Chapter 70

Chapter 25
The drive should have taken only forty-five minutes, but it felt like eternity. The rain lashed against the windshield in thick sheets, obscuring everything beyond a few feet. Thunder rolled through the sky, deafening, as if the heavens themselves were roaring in fury. It had been relentless for hours, a storm that showed no signs of stopping. Luca had gripped the steering wheel tighter, his heart pounding with the same frantic rhythm as the rain.

When he finally neared the area, it was clear something was wrong. The road was strewn with debris—broken branches, broken umbrellas, uprooted by the violent winds. He cursed under his breath as he swerved around them, tires skidding on the slick roads. Then, just as he was a few miles from the casa, he saw it—a massive tree had fallen across the road, forcing him to take a detour, adding even more time to his already delayed arrival.

By the time he pulled up to the house, the rain was still pounding, and the power had been cut off. Darkness swallowed the estate whole, save for the occasional flash of lightning illuminating the silhouette of the trees against the night sky. His gut twisted as he pushed open the door, the air thick with the scent of rain and the eerie silence of an empty house.

“Amber?” Luca’s voice rang out, but there was no answer. The silence that followed was suffocating.

Instead, it was Gabriella who emerged from the kitchen, a single candle flickering in her hands, casting long shadows on the walls. “Senor, Ms. Amber is in her room, I think,” she said quietly, her voice tense. “I called to her, but she didn’t answer. I think something is wrong.”

His pulse quickened, his heart a wild drumbeat in his chest. Without waiting to hear more, Luca dashed up the stairs, his mind racing with Nico’s words from earlier: *"Mummy hides under the bed or in the cupboard when she’s scared."* The thought of Amber cowering, terrified and alone, twisted something deep inside him.

He reached her door and knocked hard. “Amber!” His voice was louder now, more insistent. But there was only silence.

“Amber, I’m coming in,” he announced, pushing open the door.

The room was pitch black, the heavy drapes drawn tight, blocking out any trace of light. He squinted into the darkness, trying to make out her form. The bed was a mess, pillows and blankets thrown haphazardly, but Amber was nowhere to be seen.

Panic started to creep in. “Amber? Carissima, where are you?” His voice cracked with urgency.

Luca’s heart clenched as the image of Amber, hiding like a frightened child, filled his mind. He dropped to his knees, peering under the bed, but it was empty. He tore open the wardrobe doors—nothing.

And then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw her.

Amber was curled up in the farthest corner of her walk-in wardrobe, wedged beneath the large wooden shutters. Her knees were pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped around them tightly, as though she was trying to make herself disappear. Her body trembled violently, small tremors that wracked her frame. She was shaking uncontrollably, her face buried in her arms, her long hair tangled and damp from sweat.

Luca’s heart shattered at the sight of her. She wasn’t just scared—she was terrified, paralyzed with fear.

“Dear God,” he whispered, his voice breaking. He had never known she suffered like this.

He knelt beside her, gently touching her shoulder. “Amber, carissima, it’s me,” he murmured softly, his fingers brushing the hair out of her face.

And then, she stirred, her head lifting slightly. “Luca?” The way she said it. it nearly undid him.

“Yes, it’s me. I’m here.” His voice cracked, and before he could say anything more, Amber’s arms shot out, wrapping around his neck in a desperate, almost panicked grip. Her body collapsed into his, trembling uncontrollably as she buried her face in his chest.

Luca held her tightly, his arms wrapping around her protectively. Her small, fragile frame trembled against him, and he could feel her shivers as they coursed through her body. It was as if she was trying to hold herself together, but barely managing. And Luca… Luca didn’t know what to do except hold her, as if his embrace could somehow shield her from the storm raging both outside and inside her mind.

And then suddenly, after three long years, as he kneeled there in the dark closet…..he asked himself the question, he had stopped asking himself long back.
Where had it all gone so wrong? How had they ended up here, broken and torn apart, with a chasm between them that felt too wide to ever cross?

Amber's voice broke through the stillness, fragile and trembling. "I-I don’t know what comes over me when—" Her words faltered, and before she could finish, a deafening crash sounded outside. Another branch of the tree had fallen. Amber let out a sharp, terrified shriek, and in an instant, her body curled tighter against Luca’s, her small frame shivering violently against him.

"Shhh… shhh..." Luca’s voice was low and soothing as he rubbed slow circles on her back.

He gently tried to lift her. "Let’s get out of here. We’ll sit in the bedroom where it’s more comfortable." His voice was calm, but there was a desperation behind it, a need to pull her out of this dark, suffocating space. But as soon as he moved, she gripped him tighter, shaking her head frantically.

“No, no, please…” Her voice was a plea, raw and desperate. "Please, Luca… don’t make me go out there." Her words broke something inside him, and he relented, sinking back down beside her, his back pressed against the closet wall.

They sat in the darkness, the air thick with unspoken words, Amber’s head resting on his chest, him tightly holding onto her.

Fifteen minutes passed, maybe more, before the howling wind began to calm, the rain softening to a gentle patter. Amber’s breathing had slowed, though her body still trembled in his arms. In the quiet, she finally spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Is… is Nico alright? Did you bring him with you?”

Luca’s heart clenched at the mention of their son. "No, it wasn’t safe to drive with him in this weather," he replied softly. "But he’s safe."

Amber let out a shaky breath, and for the first time since he’d arrived, she lifted her head slightly, her eyes searching his face through the darkness. "You drove back alone?" Her voice was laced with disbelief, as if she couldn’t quite grasp that he had come for her, that he was here, in the middle of a storm, for her.

“Yes,” Luca answered, his voice thick with emotion.

“Why?” The wonder in Amber’s voice, the disbelief that he had come for her, struck Luca deeply. Could she truly not understand? Did she really believe that because she was no longer his wife, no longer the woman to whom he had once vowed forever, he had abandoned her?

She didn’t see it—couldn’t see it—that no matter how much distance had grown between them, no matter how much they had grown apart, he could never fully walk away from her. Abandoning her wasn’t something he was capable of. It wasn’t a choice; it was instinct, ingrained in him. Whenever she was in trouble, whenever she needed him, he would come. He couldn’t help it.


For a moment, they just stared at each other, the weight of their shared past hanging heavy between them. Then, before he could stop himself, Luca leaned in. His hand cupped the back of her neck, fingers threading through her hair, and he kissed her.

The darkness closed in around them, the storm outside fading into nothing as Luca's lips met hers. For a moment, she was frozen, neither pulling away nor kissing him back, like a statue caught in the throes of indecision. But then, slowly, her lips softened beneath his, and she leaned into him, her body molding against his in a way that felt both familiar and foreign. It was a kiss filled with years of unspoken words, of regret and longing, tangled so tightly together they couldn’t be separated.

His heart slammed against his ribs as he felt her respond, felt her kiss him back. It was like coming alive again, like the world had color and sound and feeling after being numb for so long. Butterflies exploded in his stomach, a sensation he hadn’t felt in years, and suddenly he wanted to both laugh and cry. How could this woman—this infuriating, complex, beautiful woman—still have such a hold on him? How could she make him feel everything and nothing all at once?
This woman infuriated him, baited him to insanity, made him care and lo-

*No. No. No.* The word echoed in his mind like a warning bell, and Luca pulled back abruptly, his breath ragged, his heart pounding. Not love!


And suddenly In his mind’s eye, he saw Carlotta—the elegant, poised Carlotta wrapped in her flawless white dress, standing in the bridal shop just hours ago. The storm in his chest was nothing compared to the storm inside his mind. Guilt crashed over him like a wave, threatening to drown him. What had he just done?

He pulled away, his hands shaking. The thunderstorm had passed now, leaving a strange calm in its wake. The rain had stopped, and through the cracks in the blinds, sunlight began to filter into the room, thin rays of light cutting through the darkness of the closet.

and the image of Carlotta’s serene face haunted him.

He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

“I—I can’t…” Luca’s voice broke, and he stood up abruptly, leaving Amber in the shadows as the sunlight crept closer.

The Stormy Reclamation: A Marriage in Ruins
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