Chapter 54 TEMPORARY.
\~~~RAINA.
By the time we returned to the office, Irina was still seated, with no change in her posture.
Her legs were still crossed lazily, and her chin still rested on her fist, as though she hadn’t moved an inch since we left.
Right now, she looked more… tired than cruel, nothing like the monster Alessia had painted her to be.
For a split second, I wondered if Alessia had exaggerated things as she often did.
After all, Alessia liked very few people, and I was very much included in that long list of dislikes.
The only person she genuinely liked was Luciano, and she didn’t even bother pretending otherwise.
Finally, Irina straightened slowly in her chair.
She tilted her head slightly, her gaze lifting to meet mine and then she looked me over.
No, she wasn’t just looking at me.
Her eyes swept over me with unsettling precision, lingering where they pleased. My face, my hair, my posture, and my clothes like she was inspecting an object she hadn’t approved of yet.
It wasn't just curiosity. It was more of an assessment.
I felt suddenly bare under her stare, as if she were peeling layers off me one by one, searching for something beneath my skin.
Her lips curved just barely before she finally stood up.
“So,” she said at last, her voice smooth, calm, and almost bored.
“This is her.”
Alessia moved closer to me and linked her arm with mine possessively. “Yes. This is her.”
“Luciano’s wife?” Irina asked, one perfectly groomed brow lifting.
“What is wrong, Irina?” Alessia challenged, forcing a smile.
“This… one…” Irina pointed at me, her index finger hovering in the air before she flicked it downward slowly, dismissively.
Wait.
This one?
Me?
“This lady right here is Luciano’s wife?”
Earlier, I hadn’t minded the idea of this woman taking Luciano away from me. I might have even prayed for it.
But right now?
God, no.
I would do anything to keep him from her.
Not because I should care.
But because I do.
And I hated myself for it.
I lifted my chin slightly, refusing to shrink under her gaze. My shoulders rolled back on instinct, spine straightening.
“Why?” I asked calmly, raising a shoulder. “Are you shocked I am?”
Her eyes sharpened a fraction, clearly not expecting that.
“I mean,” I continued, my voice steady despite the chaos racing through my chest, “You are staring like you were expecting something… disappointing.”
Alessia squeezed my arm in silent approval.
I met Irina’s eyes fully now, unflinching.
“I am educated. I run a company. I carry his name, his ring, and his future.” I let out a soft, humorless breath. “So yes… this is me.”
There was a pause.
“You?” Irina asked, and then burst into laughter.
“You think you are all of that? With Luciano?” She laughed louder now.
Alessia and I exchanged glances for a while before I turned to look at her again.
“You’d be so mistaken if you think you can bind that male to you.”
“I married him,” I continued and I swear, she stopped laughing abruptly and I lifted my chin slightly. “That is more than binding. That is position, legitimacy, and power.”
Then I tilted my head. “Tell me… what were you again?”
This time, I could feel the smile on Alessia’s face even though I was not seeing her.
Irina’s eyes narrowed, her lips pressing together as something dark flickered across her face, annoyance, maybe rage. She took a slow step toward me, studying me now, not dismissively, but carefully. Like someone reassessing a threat they had underestimated.
“This,” she said softly, circling her finger in the air between us, “is temporary.”
I smiled small, deliberate, and unafraid.
“Of course, you’d think so,” I replied. “You were.”
Irina raised her shoulders and then breathed out, you could tell she was trying not to erupt like a volcano.
“He must have fucked you, too.”
She stated, and my breath caught in my throat.
Are my marks from the sex visible?
“Every lady he ever fucked always loses their mind like this, thinking they meant the world to him. If only they knew he could kill them if it served his purpose.”
Can she just shut up already, Jesus?!
“And yet,” I said softly, “he didn’t kill me.”
Irina’s eyes darkened.
“He married me,” I went on, my voice steady now. “Stood in front of his world and chose me. If I am temporary, then explain why you’re here.”
For the first time since I walked into the room, Irina’s composure cracked just slightly. Her jaw tightened and her fingers curled at her side.
“You don’t know who you are messing with,” she shook her head.
“That is enough meeting for the day, is it not?” Alessia clasped her hands together, smiling.
Irina’s gaze flicked to her. “I’d warn her, if I were you.”
Alessia scoffed lightly, rolling her shoulders back. “And I’d stay away, if I were you.”
Then, I inhaled slowly, clasping my hands together and feigning a gasp.
“Oh, sister-in-law,” I said sweetly, turning to Alessia. “The restaurant we talked about just last week? The one everyone’s been raving about? Remember?”
Alessia caught on instantly. Her lips curved into a soft smile, eyes lighting up like this was the highlight of her day.
“It finally opened,” she said excitedly. “I’ve been daydreaming about their menu since they released it.”
“God, we'd better visit there for lunch!” I squealed, and we both laughed.
Before us, I could feel Irina’s stare like a blade pressed between my shoulder blades.
“What a joke,” she hissed.
Then she turned sharply and stormed out of the office, her boots striking the floor with deliberate force, as though she was daring the ground to challenge her.
Alessia and I stood side by side, our shoulders touching, watching the space Irina had passed through as if her presence still lingered there thick and poisonous. Neither of us spoke for a long moment.
When the silence finally became unbearable, I exhaled slowly.
“God,” I breathed out. “That was exhausting. I don’t like her.”
Alessia let out an even more dramatic sigh, leaning back slightly as if she’d just survived a battle herself.
“Told ya.”