Amber blinked, stunned at the venom in his tone. The absurdity of it hit her suddenly, and for a brief moment, she felt an insane urge to laugh. He looked so affronted, like a middle-aged woman who’d been denied a ring on her finger after years of devotion and raising three kids. But his expression was too dark, too raw, to mock.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Luca. This was never about the sex,” she said, her voice rising. “We’ve been with each other because we were attracted to each other—three years ago, and again now. You know the reason for our marriage wasn’t—”
“Wasn’t what?” he snapped, cutting her off. “Wasn’t love? It was love, Amber. It still is. I married you because I loved you then, and I asked you to marry me now because I realized I still love you. I know you can’t say the same.”
His voice broke slightly on the last words, and he turned away from her, staring off like a sulking child who’d been forced to admit something they didn’t want to.
Amber’s chest tightened at his admission, but she pushed it aside. She couldn’t let herself go there—not now. “I don’t know who you’re trying to kid, Luca,” she said, her tone sharp, “but we both know you married me because I was pregnant with Nico.”
“No! No—you think I married you because you were pregnant with my child?” Luca’s voice rose, raw with frustration and anger. His eyes burned into hers as he pushed himself up from the couch, pacing the room like a caged animal. “I loved you, Amber! I loved you more than anything. But you’ve been projecting your insecurities onto me for years, twisting everything until it turned into this... this thing that consumed us both. And in the end, it destroyed our life, our marriage, everything.”
Amber stood frozen, taken aback by the intensity in his voice.
Luca stopped pacing and turned to face her, his jaw tight, his hands fisted at his sides. “Tell me, Amber, what did I do to deserve being dumped like that? To come home and find you gone—no note, no message, nothing. Just up and disappeared, taking my son with you.”
Amber opened her mouth to respond, but he didn’t let her.
“Yes, I had my faults. I won’t deny that,” he continued, his tone now quieter but just as biting. “My family? Toxic as hell. I’ve known that for years. But you know what? I was raised to believe family comes first, no matter what. Maybe that sounds like an excuse to you. Maybe it is. But I’m not here to make excuses. I’m here because I am trying to figure out how to fix the mistakes I made. What I won’t stand for is being blamed for something that wasn’t my fault. I have always loved you, Amber. And Nico too.”
Amber’s breath hitched at his words. She wanted to respond, to say something, but the words tangled in her throat.
Luca’s voice dropped, becoming almost pleading, though anger still simmered beneath the surface. “Whatever problems we had—whatever they were—we could have worked through them. We could have tried counseling or... or anything else before taking the nuclear option. But you didn’t even give us a chance. You just left.”
His voice cracked, and for a moment, Amber saw the raw pain in his eyes before it hardened again. “Sure, my family played their part in what happened. I won’t deny that. But you left because of you, Amber. Because of the seed of insecurity you planted in yourself—the belief that I married you only because of Nico. That was the reason it was so easy for you to leave me behind.”
Amber’s chest tightened, his words cutting through her like a blade. She hadn’t expected this, hadn’t expected him to lay his emotions bare like this. “I-I…” she stammered, struggling to find the words.
But before she could speak, the sharp sound of the doorbell cut through the tension. The sudden noise jolted both of them, and Luca let out a frustrated growl as he turned on his heel and strode toward the door.
When he opened it, the watchman from downstairs stood there, holding a small parcel in his hands. He offered it to Luca with a polite smile. “Good evening, sir. Someone left this for Ms. Amber.”
Luca took the package without a word, his frustration barely contained. The watchman, seemingly oblivious to the storm brewing in the apartment, studied him curiously. “Ah, you must be the husband!” he said cheerfully. “Everyone in the building’s been talking about Ms. Amber bringing her husband back home. Nice to meet you, sir.”
Luca froze for a moment, his expression darkening. Then he laughed—a harsh, bitter sound that sent a chill down Amber’s spine.
“Husband?” he repeated, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Oh no, not me. I wouldn’t dare claim such a title.” He shoved the parcel under his arm, his eyes flashing dangerously. “I’m just the kept man,” he said, his tone biting. “The gigolo. The toyboy. You know, whatever the term is nowadays.”
Amber gasped audibly, her heart pounding in her chest. The watchman’s face turned beet red, his eyes wide as he tried to process Luca’s words. But before he could stammer out a response, Luca slammed the door shut with a resounding bang, his jaw clenched tight.