Mistakenly Yours: Contract Marriage With The Billionaire-Chapter 97: The space between them

Chapter 97: The space between them
Sara shifted and turned to look at Luca. He was fast asleep, the kind of stillness that only comes from utter exhaustion. A silent sigh escaped her as she saw his serene expression.
"I can’t sleep," she whispered. Her thoughts, however, were loud in her mind,
’What is it, truly, that you find so good about this life? About being mafia?’
It wasn’t a judgement, but a haunting question, a need to understand the man who wore danger like a second skin.
Her gaze was drawn to his face. Her hand rose, trembling slightly, drawn by an invisible current toward his chiseled jawline. She hovered, her fingertips close enough to feel the faint warmth radiating from his skin. But she stopped.
"Seven years ago," she murmured, "you rejected me because of a family feud. That means it wasn’t just your immediate family, was it? It was something larger, something so dangerous your extended family was involved, a threat you decided you had to end." Her gaze fixed on the quiet strength in his sleeping face. He chose to stop it, not join it completely.
She remained there, staring at him for a while. Finally, without making any noise, she moved out of the bed and slipped out of the room, grabbing the phone.
Descending the marble stairs, she made her way to the vast expanse of the garden.
’Luca has indeed done what I found difficult. He will choose to leave me again than ditching his shadowy business. I hoped he had chosen me over that. But then, it’s his life. That’s what defines him.’
"What are you doing here?" Luca’s deep voice cut through the air. Before she could turn to look at him, a cashmere shawl fell across her shoulders, settling with a soft weight. Then, he pulled her back, fitting her snugly against his chest in a protective embrace.
"I... I made sure not to wake you," Sara whispered, the words catching in her throat.
"Well, your absence did the job instead," Luca replied, a low rumble beneath her ear. His cheek brushed hers as he tilted his head back, his gaze fixed on the expanse above them. "Look at the stars. So many are visible at this hour."
Sara lifted her head, the quiet magnificence of the sky drawing a silent nod of agreement from her.
His arm tightened slightly, pulling her attention back to the space between them. "What is it that bothers you so much? Why couldn’t you sleep? I offered to hug you to sleep, but you refuse even my closeness." The disappointment in his tone was stark, his eyes now finding her profile in the darkness.
"I fear you will hurt me again," Sara admitted.
"I won’t," Luca asserted. "What happened in the past was beyond my control." He exhaled slowly. "I told you then, it was the most appropriate thing I could do. Keeping you with me could have endangered your life. I simply cannot lose you. In this world, if there is one person who dares to speak freely to me without pre-judgment, it is you."
"I do judge you," Sara immediately countered.
"No," he answered, his grip firming around her waist. "You have your opinions about my choices. You question them. But you don’t judge me. You never have."
Sara bit the inside of her cheek, a faint thrumming starting deep in her chest. Her heart was already betraying her, beating rapidly at his closeness. "Luca, I don’t want to lose you either," she conceded. "In my lowest moments, you protected me."
She turned slowly within the circle of his arms, forcing him to loosen his hold just enough to meet his eyes.
"I’m sorry for earlier," she began, her gaze steady. "I asked you to choose between me and your family’s legacy. I still can’t fully grasp what your grandfather meant to you, but I feel you are keeping him alive through this work."
Luca’s expression became guarded, the starlight catching a flicker of pain in his eyes. "Sara, I... I don’t involve myself in anything illegal, but for years, too much has been in motion around me. And if I don’t hold this position, if I step away, a chaos may occur," he stated. "That’s all I can tell you for now."
Sara listened, not just to the words, but to the confession beneath them.
"I have decided to start something new," she stated. "I’ll keep working as your secretary, Luca. Thank you for giving me the options to take a break or to return to Falcone Industries. I don’t want to go back there, I told you that before. But I’m telling you again: I will dedicate myself to this new job. I don’t want to look at my past anymore. I want to start afresh."
A small, genuine smile carved itself onto her lips, a blend of relief and anticipation, as she searched his eyes for his reaction.
"Alright," Luca murmured, a deep satisfaction settling over his features. "It is my genuine pleasure to have you as my secretary."
He lifted his hand as he gently raked his fingers through the hair at the back of her head, caressing it. The space between them, already negligible, seemed to dissolve completely. Their faces inched together.
Their lips connected, softly at first, which was a gentle press. Sara took a sharp, indrawn breath, and so did he, before the kiss deepened. They began nibbling at each other’s mouths, the tentative contact melting into a hungry one.
Her hands found the smooth, powerful expanse of his back, pulling him closer, snuggling into his protective solidity.
Luca responded, cradling the curve of her neck with one hand, gently tilting her head back just enough to allow him to kiss her fervently, pouring all his relief, all his desire, and all his weary commitment into the shared moment.
Before Sara knew he had held her up, her legs wrapped around him. With urgency, Luca moved inside the house, taking Sara straight to their bedroom.