Chapter 55: For the Queen

Chapter 55: For the Queen
 Luca looked around anxiously. It had been over thirty minutes since Isabella wandered off, and she was yet to be back. He knew how women loved to take their time when it came to shopping, but he was never comfortable whenever she was out of his sight.
Unable to bear the suspense anymore, he headed off towards the direction she had followed, asking for directions from attendants he came across. A few minutes later, he saw a small crowd of customers gathered in the distance, with attendants also present. He wanted to ignore them and focus on searching for Isabella, but curiosity got the better of him.
As he got closer, the crowd parted a little and he saw a sight that immediately sparked rage inside him. Isabella was being scolded by the supervisor, and the surrounding attendants and a few customers were throwing rude remarks at her as she calmly tried to explain herself.
"What the fuck is going on here?" He asked calmly, not wanting to react before finding out the cause of the commotion.
The supervisor looked at him with disdain for a second, then realization quickly dawned on him.
“Ahhh… Mr. Moretti. I'm sorry, but it's just a minor issue with a nuisance. Apologies if we may have disturbed you.”
While he was still talking, Luca walked past as if he wasn't even there. He walked straight to Isabella and placed a protective hand on her back.
Every attendant froze, and even Victoria's smirk disappeared instantly.
Luca looked at Isabella. "Are you alright?"
She nodded, but her voice was tight. "I just wanted to buy a necklace, but they wouldn't let me."
Luca turned his gaze to Victoria. "She said she wants to buy it. Why is that a problem?"
Victoria swallowed hard. "Sir, that piece is very expensive. We were just explaining..."
“Shut the fuck up!” Luca roared at her and turned to face the trembling supervisor. “Is this how you and your staff treat my wife?”
At the mention of wife, there were several shocked gasps, and even the other customers couldn't believe what they had just heard. They had no idea who Luca was, but judging from the trembling of the supervisor and the look of woe on his face, it was clear that Luca was a big fish.
“Please, Mr. Moretti…” The supervisor began again, but Luca had turned to face Victoria again.
"Pack the necklace. She is taking it."
Victoria hesitated. "Sir, the price is two hundred thousand dollars.”
Luca pulled out his black card and placed it on the counter with a dark look in his eyes.
"I don't remember asking you for the price. I told you to pack it."
The attendants moved quickly now. Victoria's hands shook slightly as she took the necklace from the display and placed it in an elegant box while the male attendant wrapped it carefully.
Luca kept his hand on Isabella's back the entire time. He did not raise his voice again, but the tension in the air was enough to suffocate.
When the box was ready, Victoria handed it over with a nervous smile. "Here you go, sir. And madam. My deepest apologies."
Luca ignored her and turned to Isabella. "Is there anything else you want?"
Isabella shook her head, smiling lovingly at him. "No. This is enough."
Luca took the box and handed it to her, then he looked back at the attendants.
"From now on, when my wife enters this store, you will treat her with the respect she deserves. If I hear otherwise, I will buy this entire boutique just to fire every single one of you."
Victoria went pale. "Yes, sir."
The supervisor was still offering apologies, begging Luca not to say a word to their management. Luca ignored him yet again, focusing instead on guiding Isabella toward the exit. As they reached the door, he paused and looked back one last time.
"And one more thing," he said quietly. "Have all the jewelries in stock delivered to my residence."
The attendants stood frozen as Luca and Isabella stepped out of the boutique.
…
Outside, Luca opened the car door for her. Isabella climbed in, still holding the box tightly. She waited until he got into the driver's seat before she spoke.
"You really didn't have to go that far," she said grinning.
Still feeling pleased that he had made her smile, Luca couldn't help laughing.
“Yes, I did. You deserve the best of everything money can buy, and no one gets to talk to you anyhow and walk away with it.
Isabella stared at the box in her lap. "They were rude, but…"
"No," Luca interrupted. "You're a queen in this city, and you must be treated as one. One word from you and I would have bought you the entire boutique."
The car pulled away from the curb and Isabella remained quiet for some minutes. Then she turned to him.
"Luca. Why do you keep doing things like this?"
He glanced at her briefly before returning his eyes to the road.
"Because you are carrying my child, Bella," he said calmly. "And because you are more important to me than you'll ever know."
Isabella looked down at the box again, tracing the edge of the packaging with her fingers.
She wanted to argue. She wanted to push him away like she always did…but the words would not come.
Then her phone lit up with a message from Dante. She looked nervously at Luca, but he was too focused on the road.
She glanced at the screen.
"We need to meet. Tonight. No excuses."
She quietly turned off the screen and put the phone into her bag, but her heart was beating so loudly she thought Luca could hear it. Dante was beginning to push her too much, and it was now a problem… A problem she had to tackle as soon as possible before it got even worse.
When they finally got home, Luca excused himself to attend to some things in his office. Isabella was grateful for it, knowing she had some time to herself to reply to Dante.
When she opened her bag however and brought out her phone, another message was already waiting for her.
“Pregnancy looks really good on you. Hope you enjoyed shopping?”