Mistakenly Yours: Contract Marriage With The Billionaire-Chapter 96: Have me or your business

Chapter 96: Have me or your business
Sara offered a pleasant wave as Luca’s friends pulled away in their respective cars. Turning back toward the house, she found Luca standing squarely in the doorway, wearing a distinctly confused and intrigued expression.
"That was a wonderful night, truly," Luca began. He took a slow step closer. "But I am still completely unable to figure out why you called them over for dinner."
He arched an eyebrow, his gaze challenging her. "Did you want to know more about me, or were you perhaps sizing up my friends?"
A secretive smile touched Sara’s lips. She walked toward him with confidence, completely closing the distance between them. "I’m afraid," she murmured, standing toe-to-toe, "I am absolutely not answering you."
Sara swept past him without a word, gliding into the house. Luca followed her closely, matching her stride as they began to ascend the stairs.
"Sara, I know you want me to pull out of this business, but it’s impossible," Luca stated, his voice tight with frustration. He was walking directly behind her, his focus locked on the back of her head.
Sara didn’t look back. Her gaze remained fixed straight ahead. "Then, be ready to divorce me after one year," she declared. "A month will pass quickly, which means we will be separated in exactly eleven months."
They reached the door of the master bedroom. Luca’s determined gaze hardened. "You can’t leave me," he countered.
Before Sara could react, Luca swiftly moved, scooping her up and hoisting her onto his shoulder in a single, powerful motion.
"Ah! Put me down!" Sara protested, hitting his back with the flat of her hand, but her resistance was futile. He carried her across the threshold and gently lowered her onto the vast bed. She lay sprawled on the silk sheets, her dark hair fanned out like an inky cloud, catching her breath.
Luca leaned over her, his eyes intense, the playfulness gone. His voice was low and demanding. "Say it. Say that you will leave me."
Sara fell quiet, staring up at him, fully aware of the serious consequence her refusal carried. The tension in the air was suffocating. Desperate to escape the confrontation, she murmured, "I’m tired and so sleepy."
Luca didn’t move. His gaze was taut, betraying his deep frustration. "You always get tired precisely when I try to have a serious conversation with you," he accused. "Am I that bad in your eyes? Fine, I admit I hid a lot about myself when we met again. But now, I’ve laid everything bare. I’m open about everything you want to know."
Sara met his intense gaze, refusing to be intimidated. She drove straight to the heart of the issue, ignoring his emotional demand. "Have you ever harmed anyone with your business, Luca?" she challenged. "I know you run a lot of... illegal operations in the shadows. I am fundamentally against that."
"I don’t run anything illegal," Luca corrected her instantly. "You are misunderstanding the nature of my work." His large hands remained firm on her wrists, keeping them gently but undeniably pinned against the mattress on either side of her head.
Sara struggled lightly against his grip, her eyes flashing. "Then why, if you do everything completely legal, do you not simply declare to the world that you’re a mafia?" she demanded.
With a sudden movement, Sara shoved Luca away, breaking his intimate grip and the trance of his confession.
"This is not a negotiation, Luca," she declared. "Either have me, or have your business. You cannot have both."
Luca narrowed his gaze, the warmth draining from his expression as he considered her demand.
Seeing his hesitation, Sara knew the answer.
Luca finally spoke, rejecting the very change he had just described attempting. "I enjoy seeing terror in the eyes of people," he confessed, laying bare a truth of his nature. "I can’t simply abandon that." He met her stare, his decision firm. "If you truly want to walk away from me, then you can."
He would not lie to himself, or to her, that he would leave this intoxicating profession.
"Hmm. Great," Sara lowered her feet, ready to head to the washroom.
"But I will make sure you won’t leave me," Luca said with a determined tone.
~~~~~
Katherine was just heading to bed, having finished taking her evening vitamin supplements, when a knock sounded on her bedroom door.
She paused, then turned and walked toward the door, pulling it open to reveal Marcella standing on the threshold.
"Mother, can we talk?" Marcella asked, her voice tight with stress.
"Why?" Katherine frowned, her sharp eyes instantly noticing the subtle dampness just below her daughter-in-law’s eyes. "Come in," she said, stepping aside to allow Marcella into the room.
Katherine returned to the bed and sat down, maintaining a posture of uncompromising stillness. "If you are here to ask me to convince Adam not to throw out your son and daughter, then let me stop you now. It won’t happen."
Marcella shook her head frantically. She quickly moved, dropping to her knees right in front of her mother-in-law with a supplicating thud. "Please don’t say this, Mother! You’re my last and only hope!"
Katherine looked pointedly away, her lips tightening into a thin line. "Don’t do this, Marcella," she said, her voice devoid of sympathy. "It doesn’t even look genuine."
"Mother, I-I swear I will teach my kids to be better. And-and I will apologize to Sara myself. I will not treat her badly," Marcella said.
Katherine laughed in disbelief. "What did you say? You’ll not treat Sara badly! She has ended every relationship with this family. If only you had taught your kids to be compassionate, this would not have happened. All Sara wanted a mother’s love. But you proved to her that a stepmother can never be a mother! Don’t shed these fake tears anymore, Marcella. Repent for what you did because even forgiveness won’t find you," she announced with a stern gaze.
"Please, Mother. I don’t want Diego to leave. I beg you," Marcella pleaded.