CHAPTER 6
Luca‘ s POV
“She didn’t,” I muttered, my fists clenching at my sides.
But she had.
The headline scrolled across the screen like a taunt: “Matteo Vitale Finally Finds His Match: The Mysterious Amara Saints.
My teeth gritted, jaw tightened until it ached.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen, every second of the clip was igniting something darker inside me. She looked at ease, confident with a smile, like this was her new reality. Like I didn‘ t
exist.
I grabbed the remote and threw it to the TV, the monitor shattered and off. But the images in my head, of Amara and Matteo… how dare she?!
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She‘ d humiliated me. Not just in private but in front of the entire world. And the matia circles–god, they’d already be talking. And for her to marry our notorious rival in the mafia, what would others say then?
This wasn’t good. She was ruining my reputation.
I shook my head and paced around. “I want her back, I need her with me. She can’t be with that damn Matteo Vitale. He can’t have her.”
My thoughts halted when my phone
buzzed. I yanked it out, expecting at
message from our advisors who might have
heard about this news already.
But I was shocked to see her name.
Amara.
A digital wedding invitation stared back at me after I clicked the notification open.
“My dearest ex–husband, consider this
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your invitation to watch me marry a real
man.”
My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles turned white.
The audacity.
The arrogance.
Did she really think this was over? That I’d let her waltz off into the sunset with Vitale like none of this mattered? No.
She’s mine. She belonged to The Obsidian.
Amara‘ s POV
“Excuse me, I’ll be right back,” I said, forcing a polite smile at Matteo’s business associates as I slipped away from the
Was
banquet hall. The engagement party in full swing, but the longer I stayed, the more overwhelming it felt.
I needed a moment to breathe so I headed
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down to the restroom through a dimly lit hallway. But just as I turned a corner, a hand clamped over my mouth, and I was yanked backward into the shadows.
Instinct kicked in before fear could fully take hold. I stomped down hard on the assailant’s foot, elbowed their ribs, and twisted, trying to break free, but the man anticipated every strike, countering with a chilling ease that left me breathless, rendering my years of training and fighting enemies futile. His grip did not falter for a second, and panic flared as I realized I was completely outmatched. Whoever this was, he knew me too well.
“Stop struggling, Amara,” a familiar growl rumbled in my ear as his arm around my waist gripped tighter.
My body froze, dread washing over me as recognition hit like a freight train. That
voice.
The man stepped into the faint light, his face partially hidden under a black cap, but
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there was no mistaking him.
Luca Moretti. My ex–husband.
“Luca? What the hell are you doing here?” I hissed, jerking against his hold even as my heart hammered in my chest.
“You are not supposed to be here,” I spat, trying to wrench my arm free, but his grip tightened painfully.
He leaned in, his dark eyes raging with a dangerous mix of anger and
possessiveness. “And you‘ re not
supposed to be playing house with Matteo Vitale,” he snapped.
“This is absurd!” I hissed. “Let me go, Luca, and leave!”
“I thought I was invited?” he shot back, sarcastically, and I only glared at him.
“You‘ re really engaged to Vitale? What the hell are you thinking, Amara?”
“You don’t get to question me!” I shoved at his chest with all my strength,
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but he did not budge.
“This is not about questioning you,” he snarled, dragging me closer. “It is about stopping you from destroying yourself. Whatever game you think you are playing ends now.”
My blood boiled in me as anger surged past the fear. “You think this is a game? Do you have any idea what you have done to me?” I shouted, trembling with the suppressed rage that wanted to explode at any moment. “You don’t get to swoop in and act like you care!”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what this is about,” he countered. “Running to Matteo Vitale? You are trying to provoke me, Amara. Admit it. You clearly went to an enemy to get my attention.”
I let out a bitter, incredulous laugh, glaring up at him. “Getting your attention? Are you seriously that delusional? Not everything revolves around you, Luca! We’re done!”
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For a moment, something flashed in his eyes, pain, perhaps? but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. His face hardened as he uttered coldly, “Enough with the lies, Amara. You belong with me, to the Obsidian. Not here, making a fool of yourself with Matteo.”
