Chapter 55 JEALOUS.
\~~~RAINA.
Stepping out of the bathroom with my hand grabbing my towel tightly in front of me, I breathed out gently as Luciano entered the room fully and looked away from him without acknowledging his presence.
His words from this morning still rang clearly in my head like he had just said them.
“If I decide to take you right here and now, ain’t no way you’re going to stop me. I would fuck you so hard that you can’t stand on your feet. And you would beg for my mercy, and I would not give it to you. I’d make you hate the idea of sex so much. Until every ounce of defiance is drained out of you.”
Asshole.
Today has really been a lot, God, I cannot just wait for it to end already.
There is this mysterious and threatening message that I received and I have absolutely no idea who could have sent it.
The only people who knew about this sham marriage were my parents, Talia, and me, and definitely, none of us would be stupid enough to shoot ourselves in the leg like that.
Who could be behind this?
And that was not all, I had to come face to face with Luciano’s deranged ex.
Oh, speaking of exes.
I stopped by the entrance of the closet and then turned to look at him.
“Guess who I saw today?”
Luciano didn’t answer at first, he just sat in silence as if I wasn’t talking to him.
“I am talking to you.”
“I didn’t realize we were back on speaking terms,” he groaned and then raised my head to look at him.
But, that wasn’t just about to keep me shut.
The idea of Irina being his ex suddenly riled me up.
I hate that I think they look good together.
She was tall, striking… and God, the two of them would look like something ripped straight out of a painting if they stood side by side.
Her blonde hair and porcelain skin would have complemented his dark hair and even darker skin tone perfectly, too perfectly.
They would look great together like something designed, curated, and inevitable.
And that thought irritated me far more than it should have.
I clenched my jaw, tightening my grip on the towel as if it could anchor me back to myself. Why did I even care? Why did the image of them standing side by side settle so heavily in my chest?
“Guess,” I repeated, when he still didn’t respond.
Luciano finally shifted. I felt it more than I saw it, the subtle movement, and the faint scrape of fabric. Still, he didn’t look at me.
“I am not in the mood for games,” he said flatly.
I scoffed. “That is funny. You seemed very much in the mood this morning.”
His head snapped up then, his dark eyes locking onto mine sharply and dangerously.
“Careful,” he said quietly.
I swallowed, but I didn’t back down. Not after everything today had dragged out of me.
“I met Irina,” I said, watching his face closely.
Something flickered for just a second. It was so fast that anyone else might have missed it, but I didn’t. I caught it, lodged it in my chest, and felt it burn.
Silence stretched between us, thick and uncomfortable.
“So?” he asked at last.
That single word did something to me.
I hate when this man gets dismissive like this.
But then again, was there ever a time he had never been dismissive?
“She came to the company today, we met at your sister’s office.”
Still, Luciano didn’t say anything.
“You never told me about her.”
Well, that sounded stupid.
What was supposed to be my business with his past, his ex, and his love life?
I really shouldn’t give a fuck.
No, I don’t.
Wait… I do.
I give so much fuck about this.
I wonder if he looked at her the way he did with me.
Of course, he doesn’t look at me with love in his eyes. It was far from it in fact.
But, when he looked at me like I was his own. That dark sense of ownership. A property and possession that belonged only to him, and God help me, I like it.
Had he looked at her the same way?
Had he told her the same things?
That she was his.
That he would take her however he pleased.
Did he do those things to her too?
Like he did to me?
“I can only imagine the kind of twisted thoughts going through that head of yours.”
His voice snapped me out of my spiral and I pressed the back of my hand against my cheek. It was hot, and I didn’t need a mirror to know I was blushing.
“I… I wasn’t thinking anything,” I snapped through clenched teeth.
He hummed softly. “Then what is this about Irina? You two met, yeah? I bet you like her.”
“Like?!” I thundered, and for once, he actually flinched. “Like is far-fetched. That woman… I don’t like her.”
“You wouldn’t be the first,” he said lazily. “That is not exactly new.”
“You’re not bothered that she’s back in the country?” I pressed.
“Why would I be?” he replied coolly. “My father doesn’t own the United States.”
I went still, fury curling tight in my chest as I stared at his infuriating nonchalance. At that moment, I wished I could close the distance between us and strangle him to death with my bare hands.
Literally.
He scoffed, finally pushing himself to his feet. “Go get dressed,” he said flatly. “And stop worrying about useless things.”
Useless?
The word landed like a slap.
“Useless?” I repeated, my voice rising despite myself. “You think this is useless?”
“Yes,” he replied without hesitation. “This is useless. I have no idea why you’re bothered by this.”
I laughed, sharp and humorless. “Of course you’d say that. You weren’t the one she cornered. You weren’t the one she looked at like you were a placeholder.”
That got his attention and he turned fully to face me, brows drawing together.
“I wouldn’t be worried,” I went on, my chest heaving now, “if she had just shown up and minded her business but she didn’t. She came to me. She told me I was temporary.” My fingers curled into fists at my side.
“She looked me dead in the eye and said I was replaceable. And then…” I swallowed, my throat burning. “Then, she implied she would be getting you back.”
Luciano bored his eyes into me for a long moment, then smacked his teeth and tilted his head slightly.
“Are you jealous, baby girl?”