Chapter 78

Marabella’s POV

I shook my head. “Something about getting me out of her way”, I recalled. Luca’s face scrunched in thought. “How were you in her way?”, he asked, as he applied the bandage to my side. “I asked that but she didn’t answer”, I said. Luca placed his hands on either side of my hips and sighed. “What happened next, bambina?”, he inquired gently.

“That man came in”, I uttered, preparring myself for that part of the story. Luca’s eyes never strayed from my face, as he waited for me to continue. “Umm, I tried to buy myself time, so I could get the knot on my wrists untied”, I said softly, swallowing hard. “How?”, he asked, just above a whisper.

“I told him that whatever that girl was paying him, that you would double it”, I answered shyly, scared of his response. “I would’ve tripled it. Hell, I would have given him every penny that I own, if it meant that he would’ve kept his fucking hands off of you”, Luca growled. His words came out in a seething croak. His eyes told me that he was telling the truth with every ounce of his being.

“What did he say?”, Luca asked curiously. “He said that he wasn’t just in it for the money. That he loathed you and it would greatly satisfy him to strip me of my purity”, I choked, looking off to the side. Luca gently stroked my cheeks as he made me look at him. Many sentences in this chapter have been removed because you are not reading them on * . “I want you to know that, even if, he had been successful, you would still be mine. I wouldn’t have left you, I can’t, you’re mine. And nothing will change that. Nothing. Do you understand me, gattina?”, he asked, his face close to mine.

Tears had already began to fall down my cheeks. “How?”, I croaked. Luca furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. “What do you mean, bambina?”, he whispered, as he wiped my tears. “Whoever she was, she was right. You are too powerful to have an unpure wife”, I stiffled.

“I’m also powerful enough to marry or stay married to whomever I wish. And that’s you, piccola”, he answered, tenderly running his nose along mine. “I’m not worth the backlash that you would recieve doing that”, I protested, with a pout. Luca frowned. “Don’t say that, bambina. You are worth more than anything I could ever own”, Luca said earnestly, both of his hands cupping my cheeks.

“Do you understand me?”, he reiterated. I frowned and nodded. Luca’s expression morphed from sincerity into sadness before he captured my lips in a heated passionate kiss. Luca sighed as he rested his forehead onto mine. I stroked his side, caressing it gently, as I built up the courage to continue on.

“When I managed to release my hands, I head-butted him. Then punched him as hard as I could in the throat. That only subdued him for a few seconds-“, I explained. “Did he touch you?”, he cut me off. I swallowed hard. How do I talk to him about that? Luca took my silence as an answer. “Where?”, he asked sternly. His eyebrows creasing with concern. “Luca”, I breathed out, glancing to the side.

“Where, Marabella Rose?”, he asked again. I pulled my hands back and wrapped my arms around my chest, sub-consiously hugging myself. My actions immediately caught Luca’s attention. His nose flared with anger, and his jaw locked, as realization sunk in. “I’m going to break every bone in his fucking body”, he hissed quietly through his clenched teeth. He wrapped his around me and rested his forehead on mine.

My heart was frantically beating in my chest. I don’t like seeing Luca angry. Even if it isn’t at me. His aura is dangerous, even suffocating. Luca pulled back and pecked my lips, before he started on the bandage on my leg. “What happened next, principessa?”, Luca asked calmly.

“I tried to untie my legs, but I could only get one free before he tackled me. Which is what broke the chair. He punched me in the face and ripped open my shirt. I kneed him in the nuts, then he kicked me in the side and held me to the ground by my throat. That’s when you came in”, I explained as quickly as I could.

Luca nodded as he preparred a new bandage for my leg. “I’m sorry, bambina. I should have made sure the school was secure enough. It will be when you go back. I promise”, he vowed, swallowing hard. “It’s not your fault, Luca. It’s not like you could have predicted that this would happen”, I said, in defense of him.

Luca shook his head. “I should have, though. I told you the day we married that you’d be in danger, constantly. I should have been more cautious than just sending Rex with you. This IS my fault, Mara. And I’m so sorry”, he uttered, his emotions surfacing, as he put the bandage in place.

I knew in that moment that nothing I said would make him believe that it wasn’t his fault. I grabbed ahold of his face with both of my hands to make him look at me. “I don’t blame you, Luca. You may think it’s your fault, but I don’t. I am not mad at you, nor do I plan to be. Why? Because, I am home, safe and in your arms, because of you. So I will forever be grateful to you and never mad about it. Thank you, Luca, for saving my life, once again”, I uttered, with tears thick in my voice.