“What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk…”
I let out a dry laugh and don’t let him finish. “We’ve talked, Luca, it’s over!”
“That wasn’t a conversation, Chiara, and you know that as well as I do.”
“You should be in Italy, just like Paolo and Francesco; they’re still here, right?”
“I wouldn’t leave you unprotected, even if it does end, at least for a while; I wouldn’t leave you unprotected!”
“Even if it did end… It’s over, get over it!”
Aurora’s words make me look annoyed at her. I know she wants the best for me, but this matter is between me and Luca. Luca seems really annoyed by her intrusion but doesn’t say anything in her direction.
“Can we talk alone?”
I didn’t have time to answer. Suddenly, the whole situation became chaotic. Leticia appeared with Henry by the door to find what was delaying us. Henry looks at Luca and then at me, ignoring him; he walks up to me and lets his hand touch myshoulder, making Luca clench his jaw immediately.
“Are you okay? Do you need help?”
His question makes me want to laugh. I’m not the princess in trouble he thinks I am; I don’t need to be saved by him; I’m perfectly capable of saving myself. Unlike me, Luca doesn’t seem to want to laugh; he wants to crush Henry with his bare hands, and the worst thing is that I know he could do it.
“I’m fine, Henry. This is Luca; Luca, this is Henry!”
After realizing that nothing bad is happening to me, Henry returns to his friendly, smiling face, holding out his hand for Luca to shake. Luca squeezes his hand in what looks like a small demonstration of his strength. Henry looks annoyed, but his face doesn’t show it; the friendly smile remains on his face, even if it issmaller. On the other hand, Luca remains as closed and cold as ever, maybe a little frowny.
“Can we talk?” Luca’s eyes are on me, and he seems to ignore everyone around us.
“As you can see, we have visitors!” I say, trying to appear calm and unaffected by his presence.
“I came all the way from Italy to talk to you; I know you can spare me some time!”
Now, his eyes are on Henry, sending a clear message that he must go. Henry doesn’t seem to be intimidated; he moves closer to me, making Luca follow his movements. He plants a kiss too close to my lips, looking at Luca with a smile straight after.
“You can talk to your friend; after all, he’s come a long way. You know I’m nearby; you can always call me if you’re bored.”
Chapter 11
Luca follows me to my room right after Henry leaves. The girls didn’t seem really happy about me accepting this conversation, but I didn’t care about that detail. Maybe we really do need to talk and clear everything up before we move on. Luca looks around my room, examining it, seemingly memorizing every detail. I stop in the middle of the room, not really knowing what to do, and when our eyes meet, he moves closer to me, finally stopping his examination of our surroundings.
“I brought them for you. I know peonies are your favorite flowers, so I decided to buy them before I came!” He holds out the flowers toward me, and my heart beats too fast for his words. I take them, feeling our fingers touch, and a shock runs through my body. I bring the flowers toward me and hold them to my chest, almost hugging them, trying to protect myself from his gaze that seems to read my soul.
“What do you want to talk about?” Luca gestures for me to sit down, and I go toward the reading bench next to my window. I hear his footsteps following me, and he sits down next to me; his strong, muscular arm touches mine, and once again, my traitorous body reacts to him.
“Was that your boyfriend?” The shock runs through my mind, and for a while, I can’t formulate a sentence.
“I don’t have a boyfriend; you should know since your father’s soldiers follow me everywhere.”
Luca seems to be pondering his answer. “Having security never stopped you from dating. The deal was that you would do whatever you wanted during university.” I don’t answer orargue; I don’t really have anything to say. My mind is racing, and I feel really confused. “Are you in love with him?” My eyes turn to Luca, not expecting his question and the harshness of his voice when he asks it. “I take it that was the reason you broke off the engagement.”
A dry laugh escapes my throat without me realizing it. Luca looks at me, and I think that, for the first time, I keep my eyes glued to his without looking away for a second.
“He wasn’t the reason I broke off the engagement, at least not the main one; yes, I wanted to go out with him without anyone following me. But Luca, we were doomed to failure from the first second we met; we don’t know each other, we don’t know anything about each other, andlet’s be honest, you don’t even seem to be able to stand me. We’re just two strangers who decided to get married. Maybe this was all for the best. I like to believe that I don’t need love to survive, but I could never go through with a marriage where my husband can’t even look at me or hear my voice.” I take deep breaths, trying to read his eyesand his thoughts, and I feel frustrated that I can never read him when he seems to be able to read me so well and so easily; it’s just unfair. “To answer your question, no, I’m not in love with him; who knows in the future? I’d like to fall in love with him in reality. You know he’sreally good. The kind of person who cares about everyone’s well-being, who likes to see people happy and does everything to make them feel that way, he fights for the good, the best for everyone! I think I’d like to love and be loved by someone like that!”
After I’ve finished speaking, Luca’s eyes look colder than they ever have. His jaw is clenched, but if it weren’t for these small details that are only noticeable to those who are really close to him, his face would look as unperturbed as ever.
“Life is not a fairytale, Chiara, and he may not be your Prince Charming.”
