Chapter 20 — Ruined plans

Jane's POV:

"Jane? Sweetheart is that you?" I heard someone ask from behind me as I was about to put the sausage roll in my mouth.

I retracted my hand and turned around to come face to face with Martha, Luca's housekeeper.

I grinned widely at her.

"Hey Martha." I greeted.

"Oh dear, you look beautiful." She said as she crushed me into a hug.

"Thank you." I replied as she pulled back.

"Are you here alone?" She asked.

"No. I'm actually here with my aunt, Mrs. Freeman." I stated.

"Oh my! You're Mrs. Freeman's niece? Who would've known." He gasped in surprise. 

"Yeah.."

"Have you met Luca yet?" Martha asked hesitantly like she was afraid of saying the wrong thing.

I sighed and shook my head.

"Is he okay Martha?" I asked.

It was her turn to sigh. "His father hurt him again but not as bad as before." She whispered so no one could hear.

Anger bubbled inside of me and I closed my eyes tightly, trying to calm myself.

That bastard!

I felt a hand holding my shoulder.

I opened my eyes and looked up to see Martha giving me a reassuring smile.

"It'll be okay sweetie. It'll be okay."

I took in a deep breath before nodding.

"Did you do as I asked you?" I asked referring to the favor I requested from her.

She sighed before handing me the small plastic bag which I quickly placed in my purse.

"I don't know if what you're doing is a good idea but I'll trust you Jane." She sighed.

"Don't worry Martha. Plus, it's our only hope." I replied.

"I wish you all the luck girl. I'll leave you now to your business since I have a lot of work to do before the announcement."

"Okay." I nodded again.

I turned back to the half-eaten sausage roll that I've placed back on my plate when Martha came. I didn't feel like eating any more after what I've heard.

My heart ached at the thought of Luca getting hurt again but what angered me more was that I wasn't there to protect him. I wasn't there to help heal his wounds.

This will all change. I promise you Luca, this will all change.

I sat with myself for some time before joining Frank and rest once more. Turns out, I enjoyed their company very much. They weren't the boring old type but they were actually very fun to be around. They were like a bunch of high schoolers with their teasing and their jokes.

All this time, I wasn't able to see Luca or Sarah. Mr. And Mrs. Hemington however, came to talk to Frank and the rest.

Mr. Hemington shot me a death glare as soon as our eyes met. His glare shook me to the core.

Mrs. Hemington, however, looked at me weirdly before ignoring my presence altogether.

They greeted Frank and the men, talked about some business-related stuff before leaving us be.

Thankfully, none of the men mentioned anything goes about what they thought of the merger and I didn't dare give my opinion. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. Saying something will ruin the plan.

As soon as Mr. And Mrs. Hemington left, Frank turned and shot me a wink and at that instant I knew that they were on my side.

Soon, all our attention was directed towards the makeshift stage when someone tapped on the microphone.

I saw Luca and Sarah standing by the side. Luca's parents behind the mic while Sarah's parents were on the other side.

Luca's eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets when he saw me. Sarah, on the other hand, reminded me of Mr. Hemington, although her glare didn't scare me.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen." Mr. Hemington started. "Thank you so much for coming here today even though I know you all are busy. Today, we invited you here to celebrate two things. First, the merger of the Hemington and the Harding franchise!" He exclaimed happily.

Cheers erupted from all around and people started clapping while I just scoffed and rolled my eyes, earning yet another chuckle from Frank.

"We are very happy to share this with you and we believe that we will grow up and become successful with our beloved shareholders." He continued.

"Ask him about their business plan." I whispered to Frank.

He stood up from his place. "Mr. Hemington. As one of the potential shareholders, I would like to know what your business plan is." Frank announced.

Soon, other people were agreeing with him.

Mr. Hemington looked lost for a minute before opening his mouth to reply.

"We are still in the beginning, our business plan is set out but it's still under construction." Mr. Hemington replied.

"I'm not convinced. I don't want to put my money in a place where I'm not sure whether I'll gain or lose." Frank stated causing a ruckus to erupt from the crowd.

Sarah's father, Mr. Harding stepped in and took the microphone, gaining a glare from Mr. Hemington.

Nice partnership.

"I know the situation might not look that good now but I can assure you, everything is well thought off." He stated.

"Mr. Hemington just said that it was still under construction." A woman from the crowd cheered. People started talking and murmuring their disagreement with the business situation.

"Hey Jane. Watch this." Mark nudged me before standing up.

"Excuse me. How do you think this merger will succeed when the ladies of the house are disloyal. I've heard that they're cheating on their spouses. How do we know that we won't get betrayed as well?" Mark asked.

I tried my best not to laugh my ass off.

The murmurs grew louder while both the Hardings and Hemingtons paled, except for Luca of course. His face was red from how much he was trying room control his laughter.

"This has nothing to do with our flourishing businesses." Mrs. Hemington stated after she snatched the mic.

"If by flourishing you're talking about your STDs then yes, it has everything to do with it." Someone yelled from the crown earning him a couple of snickers and some laughter.

"Who the hell do you think you are to talk to me like that?" Mrs. Hemington sneered angrily.

"This is off point." Mr. Harding said as he snatched the mic back. "We here have a video showing our future plans from this merger." He stated frantically, trying to save what's left of their plan.

He ushered for the guy by the computer, signaling for him to start. Too bad for them, they didn't know that I've switched the tapes.

The video started by showing Mr. And Mrs. Hemington in the office talking.

'Merging with the Hardings is our best option right now to save this company. Those idiots, along with the shareholders will provide us with the money we need until we can stand on our feet. We can get rid of them easily.' Mr. Hemington said.

The crowd gasped along with the Hardings.

The scene changed to where Mr. Hemington was whipping Luca, then on a different occasion where he was beating him senseless while Mrs. Hemington was watching with a wine glass in her hand.

Gasps were louder and soon the crowd was angry.

Mr. Hemington yelled for the man by the computer to shut it off but it looked like the man was in shock and didn't hear him. Not like he would listen to him after what he saw.

When Mr. and Mrs. Hemington found that they were already trapped, they sprinted towards the door.

"Grab them!" Frank yelled angrily as he ran through the crowd.

The Hemingtons' run was cut short as they were caught by their own guests.

"Someone call the police." I heard a man order as Mr. Hemington struggled under his hold along with a couple more men.

Soon enough, the police sirens were heard and policemen were making good their way through the crowd.

I looked behind me to find the stage empty. No Luca, no Sarah and no Mr. and Mrs. Harding.

I turned back to see the police officers leading the Hemingtons to the cars.

"You did well Jane." I heard aunt Em say from behind me. "You ruined their plans."

"Yeah." I nodded with a smile.

"What's wrong sweetie?" She asked when I sighed.

"I know I've saved Luca from his parents and the marriage but, I don't know if he even still likes me or not. I've said some mean things to him." I told her, my voice cracking at the end as tears started rolling down my cheeks.

She placed her hands on my shoulders.

"Do you love him dear?" She asked.

"Yes. I love him but he—"

"Then tell him." She cut me short.

"I don't think I have the guts to." I stated.

"You just turned this night upside down Jane and sent two of the worst people to jail. You stopped a merger and ruined a marriage. If you could do that then I'm sure you can do anything." She said as she held my chin and raised my head so that she would look into my eyes.

A small smile tugged at my lips.

"Thanks aunt Em. For everything." I said and pulled her into a hug.

"You don't have to thank me dear." She stated and pulled away. "Now go." She shooed me off.

I nodded and turned around only to crash into a hard chest.

Looking up, my eyes met that of Luca's.

"Luca!" I gasped out. Was he there the whole time?

I turned to look at my aunt only to find that her spot is empty.

"S-since when have you been standing get there?" I asked.

Luca snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to his body.

"Since you declared your undying love for me." He replied with a smirk.

My face turned crimson red. "I-I did not."

"Oh really?" Luca raised an eyebrow as he pulled me even closer.

I'm very sorry." I whispered as our last encounter played in my head once again.

Luca shook his head.

"You don't have to apologize for anything Jane. I was a jerk to you and I shouldn't have said the things I did. If anything, I should be very grateful to have you in my life Janey. You saved me."

"So you don't hate me?" I asked hesitantly.

"I can never hate you baby." He replied as he placed his forehead on mine.

"So we're still a couple?" I asked.

He chuckled lightly. "Yup. Definitely."

A wide grin spread across my face.

We stayed for a while staring into each other's eyes.

"Aren't you going to let me kiss you?" Luca asked breaking the silence.

I blushed deeply.

"Do you want you? I mean, I can understa—"

My rambling was cut short when Luca crashed his lips to mine.

The familiar tingling sensation and warmth that I feel when I'm with him came back.

My lips tingled as it moved in sync with Luca's. My skin burned from where he touched me and the butterflies in my stomach came back to life.

It was a feeling that I would never want to lose. Something that I would cherish forever.

"I love you, Jane Adams." Luca murmured against my lips when we came out for air.

"I love you too, Luca Hemington."