Chapter 50 Chapter 51

Chapter 50 Chapter 51
Valerie POV

It had been days since I last saw Luciano, and I hated to admit it, but something about that made me uneasy. I told myself it was nothing, that I didn’t care, that his absence meant peace. But deep down, there was a small part of me that noticed. A part that waited. And that scared me more than anything.

I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection like I didn’t recognize the person looking back at me. My eyes looked tired, my expression unfamiliar. This wasn’t me. I had changed, and I didn’t even know when it started. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to steady my thoughts, but the only thing that came to mind was his voice, his presence, the way he looked at me. Even his touch. My eyes snapped open immediately, my breath uneven. No. I wasn’t going to let him get into my head like that. I couldn’t. He had already taken too much from me.

Every plan I made to escape had failed, every attempt shut down before it even began. No matter how hard I tried, I was still here. Still trapped. And slowly, without realizing it, I had started to accept it. Maybe this is my reality now. That one mistake had tied me to Luciano in a way I couldn’t undo.

A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I turned and walked toward it, opening it to find the housekeeper standing there, her posture straight, her face calm.

“My lady, Luciano, requests your presence in the living room,” she said.
For a moment, I just stared at her.
Luciano was back.

Something in my chest shifted, quick and sudden. I turned back toward the mirror almost without thinking, running my hands through my hair, adjusting my clothes, trying to fix myself. But halfway through, I stopped.What was I doing?

I stared at my reflection again, confusion settling in. Why was I trying to look presentable? Why did it matter? He was back, so what? It didn’t change anything. It wasn’t supposed to change anything. I didn’t have feelings for him. I couldn’t. And I wasn’t about to start now.

I stepped away from the mirror, forcing myself to stop caring, and walked out of the room. The hallway felt longer than usual as I made my way toward the stairs. Each step felt heavier, slower, like something was pulling me back, but I ignored it. When I reached the living room, I stopped for a second, I saw him.

His back was turned to me, but I knew it was him instantly. There was something about the way he stood, the way he carried himself, something that made him impossible to mistake. But he wasn’t alone.

Someone else was sitting beside him.
I moved closer, my steps careful, my eyes fixed on them. And then I saw her.
Leah.

I froze.

For a moment, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even think properly. Seeing them together like that… it did something to me. Something I didn’t expect. Leah sat there like she belonged, like she had every right to be in that space, and the smile on her face made it even worse. It wasn’t just a smile. It was satisfying. Victory.

I felt something tighten inside me, I cleared my throat, breaking the silence. Luciano turned toward me immediately, and a smile appeared on his lips. It was small, but it was there.

“Good, you’re here,” he said, His voice was calm, like nothing was wrong.

“Leah will be staying with us for a while,” he continued. “So I want both of you to get along.”For a moment, I just stared at him.
Staying? Here?

I didn’t understand. If she was staying here, then what did that make me? Why was I still here? My hands slowly clenched at my sides, anger rising in my chest, but I forced myself to stay calm.

“So what do you want me to do?” I asked, my voice steady, even though I didn’t feel steady at all, He paused for a second, like he was thinking.

“Nothing much,” he said finally. “Just show her around. I’ll be traveling, so the two of you will have time to get to know each other" Something about the way he said it felt… off, Different.

There was no tension in his voice, no sharpness, none of the attention he usually gave me. It was like I was just… there. Like I didn’t matter as much anymore. I shut my eyes briefly, taking a slow breath, trying to steady myself before opening them again. and the first thing I saw was Leah.Her eyes were already on me.She stood up slowly from the couch and began to walk toward me, each step filled with confidence. The smile on her lips only grew wider the closer she got.

“I told you,” she said softly, stopping right in front of me. “You’re nothing to him.”
Her words were quiet, but they hit harder than anything else.

“I was kind enough to offer you something before,” she continued with a small shrug. “But you rejected it.”She tilted her head slightly, her expression full of mock pity.

“Too bad,” she added. “Now you’re the one losing, Valerie.She let out a light laugh and walked past me like I wasn’t even worth her time.I stood there, frozen.

Her words echoed in my head, mixing with everything I had already been thinking. My chest felt tight, my thoughts messy. I didn’t know what hurt more, the way she spoke to me, or the way Luciano said nothing to stop her.

Slowly, I turned my head, looking at him again, But this time, everything felt different.