Chapter 126: I’m With Luca

Rosa was conducting her own brand of education. She watched as Vee bent over the trunk, tying down the haul of adult store paraphernalia.

“All of these,” Rosa said, sweeping a hand over the trunk, “will be useless if you cannot stand your ground, Vee. The man you deal with is a dominant in his right. The best way to punish a man like that,” she continued, “is to give him a taste of his own medicine. Make him understand what it feels like to meet resistance, to face a will that refuses to bend.”

The lesson was simple: she could not cave back into her natural role, her habitual submission, until her message was fully delivered, carved into the mind and body of the man across from her.

“Is that clear?” Rosa asked.

“And what if this isn’t a message that can be passed?” Vee asked, fidgeting with the hem of her jacket. “What if it’s…something I’m going to have to deal with for as long as this goes on?”

“I…don’t really know what advice to give, not without knowing the full context.”

“Uhm…you know that I…ah…I’m with Luca, right?”

“I do. I just pretend not to. The less I know, the better for me.”

“Yeah, I know. Scary guy…” Veronica laughed.

“Scary?” Rosa echoed, raising an eyebrow. “Honestly, he doesn’t look scary. He looks…normal. Clean-cut, almost angelic if you don’t know who he is. If no one told you he’s the New York mafia god, you’d never guess.”

Veronica leaned back, a slight flush coloring her cheeks. “That’s…actually how I got entangled with him in the first place. I had no idea who he was. Just a… long story. But look…he’s married.”

Rosa smirked. “The beautiful ones are always off the shelf.”

There was a pause, a quiet beat of acknowledgment, and then Vee added reflectively: “You’re not being as judgmental as I thought you would be.”

“Hey…we all have our kinks,” Rosa said, raising her palms in mock surrender, a sly grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

Vee ran a hand through her hair. “Dating a married man is not my kink, believe me,” she said. She hated the sting of jealousy, the helpless thrum of desire that Luca always seemed to provoke in her without even trying.

Rosa arched an eyebrow, tilting her head. “So you’re trying to punish him because he didn’t tell you he’s married?”

“No…” Vee said, shaking her head, exhaling sharply. “I’m planning to punish him because he is with his wife right now. And I’m hurt and…jealous. God, Rosa, I love the man.” She shrugged. Her heart pounded as she admitted it to someone else aloud. “And…even if I didn’t, he has this…gigantic obsession with me. I cannot handle him being married. I want him to feel what it’s like—the hurt, the frustration…what this is doing to me. I want him to hurt as much as I am hurting.”

Rosa’s eyes softened. “Uh, love…this isn’t going to hurt him the way it hurts you. But it will make him remember what it is that you will not tolerate. He’ll feel the edge, the boundary, and he’ll respect it.”

Vee exhaled, a long, shaky sigh. She felt exposed, naked in ways she hadn’t intended, and yet Rosa’s presence made her feel grounded.

Rosa leaned closer, a conspiratorial lilt threading through her words. “I understand the situation you’re in, Vee. Luca…he’s not the kind of man you can simply say no to. Not like I would want to anyway.” She chuckled. “I mean the man is…delicious. And you’re lucky, because you get a taste of that while it lasts. Enjoy it. Invest in yourself while you can, have mind-blowing sex while you’re at it, and learn as much as you can about what you want for your future. It won’t last forever—he’ll get bored someday, or life will shift in ways you can’t predict. But right now, this…this is yours to own. Your youth, your desire, your fire. Take advantage of it while you can.”

Vee let Rosa’s words settle, a bittersweet ache blooming in her chest. On the surface, the advice was liberating, practical even. But beneath it, a heavier truth lingered: she dreaded the day Luca would tire of her, would find novelty in someone else or some other distraction, or maybe even dedication to his wife.

Because yes, the sex was otherworldly, intoxicating, mind-consuming, but what she felt for him went far deeper than lust. It was tangled in love, in admiration, in a craving for intimacy and acknowledgment that went beyond the physical.

She swallowed, her hands trembling slightly as she wrapped her arms around herself.

And somewhere deep in her chest, beneath the jealousy, the heat, and the ache of longing, a tiny ember of determination sparked. She would claim her space, her boundaries, her voice. She would make Luca see, in every glance, every touch, every exchange, exactly what he had.

*****

Ricardo strolled down the tree-lined street with Valentina. Each held a cone of ice cream, the melting sweetness dribbling slightly down their fingers as they laughed, sharing quiet jokes that seemed too intimate for a casual walk. He had asked her to show him the hidden gems of the city, but so far their adventure had been limited to a cinema, where they had spent hours teasing each other, whispering through previews, and flirting.

Valentina’s laughter was infectious, and Ricardo found himself stealing glances at her whenever she wasn’t looking, memorizing the way her eyes lit up, the little crease that formed between her brows when she concentrated, the way her lips curved when she smiled.

She had an intelligence that made every conversation feel effortless, a sharp wit that kept him on his toes, and yet there was an innocence in her that made him want to protect her, to cherish the moments they shared, fleeting though they might be. He knew he could fall for her. Easily. Dangerously so.

Yet even as he felt the pull toward her, there was a shadow lingering in his chest, a fresh ache from a heartbreak he hadn’t fully processed. Bianca. Three years together in school, a forbidden romance tangled in secrets and rebellion. Bianca, the Vitale heiress, always destined for Luca, yet daring enough to defy her fate with him.

(Brought to you by Jennifer Willard)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep