty hand at his side clenched into a tight fist, a look of near madness crossing his handsome face. Alessandra realized with a sobering feeling of certainty that if she weren't still standing in front of Luca, he would have been dead by now.
“Roman, hey, calm the fuck down!” Alek pushed his brother back with one hand, his disapproving gaze moving to her. “Alessandra, get inside.”
The look she gave him was desperate. She couldn't handle the thought of having Luca's death on her conscience. “Please, Alek.”
“Get inside before this turns even uglier than it already is.”
Although very much aware that she should do as she was told, Alessandra found that she couldn't move. Her entire body felt rigid, shocked into a state of stiff energy.
“Go!”
Alek's barked order finally set her into motion. Not daring to even breathe in Luca's direction, she paused beside her husband, her chest burning with each breath she took. “Please don't kill him.”
Roman didn't even acknowledge her. Jaw set and hand raised, his sole focus was on the man invading his home.
Swallowing hurt and humiliation, she made her way inside, fighting the urge to look back.