Chapter 22 " Broken promise"
Giovanna slipped in with the breakfast tray, eyes politely lowered, set it on the low table by the bed, and vanished as quietly as a whisper, the door clicking shut behind her.
Elena turned, hands on her hips, trying for stern and failing miserably.
“Don’t you like wearing clothes, Mr. Husband?”
she teased, voice soft with laughter, cheeks already warming at the sight of him standing there in nothing but that low-slung towel, water still glistening on his chest.
Luca’s smirk was pure sin.
“Not when you’re around, Mrs. Romeo,” he murmured, stepping closer, voice velvet and smoke.
She rolled her eyes, fighting a grin.
“Have some shame. Go freshen up. We’re having breakfast, and I need to talk to you about something important.”
He arched a brow, playful and dangerous.
“And what is so important that I have to eat breakfast first?”
He leaned in, lips brushing her ear. “Unless the talk comes with you as dessert…”
Elena’s laugh bubbled out.
She grabbed his forearm warm, hard muscle under her fingers and pushed him toward the bathroom.
“Go. Now.”
Luca caught her wrist mid-shove, yanked her flush against him, and kissed her slow, filthy, claiming, tongue sliding against hers until her knees threatened to fold.
Then he released her with a wicked grin and sauntered off, towel riding low enough to make her blush scarlet.
Fifteen minutes later the bathroom door opened.
He emerged barefoot, gray sweatpants hanging sinfully on his hips, towel draped around his neck, hair wet and tousled, droplets tracing paths down his inked chest.
He looked like every dark fantasy she’d ever had, come to life.
Elena’s heart did a slow flip.
She patted the bed.
“Come here.”
He obeyed, dropping beside her, the mattress dipping under his weight.
Before he could speak, she climbed into his lap straddling him, knees on either side of his thighs and took the towel from his neck.
She started drying his hair, gentle, reverent strokes, fingers threading through the dark strands.
“You’ll catch cold,” she muttered, voice soft, almost shy.
Luca’s hands settled on her waist, thumbs tracing the strip of bare skin where his shirt had ridden up.
“Not when I’m this close to my very hot wife,” he murmured, lips brushing the hollow of her throat.
She shivered, towel stilling for a heartbeat.
Then resumed, cheeks flaming, a smile she couldn’t hide tugging at her lips.
Elena finished drying his hair, the towel soft against her fingers as she smoothed the last damp strands.
She folded it neatly, set it on the nightstand, and turned to find Luca watching her with that half-smile that always made her stomach flip.
Before she could step away, he rose in one fluid motion, arms sliding under her thighs and back, lifting her like she weighed nothing.
She squeaked, clutching his shoulders as he carried her to the small velvet sofa by the window, sunlight pouring over them like warm honey.
He sat, settling her sideways across his lap, the breakfast tray within reach.
“Just tell me, butterfly,” he murmured, voice low and teasing, spearing a piece of salmon and holding it to her lips.
“Why are you nervous? It’s not like I’d ever say no to you.”
He fed her the bite, thumb brushing her lower lip, eyes soft with love.
Elena chewed slowly, cheeks pink, then looked up at him with those big, hopeful eyes that could bring him to his knees.
“You promise?” she asked, voice small, almost childlike.
“Promise, my love,” he said instantly, feeding her another bite, his free hand stroking her thigh.
“Now tell me.”
She took a shaky breath.
“Umm… I want to go on the college trip tomorrow. With Sriya and everyone. You remember you signed the permission form that day I came to your office…”
Her voice cracked with longing. “Please, Luca. Please don’t say no.”
Hope shimmered in her eyes, bright and fragile.
Luca’s fork stilled.
The warmth in his chest turned to ice.
“You’re not going, butterfly.”
His voice was quiet, controlled, but the grip on her waist tightened, fingers digging in just enough to remind her he was made of iron and fear.
“You know what happened yesterday.”
Elena’s face crumpled.
Tears welled instantly, spilling over as she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.
“You just promised,” she whispered, voice breaking. “I’ve never been on a trip. Never. Not once in my whole life. Just one day, Lucas. Just one normal day…”
He crushed her closer, arms trembling with the effort of staying gentle when every instinct screamed protect.
“Don’t cry, baby,” he whispered into her hair, rocking her slowly. “You need to understand the situation. It’s dangerous right now. Someone knows things they shouldn’t. I can’t ” His voice cracked. “I can’t lose you.”
She pulled back, tears streaking her cheeks, eyes blazing through the pain.
“So I stay in a cage forever?”
The words were soft, but they cut deeper than any blade.
Luca’s jaw clenched.
He cupped her face, thumbs wiping tears.
“Never a cage,” he said fiercely. “A fortress. Until it’s safe. Then ” His voice softened. “We’ll go anywhere you want. Long trips. With Sriya, with whoever. Just you and me and the whole damn world. I promise.”
Elena stared at him, chest heaving, tears still falling.
Then she shook her head, small, stubborn, heartbroken.
“No.”
She pushed off his lap, stood on shaky legs.
“I want to go tomorrow.”
Before he could reach for her, she turned and walked out barefoot, shoulders trembling, the door closing softly behind her like a quiet gunshot.
Luca sat frozen, fork still in hand, the taste of ash in his mouth.
For the first time in years,Lucas Romeo didn’t know how to protect the one thing he couldn’t live without,without breaking her heart.
The silver spoon clattered from Luca’s fingers, hitting the porcelain plate with a sharp chime that cut through the sudden silence.
He was on his feet in an instant, breakfast forgotten, heart pounding harder than it had in the dungeon last night.
“Elena ”
He followed her bare-footed steps down the sunlit corridor, voice soft, patient, laced with desperation.
“Baby, listen to me…”
“No!”
Her shout echoed off marble, raw and cracked, the sound of a heart breaking open.
Luca’s chest tightened.
“Butterfly, just listen to me, na.”
He reached for her arm, gentle, pleading.
Elena spun, eyes blazing through tears, and grabbed the nearest thing a delicate crystal vase from the console table.
She hurled it with all the force of twenty years of stolen freedom.
It sailed past his head, missing by inches, and shattered against the wall in a glittering explosion of shards.
The maids in the hallway didn’t even flinch.
They’d seen this dance before their terrifying boss chasing his tiny, furious wife like a man trying to catch lightning in his bare hands.
Luca froze, glass crunching under his feet.
His voice dropped, low, dangerous, trembling with the effort of control.
“Okay. Fine.”
He raised both hands in surrender.
“I won’t follow you.”
A beat.
“But you’re not going anywhere. You understood me?”
He turned on his heel, shoulders rigid, and strode toward the study, each step heavy with the weight of a promise and a threat.
The door slammed behind him.
Elena stood in the hallway, chest heaving, tears streaming, surrounded by broken crystal and the echo of his words.
For the first time since she’d said “I do,”
the Romeo mansion felt too small for both their hearts.
To be continued