Chapter 76 COMING CLOSE ONCE AGAIN
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AUTHOR’S POV
Adeline’s hands trembled as she scrolled through her phone, her breath coming in short, uneven gasps.
The proof was there—staring back at her in the form of texts, images, call logs. Every single thing she had suspected, every single betrayal she had dreaded, was confirmed with cruel clarity.
Her fingers shook so badly she almost dropped the phone, but she forced herself to hold on, forced herself to keep breathing.
Her heart pounded as she turned the screen toward Luciano, her voice barely above a whisper.
“See for yourself.”
Luciano hesitated for only a second before taking the phone from her hands. His dark eyes scanned the evidence, his brows furrowing as he processed what he was seeing.
The air in the room seemed to thicken, growing heavier with each passing second.
His chest rose and fell slowly, deliberately, as if trying to contain the storm brewing inside him.
Then, his fingers curled tightly around the edges of the phone, his knuckles turning white.
His jaw clenched so hard that a muscle ticked beneath his skin. He scrolled further, the weight of realization settling over him like a crushing wave.
His breaths came sharper now, his nostrils flaring as the anger surged.
“What the fuck…” he muttered under his breath. His grip tightened before he finally set the phone down on the coffee table, running a hand roughly through his hair.
He exhaled harshly, his head shaking in disbelief.
“How could they?” he asked, his voice rough, hoarse with barely restrained fury.
“How could they do this?”
Adeline didn’t answer.
She couldn’t.
Because the moment the words left his lips, the dam inside her broke.
A sob ripped through her chest, raw and uncontainable. She clamped a hand over her mouth, trying to muffle the sound, but the pain was too much.
It spilled out of her in heavy, shaking breaths, in the way her shoulders trembled, in the way her entire body seemed to curl in on itself.
Luciano turned his head sharply at the sound, his anger momentarily forgotten. His gaze locked onto her small, fragile form, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if she were trying to hold herself together.
But she was breaking—shattering right in front of him.
And something deep inside him ached.
He had seen Adeline angry. He had seen her stubborn, fierce, unyielding. But this… this was different.
This was grief in its purest form. This was the weight of loss pressing down on her, the unbearable pain of knowing that the people she had once trusted had betrayed her in the cruelest way possible.
Her sobs grew quieter but no less heartbreaking, her breath hitching as she squeezed her eyes shut.
Luciano couldn’t just sit there and watch.
Without a word, he stood up and moved to her side. The moment he sat down next to her, his arms instinctively wrapped around her, pulling her into his chest.
Adeline didn’t resist. She collapsed against him, her hands clutching his shirt as if he were the only thing keeping her from completely falling apart.
Her body trembled with the force of her emotions, her face buried against the warmth of his chest.
Luciano held her tighter, one hand resting protectively on the back of her head while the other wrapped securely around her waist.
He pressed a firm, lingering kiss to the top of her head, his lips moving against her hair as he whispered,
“It’s okay. I’m here.”
His voice was soft, steady, a stark contrast to the storm of emotions raging inside him. He wanted to be furious.
He wanted to destroy Leonardo and Bianca for what they had done. But right now, none of that mattered.
Right now, the only thing that mattered was the woman in his arms.
“You don’t have to worry about anything now,” he murmured, his fingers gently threading through her hair.
“I’ll make everything right.”
Adeline hiccupped against him, her grip tightening on his shirt. Her breathing was still unsteady, but the warmth of his embrace, the solid presence of him, helped anchor her.
Luciano sighed, his arms tightening around her protectively.
“I swear to you, Adeline,” he whispered against her temple.
“They won’t get away with this.”
She pulled back slightly, just enough to look up at him, her tear-filled eyes searching his face.
Luciano reached out, brushing his fingers across her cheeks, wiping away the stray tears that still clung to her lashes. His touch was unbearably gentle, almost reverent.
“Don’t cry,” he said softly, his thumb lingering beneath her eyes.
“I hate seeing tears in your eyes.”
Adeline blinked slowly, her lips parting slightly.
Luciano leaned in without hesitation, pressing a tender kiss against each of her eyelids. His lips lingered, warm and soothing, as if trying to erase the pain from her skin.
Then, with the same deliberate tenderness, he kissed her forehead. Her cheeks. The soft curve of her jaw. The tip of her nose.
Adeline’s breath caught in her throat, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Then his lips brushed against the delicate skin of her neck.
She gasped softly, her fingers instinctively tightening in the fabric of his shirt.
A shiver ran through her, and Luciano felt it—felt the way her body responded to him, felt the way her breath hitched against his skin.
His lips lingered near her pulse, his breath warm as he whispered,
“I miss you.”
Adeline swallowed hard, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
Luciano’s lips brushed against her neck again, slower this time.
“I miss feeling you against me,” he murmured, his voice lower now, rough with emotion.
“I miss everything.”
She inhaled shakily, her eyes searching his face for something—anything—that would make sense of the whirlwind of emotions crashing over her.
But all she saw was him.
Luciano.
The man who had always ignited something deep inside her, something she could never quite understand.
And then, as if drawn by an invisible force, she leaned in.
Her lips found his in a slow, breathless kiss.
Luciano responded instantly, his arms tightening around her as he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.
It wasn’t just a kiss—it was a promise, a reassurance, a silent vow that no matter what happened, he wouldn’t let her go.
And Adeline, for the first time in what felt like forever, let herself believe it.
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The space between them dissolved in an instant. One moment, Adeline was staring into Luciano’s dark, stormy eyes, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps.
The next, his lips were on hers, claiming them with a hunger that sent a shiver down her spine.
The moment their lips met, it was as if a dam had burst. The tension that had been building between them, thick and undeniable, finally erupted into something raw, something desperate.
Luciano’s hands cupped Adeline’s face, his fingers threading into her hair as he kissed her deeply, hungrily.
His lips moved against hers with a fierce urgency, like a man starved, like he had been waiting too damn long for this moment.
Adeline gasped into his mouth, but the sound barely had a chance to escape before he swallowed it, pulling her even closer.
Her hands gripped his shirt, knuckles white as she clung to him, afraid that if she let go, she’d drown in the intensity of it all.
Luciano wasn’t gentle. He wasn’t slow. There was nothing careful about the way he kissed her—it was pure possession, pure fire.
His tongue slid against hers, coaxing, claiming, igniting something deep in her core that made her body tremble.
His fingers skimmed down her back, pressing into her waist before gripping her hips, and in one fluid movement, he pulled her onto his lap.
Adeline gasped again, her thighs now straddling his, her hands splayed against his chest as she felt the hard muscle beneath.
“Luciano,” she whispered against his lips, her voice breathless, shaky.
But he didn’t answer with words.
He growled low in his throat, his hands gripping her tighter as he crushed her against him. The heat between them was unbearable, the space non-existent, and yet it still didn’t feel close enough.
His lips left hers only to trail down her jaw, his teeth grazing her skin before pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses down the column of her throat.
Adeline shuddered, her head tilting back, giving him more access as her fingers tangled in his thick, dark hair.
His name left her lips in a soft, breathy moan, and that was all it took for something in Luciano to snap. His hands roamed greedily, sliding up her back, down her thighs, gripping her like he was afraid she might disappear.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he murmured against her skin, his voice rough with need.
Adeline opened her mouth to respond, but then his lips found that sensitive spot on her neck, the one that made her entire body jolt with pleasure, and all that came out was a sharp gasp.
Luciano smirked against her skin, his grip tightening.
“I remember,” he whispered, his tongue flicking over the spot before biting down gently.
Adeline’s nails dug into his shoulders as her breathing grew ragged.
She could feel his heartbeat pounding beneath her palms, just as wild and erratic as hers.
She pulled back slightly, just enough to look at him. His dark eyes were hooded, intense, filled with something dangerous, something possessive.
“I hate you,” she whispered, her voice trembling, but her fingers traced the line of his jaw, contradicting her words.
Luciano’s lips curled into a smirk.
“Liar.”
Then he kissed her again, and this time, it was even deeper, even rougher. His hands slid under the hem of her shirt, his fingers tracing slow, deliberate patterns along her spine, sending shivers through her entire body.
Adeline arched into him, pressing herself against him, her body molded perfectly to his as the kiss grew more heated, more desperate.
His hands gripped her hips, holding her firmly in place as his lips left hers once again, traveling down her neck, across her collarbone.
His breath was hot, his touch scorching, and she felt like she was burning from the inside out.
Luciano exhaled harshly, his forehead resting against hers as he fought for control, his breaths coming in ragged gasps.
“Damn it, Adeline,” he muttered.
“Tell me to stop.”
Adeline’s fingers traced his lips, her own slightly swollen from his kisses.
“I don’t want you to stop.”
His eyes darkened, his grip on her tightening. And then, with a deep, satisfied groan, he pulled her back to him, capturing her lips once more, and everything else—every thought, every doubt, every lingering hesitation—disappeared into the heat of the moment.