Chapter 164: It Was Nice

“Me too,” he said. “I actually went to see my mom.”

“You did?” Vee’s eyebrows rose in mild surprise.

“Yeah… it was nice,” he said.

“She’s well?” Vee asked carefully.

Luca chuckled. “Well is not actually a word I would use to classify my mother, but yeah, she is fine.”

Vee smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “You’re a terrible son,” she teased.

“Trust me, I know,” Luca said softly. “Get some rest, love. I’ll be right here. I’ll just go change and come back to you. There’s a guard at your door for precaution. Nothing else. Nothing like this will ever happen again. I assure you.”

She leaned back slightly into her pillow, relaxing. “Luca?”

“Hmmm…” He hummed in response.

“I’m obsessed with you,” she whispered.

“Oh, how the tables have turned,” Luca said, the corner of his mouth curling into a grin. He leaned down, pressing a careful kiss to her forehead. “I love you,” he said quietly. “I love you ridiculously much.”

She let her eyes close, a faint shiver of relief passing through her as she let herself sink into the fragile comfort of his presence.

Luca stayed where he was, watching her.

*****

Julian was heavily dosed from the painkillers in the private clinic in Luca’s house.

His thigh was thickly bandaged, the wound beneath it throbbing in slow, pulsing waves. Even through the medication he could feel it—an angry reminder of the bullet his own brother had put there. His muscles ached.

He drifted in and out of a hazy sleep for what felt like hours before finally opening his eyes.

Bianca sat by his side, reading a book. She looked strangely peaceful there, curled slightly in the chair beside his bed, one leg crossed over the other as she turned a page.

The painkillers blurred the edges of reality, but not enough to hide how beautiful she looked. He had imagined this scene a thousand times before—Bianca close to him, Bianca staying beside him, Bianca choosing to be there.

But he had never imagined the circumstances being quite so… dramatic.

“Hey, you’re here,” Julian said.

Bianca looked up instantly. The book closed in her hands as she stood. “Are you alright? Do you need me to call the doctor?” Her eyes moved quickly over his face.

Julian managed a weak smile. “No… no… just stay with me.”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly at that. “Alright, alright. I’m here. Do you need anything? Water? Are you still in pain?”

“The painkillers are so good,” Julian said, letting out a slow breath.

“Why did you do that?” she asked.

Julian blinked slowly. “Do what?”

“Fight your brother for me.”

Julian looked at her like the answer should have been obvious. “I’d do anything for you, Bianca.”

Bianca frowned slightly, confusion flickering across her face. “But why?”

Julian let out a quiet breath, the painkillers making the moment feel almost dreamlike. “Wh… why?” he murmured. “Can’t you… don’t you see it?”

“See what?” she asked, genuinely confused.

How could she not see it?

The hope he had buried deep in his chest while she belonged to someone else.

To his brother.

Julian reached for her wrist and yanked her down toward him. He held her face gently between his hands.

“Julian…” Bianca whispered.

And in that moment, finally, she understood.

He pulled her even closer and kissed her.

At first it was gentle, hesitant, as if he were savoring something fragile. Something he had imagined so many times he almost couldn’t believe it was real.

Her lips were soft against his.

She tasted just as good as he had imagined… just as he had fantasised during countless sleepless nights where desire for her enveloped his mind.

For years he had buried those thoughts.

Because she was Luca’s.

Because some lines were never meant to be crossed.

And now, lying there wounded, drugged, and dangerously honest, Julian found himself holding the one thing he had wanted for far too long.

Even if it destroyed everything.

Then he deepened the kiss, unable to resist.

The restraint he had started with cracked. Years of quiet longing surged through him at once, the painkillers dulling the part of his brain that might have warned him to stop. His fingers tightened slightly against her cheek as he pulled her closer, chasing the warmth of her mouth.

Then Bianca pulled back.

Her eyes were wide with shock, her breath uneven as she stared down at him. Her hand instinctively moved to her lips.

“No…” Julian argued, still caught halfway between desire and the haze of medication.

“I’m going to assume it’s the painkillers messing with your head.”

Julian let out a short breath, frustration flickering through him despite the dull warmth numbing his body. “I’ve always wanted you, Bianca,” he said. “Always.”

Bianca stared at him in disbelief. “I am your brother’s wife!” she snapped.

“He just almost killed you because of another woman!” Julian shot back.

“Doesn’t matter! I love him!”

“You don’t even know him!” he snapped back.

“I have always loved him, Julian. I tried not to. I really tried.” She began pacing slowly beside the bed, arms crossing tightly over her chest. “I tried to string other men along growing up, thinking they would get rid of the ache for Luciano. I thought eventually it would go away.” She gave a quiet, humorless laugh. “It didn’t work. It never worked.”

All those years. All those dinners, holidays, family gatherings where she had looked at Luca like he was the sun itself.

And he had been standing right there, invisible.

“I thought you were a virgin when you married him,” Julian said slowly.

Bianca stopped pacing. “Yes, I was. I never did anything with any of those men…” She sighed, rubbing her temple as the exhaustion of the last few days finally began to settle into her bones. “I will get him back, Julian,” she said finally. “I just need to play my cards right. This… this woman has bewitched him.”

The bitterness in her tone made it clear exactly who she meant.

(And done!!! Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for putting me to work. I hope I delivered and the quality of the writing didn’t suffer”

PS: If you haven’t, please drop a review. The book is getting a promotion in about five hours, and reviews do help a lot. Thank you.)

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