0102
Lia's POV:
I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eye. Instead, I kept my gaze fixed on the floor, the silence stretching painfully between us. The air felt thick, and every second felt like a thousand tiny cuts slicing through my resolve.
“Lia,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, “you’re actually doing this?”
My throat tightened. The words felt impossible, tangled up with every bit of anger and hurt that had brought me to this moment. I wanted to be strong. I wanted to look him in the eye and say it with conviction, but the truth was, my heart was rebelling. And I wasn’t sure I had it in me to face him.
“Yes, Luca. I am.”
Benedicta gasped softly behind me, her hand going to her mouth. She knew how much I had once loved Luca, how he had been my everything. But she also knew what I had endured—how his loyalty to me had faltered, how he’d left me in a darkness I had barely crawled out of.
Luca’s face twisted with pain, his fists clenched at his sides. “So, this is revenge?” he asked. “You’re marrying him to hurt me?”
I wanted to scream that it wasn’t, that I had every right to seek my happiness. But my chest felt tight, emotions warring inside me. “It’s not about you, Luca. It’s about me moving forward. Finding my place and my purpose.”
He took a step closer, his intense gaze locked onto mine. “And you think Finn is going to give you that? You think he’s capable of loving you the way you deserve?”
I swallowed hard, feeling my defenses crumble. “He may not be perfect, but he respects me. He’s willing to stand beside me, not leave me questioning every step of the way.”
Luca’s jaw tightened, his eyes flashing with anger and sorrow. “I made mistakes, Lia. I know that. But I never stopped loving you, not for a single day.”
“Then why did you let Jenny’s schemes come between us? Why didn’t you fight for me?” My voice cracked, the hurt slipping out despite myself. I had tried to bury it, but here it was, surfacing in all its rawness.
He exhaled slowly, his shoulders dropping as the fire in his eyes softened. “I thought I was protecting you. I thought... keeping you away from the mess Jenny had created was for the best.”
“And look where that left us,” I replied, bitterness coloring my tone. “I was ready to fight for us, Luca. I was ready to stand by you, no matter what. But you left me out there, alone, with nothing but broken promises.”
The room felt colder and quieter as if even the walls were absorbing our pain.
Benedicta cleared her throat, her voice was soft but steady. “Maybe it’s best if we all take a moment. Clearly, there’s a lot unresolved here.”
But Luca didn’t back down. He took another step forward, his gaze unwavering. “If you go through with this marriage, Lia, I won’t be able to just watch from the sidelines. I’m telling you now—I won’t give up.”
My heart raced, a storm of emotions swirling within me. I wanted to hate him for everything he had put me through. I wanted to be strong and move forward with my life, just as I had decided. But his words—they stirred something I had buried, a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, he still cared.
“I can’t change what’s already been decided,” I whispered, though even I could hear the doubt in my own voice.
Luca’s gaze softened. “It doesn’t have to be this way, Lia. You don’t have to marry him just to make a point. Come back to me, and we’ll start over. We can fix this.”
I took a shaky breath, torn between the past we’d shared and the uncertain future I was creating for myself. Part of me yearned to believe him, to give him one last chance. But the other part, the part that had been scarred and hurt, wasn’t so quick to forgive.
Just then, the door swung open, and Finn strode in, his expression darkening the moment he saw Luca standing close to me. “What’s going on here?” he demanded, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.
Luca straightened, meeting Finn’s glare with equal intensity. “I was just having a conversation with Lia.”
Finn’s lips twisted into a sneer. “That’s enough. Whatever you think you have with her, it’s over. She’s made her choice. She’s marrying me.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed, defiance flaring within them. “I don’t think you understand. Lia isn’t some possession you can just claim. She has her own mind, and if she chooses to walk away from you, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
The tension between them grew, the two alphas practically vibrating with unspoken aggression. I could feel it in the air—the rivalry, the desire to prove themselves. But I wasn’t some prize to be fought over. I was done being torn between them, a pawn in their power struggle.
“Enough,” I said, my voice surprisingly calm despite the storm inside me. “Both of you, stop this.”
They turned to look at me, each waiting for my next words, as if I held the power to end this feud once and for all.
“I made my choice,” I continued. “Finn and I are getting married. It’s not a decision I took lightly, and it’s not one I’ll change because of unresolved feelings or old wounds.”
Finn’s gaze softened as he reached out, gently taking my hand. “You heard her, Luca. It’s time you accept it.”
Luca’s jaw clenched, his eyes filled with unshed pain. For a moment, I saw the vulnerability in him—the boy I had once fallen in love with, the boy who had once been my everything. But that boy was gone, replaced by a man who had let me down one too many times.
He took a step back, nodding slightly. “If this is really what you want, Lia… then I’ll respect your decision.” His voice was barely a whisper, and I knew that surrender had cost him more than he wanted to admit.
As he turned to leave, a part of me wanted to call out, to stop him. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. This was the choice I had made, and I had to see it through, even if it meant letting go of the past we had once shared.
The door closed behind him, and the silence that followed was heavy and suffocating. I glanced at Finn, who gave me a reassuring smile, but it did little to ease the ache in my heart. I had chosen a path, one that would lead me away from the man I had once loved. But at that moment, a part of me wondered if I had truly made the right choice.
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