Chapter 99 THE RUINS OF US

Chapter 99 THE RUINS OF US

••Luciana••

The silence that followed Roman’s roar was louder than the shout itself. I stood there, frozen, the burner phone a cold, dead weight on the bed between us.

Every word he had just spoken felt like a physical blow, stripping away the layers of my suspicion until I was left standing in the naked, ugly truth.

Roman didn't move, he stood by the window staring into space.
“I gave you every benefit of the doubt, Luciana,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper that hurt worse than the yelling.

“I saw the way you looked at me. I knew you went to my study, I can’t miss your smell. So I brought it up maybe you’ll tell me but you still feigned ignorance.” He paused.

“I knew you were hunting for a monster... I just never thought you’d be so disappointed when you couldn't find one in me.” He continued.

“Roman... please,” I choked out, my voice thick with the first stabs of tears.

He turned to face me, his eyes hollow. “You wanted to know about the calls? Fine. Here is the side of the story you were too afraid to ask for. I discovered Marco was moving against Andrian weeks before the wedding. I tried to warn him. I went to him as a man, not an Orlov, and told him to take you and disappear for a while. He wouldn't take it seriously. He thought he was untouchable because of you.”

I shook my head, the memories of Andrian’s confident smile flashing before me. It sounded like him—brave, stubborn, and completely oblivious to the darkness of the Orlov world.

“I went to meet Marco that night under the guise of a business deal,” Roman continued, stepping closer, his shadow looming over me. “I was trying to buy him off, to distract him. But I was late. By the time I realized the hit was already in motion, I was miles away. I called that burner phone because I knew it was in the car following you. I was calling to tell them to stop. To tell them I’d kill them all if they touched a hair on your head.”

He stopped, his chest heaving. “But I was too late. I arrived to see the smoke and the blood. And even then... even then, I chose to protect you.”

“You should have told me,” I sobbed, the tears finally breaking free. “If you had just explained...”

“Explain what, Luciana? That my brother who was dead ignored ny warning? That I’m part of a family so rotten that we kill for sport?” He let out a bitter, jagged laugh. 

“You could have just asked me. You could have looked me in the eye and said, ‘Roman, did you do this?’ Do you really think I would have lied to you? Or did you just really need me to be the monster so you wouldn't have to feel guilty about falling in love with me?”

“No... no!” I cried, reaching out for him, but the air between us felt like a wall of glass. “It was Marco! He came to me, Roman. He told me you were responsible. He played on my grief, he whispered things... and you were so quiet, so secretive. I thought you were hiding your guilt!”

“We promised to be a team,” Roman said, his voice cracking. “I told you that Marco would do anything to tear us apart. He didn't even have to try that hard, did he? You chose to believe a snake over your own husband. Falling in love with you wasn't part of my plan, Luciana. It was the one thing I didn't see coming. And you just tossed me aside like I was nothing.”

I moved closer, my hand trembling as I reached for his. I just wanted to touch him, to feel the warmth that I had almost extinguished. But the moment my fingers brushed his skin, he recoiled. He snatched his hand away as if my touch was caustic.

“Don’t even try that,” he warned, his eyes flashing with a sudden, cold fire.

“Roman, I’m so sorry... I’ll fix this, I promise—”

“You want to fix it?” He stepped into my space, his face inches from mine, his expression a mask of pure agony. “You didn't even know it was you Marco was after that night, did you?”
The world stopped. “What?”

“The accident wasn't meant for Andrian,” Roman dropped the shocker, the words hitting me like a physical explosion. “Marco wanted you dead. He wanted to break the alliance before it could even begin. Your family don’t have any other daughter to give so if you were out the alliance is completely over.”

I felt the floor drop out from under me. I collapsed onto the edge of the bed, my breath coming in short, panicked gasps. Andrian was dead because of me? 

“When I told you to run that night, when I screamed at you to get away from the wreck,”

Roman whispered, his voice trembling with the weight of the memory, “it was because Marco’s men were still watching. If they had seen you crawl out of that car alive, they would have finished the job. I had to get you away. I had to hide you in this marriage to keep you breathing.”

I broke down. A loud, primal sob ripped from my throat as I buried my face in my hands. I had messed up so badly. I had allowed the man who tried to kill me to convince me that the man who saved me was the enemy. I had been playing a game with a master manipulator, and I had lost everything in the process.

“Roman...” I wailed, but the sound was drowned out by the heavy thud of his footsteps.

He didn't say another word. He didn't look back. He simply walked out of the room, the door clicking shut with a finality that sounded like a grave closing.

“Roman! Please!” I shouted his name, but there was no answer. Only the hollow echo of my own voice in the cold, expensive room.

I stayed on the floor, my body shaking with uncontrollable sobs. I felt small, foolish, and utterly alone.

Then, my phone buzzed on the duvet. I ignored it at first, the sound irritating, but it wouldn't stop. Through the blur of tears, I saw the caller ID. Matteo.

I picked it up reluctantly, my voice a broken mess. “Hello?”

“It’s not him, Luci! He didn’t do anything!” Matteo’s voice shouted through the speaker, frantic and breathless. 

“I just got the bank records from a secondary source. The payments to the driver... they didn't come from Roman’s private accounts. They were rerouted through a shell company owned by Marco. Roman’s calls after the accident? He was tracking the driver’s burner to a warehouse. He wasn't paying him; he was hunting him!”

“Why are you telling me this now?” I sobbed, the irony of the timing feeling like a cruel joke.

“What’s wrong? Luciana, why are you crying?” Matteo’s tone shifted instantly to one of deep concern.

I couldn't answer. I just kept sobbing into the phone, the weight of my mistake pressing down on my chest until I could barely breathe.

“Don’t tell me he caught you,” Matteo whispered, the realization hitting him. 

“Oh, shit. Luci, I’m so sorry. I should have looked harder. I should have verified the account origins before I let you believe the worst.”

“It’s not your fault, Matteo,” I managed to say, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand, though the tears kept coming. “I allowed myself to be deceived. I wanted a reason to blame him because the truth was too scary. I brought this on myself.”

“Should I call him?” Matteo asked. “I can reach out, tell him it was all my idea, beg him to listen—”

“No,” I said firmly, standing up and trying to steady my shaking legs. “Don't. It’s already bad enough that I did this. If he knows you were in on it, he’ll see it as a conspiracy. He won't just be hurt; he’ll be vengeful.”

“Luci, you can’t face him alone like this.”

“I have to,” I said, looking at the closed door. “I broke this. I’m the only one who can try to find the pieces.”

“I’m so sorry, Luci,” Matteo whispered one last time.

“Thank you, Matteo. For everything.”

I hung up and dropped the phone. The room was silent again, but the air felt charged, like the moments before a thunderstorm. I had fallen for Marco’s trap, hook, line, and sinker. I had betrayed the only man who truly saw me, the only man who had sacrificed his own peace to keep me alive.

I didn't know if Roman would ever look at me again without seeing a traitor. But as I walked toward the door, I knew I couldn't just sit here. I had to find him. Even if he hated me, I had to make him understand.

I was on a losing streak, but for Roman... I would play until there was nothing left to lose.