Chapter 26
Amber was left trembling in the suffocating darkness of the closet, her hands reaching for something—anything—to steady herself, but all she felt was empty air. “Dear God... no. NO!” The words came out as frantic whispers, her chest rising and falling rapidly as reality sank its cruel claws into her. They had destroyed everything. All the progress she had made in the last week, all the careful steps she had taken to ensure her son had some semblance of stability, were undone in one reckless, heart-wrenching moment. A moment that might cost her everything.
She swallowed hard, forcing her quivering body to move, to step out of the shadows and face the reality that awaited her in the dimly lit bedroom. The storm outside had passed, but the tension in the room was far from dissipating. She could still hear the faint rumble of thunder in the distance, but it was nothing compared to the storm that was brewing inside the man pacing furiously across the room—Luca, who now looked more like a grim reaper than the man.
Amber stepped out cautiously, like a child sneaking into forbidden territory, the weight of her mistake pressing down on her chest. “Luca, I—” she started, her voice barely a whisper, trembling with fear and regret. But Luca wasn’t in the mood to hear her out. His movements were erratic, his pacing relentless, and his face... it was contorted in a mixture of disbelief and fury, his jaw clenched so tight she thought it might snap.
He ignored her, his eyes wild as if searching for something—some outlet for the rage that was consuming him. She saw the way his hands flexed into fists at his sides, the tension in his shoulders, the way his chest heaved with every strained breath. He was unraveling, and she had no way to stop it.
Why had he done this? The question pulsed in his mind like a curse, repeating over and over again. He was a fool—no, worse, he was a masochist, doomed to inflict this pain on himself whenever he was near her. Every time he tried to keep his distance, she pulled him back in with nothing more than a look, a whisper, a memory. And here he was again, trapped in the same vicious cycle.
Amber’s voice trembled, her pleas falling from her lips in a desperate rush, “It was a mistake! Luca, please—we can move on from this. Please, we can pretend it never happened. I—” Her words faltered when she saw the torment searing in his eyes.
His steps faltered for a moment as Amber’s soft plea reached his ears, but he couldn’t allow himself to stop. Not now. Not when every fiber of his being was screaming to get away. “A mistake...” he muttered under his breath, his voice dripping with bitterness, more to himself than to her. His eyes darted toward her for a brief second, and he regretted it instantly. Seeing her standing there, so fragile, so full of remorse... it ignited something in him—something darker, something uncontrollable.
“Pretend it never happened?” he repeated, his voice low, mocking. “Is that what you think we can do? Just erase it, Amber? Just erase the fact that I’ve betrayed the woman I’m about to marry? The woman who trusted me?!”
Amber flinched at the venom in his words. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I’m so sorry, Luca.”
But Luca wasn’t done.
“I brought you here. I allowed you to live here with me! It’s all my fault when I knew what could happen!” His voice cracked again, his breath hitching as if he was suffocating under the weight of his own choices. Amber took a tentative step toward him.
Amber’s breath hitched in her throat as the accusation struck her like a blow. “I didn’t mean for this to happen...” she stammered, shaking her head, but Luca’s grip tightened, his eyes wild with the certainty of his own twisted conclusion.
“Get out,” he whispered, the words so quiet at first she wasn’t sure she’d heard them.
“What?” Amber’s voice was barely audible, her heart pounding in her chest. **“Luca, no... please—”
“Get. Out,” he repeated, louder this time, his voice filled with an icy finality that made her blood run cold. “Get the fuck out of my house, Amber. I don’t ever want to see your face again.”
Her entire body went numb as the words sank in, her worst nightmare unfolding in front of her eyes. “Luca, no, please. You don’t mean that—”
But his mind was made up. He turned away from her, his back stiff, his hands shaking with the effort it took not to turn around and take it all back. “Pack your things. Pack Nico’s things. And get out.”
Luca stood there, motionless, staring out the window as the storm inside him raged. He knew exactly what he was doing, ripping apart the last vestiges of a foolish dream his young self had once seen. The pain was unbearable, but he welcomed it—*he deserved it*. Every shred of it. This was his punishment for the choices he had made, for the promises he had broken, and for the man he had allowed himself to become.
He would have to watch it all slip through his fingers, to stand there and part ways with his son—the sweetest piece of his soul. Saying goodbye to Nico was the hardest thing, the thing that would destroy him, but Luca knew he had no other choice. He’d have to pretend. Pretend like this didn’t shatter him, pretend like he didn’t want to fall to his knees and beg her to stay. But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. The pain was his cross to bear; he would carry it without complaint.
His heart thundered in his chest as Amber’s voice broke behind him. But he didn’t turn around. He didn’t even flinch. If he looked at her, if he saw her tears, saw the heartbreak in her eyes, he knew he wouldn’t be able to follow through. He’d crumble. He’d break into pieces. He had to make this decision and hold on to it.
She needed to leave. He pressed his lips together, forcing himself into silence, even as his insides twisted into knots. He kept his eyes trained on the window, the sun was shining brigtly outside the glass, but he saw no light. His fists clenched at his sides, knuckles white from the force of it. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to turn, to do something, anything—*but he didn’t*.
He stood there, silent and still, as the storm inside him consumed everything, knowing this was yet another dead end in his life.
And it was all his fault.
Amber stood there, frozen in place, as the walls seemed to close in on her. He was ending it—he was sending her and their son away. The pain was suffocating, her chest tight with the pressure of unshed tears. She wanted to scream, to beg him not to do this. But something inside her broke. Something snapped.
Her voice, when she finally spoke, was quiet, but it cut through the air like a blade. “Fine. I’ll go, Luca... but I’m not taking Nico with me.”
That stopped him cold.