I paused, my hand still on the handle.
"You really sure you want a dissolution?"
I didn't hesitate.
I nodded.
I didn't even hesitate when I gave my answer.
Luca looked straight at me for a long second, as if searching for something in my expression. Then, without saying anything, he opened the car door, stepped out, and walked around to my side. The night air was cool, brushing faintly against my skin as he stopped right in front of me.
He didn't joke. He didn't soften his tone.
"Then maybe…" he said, his voice low and steady, "you should consider me instead."
I froze where I stood.
That wasn't what I had expected. Not from Luca. Not from him of all people.
For a moment, my mind went completely blank. I wasn't trying to get back at Dante. I wasn't trying to make anyone jealous or prove anything. I wasn't even angry enough for that anymore. I was just… tired. A kind of exhaustion that went deeper than anything I had felt back when I was eighteen, still naive enough to believe in fairytales and forever. Back then, loving Dante had felt like everything. Now, all I wanted was something simple. Quiet. Peace.
So I laughed it off, turning it into a joke before it could become anything real.
"Sure," I said lightly, waving it away as if it meant nothing. "Once I'm free of the Family, I'll come find you."
Then I walked away without looking back.
Not long after I got home, my phone buzzed in my hand. I glanced down.
A message from Luca.
[I'm done waiting.]
The words were simple, but they carried a weight that lingered.
I stepped out onto the balcony almost without thinking, the cool night air wrapping around me. When I looked down, his car was still parked below on the private drive, just past the iron gate. He hadn't left.
Luca was leaning casually against the side of it, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a cigarette between his fingers. The faint orange glow lit up briefly as he took a drag.
It caught me off guard.
It was the first time I had ever seen him smoke.