Chapter Twenty-Four
Valentina
Luca stares at me for a moment, a vicious glint in his eyes. I didn’t think I’d ever find myself in this situation, negotiating the terms of my marriage with a man I spent years hating.
Even now, my feelings for him are complicated. I hate that he’s using my weakness to coerce me into a situation I want no part of, and it pains me to know that even now, as he’s about to make me his wife, I’m nothing but a tool to him.
I’m unsure if I’ll be able to walk away in three years unscathed. I may pretend I’m made of ice, but there’s no denying that Luca affects me in a way no one else ever has. In just the last few months, he’s hurt me more than I thought he was capable of. How much will be left of my heart by the time we part ways?
“Tell me your requirements,” I murmur.
He nods at me. “My grandmother will have several rules we’ll have to abide by. I suspect they’ll be the same ones she laid down for Ares and Raven. Our marriage must last for three years, and throughout that time, we cannot be apart for more than three consecutive days at a time.”
I purse my lips and nod. “That won’t be a problem. We haven’t been apart for over three days at a time for years, bar a few holidays here and there.”
Luca smirks then. “It looks like you may be misunderstanding what I’m telling you. This marriage may be temporary, Valentina, but it’ll be very fucking real. I want you to move in with me, and I want you in my bed, every single night.”
I open my mouth to protest, but he holds up his hand and chuckles. “It’s no secret that I want you, but this isn’t a rule I came up with myself. It’s a rule my grandmother will lay down once she finds out what we’ve done.”
The mere thought of sharing a bed with Luca has me flustered. When he touches me, he makes me lose all reason, all restraint. I become a version of myself I hardly recognize, and the loss of control is daunting, yet entirely irresistible.
“Look at me.”
I bite down on my lip as I obey his words, heat rushing through me as memories come flooding in. The first time he uttered those words was when he had his fingers deep inside me. He was toying with my body the way he’s toying with my life right now.
“From this day onward, you’re mine, Valentina. Your body, your thoughts, your dreams. For three full years, I want all of you. Think about this carefully, because there’s no going back. I don’t do things halfheartedly.”
I nod and wrap my arms around myself, feeling oddly vulnerable. “I can agree to that,” I murmur, ashamed of the way my body still craves him despite everything. “But in return, you have to promise me fidelity. If you want me in that way, I need to know you’re not touching anyone else. Cheating is the one thing I can’t ever tolerate. I don’t believe in love, Luca, and I’d prefer a marriage without anything as complicated as that, but fidelity is something I can’t compromise on.”
For a moment, my thoughts turn back to the past, to a time I was foolish enough to believe my mother was wrong, and true love did exist, but she just hadn’t found it. I look up at Luca, my heart aching. I barely recovered then, but if I ever fell for Luca, it’d destroy me.
He looks at me in that way he does when he’s trying to read me, and I do my best to school my features. I don’t want or need him prying into my past.
“I will never cheat on you, Valentina. For as long as you’re my wife, there will only be you. You’re the only one I’ll touch, the only one I’ll desire. Not even my thoughts will stray. I can say that with full confidence, because you’ve dominated my fantasies for far longer than I care to admit. It’s unlikely to change anytime soon, if ever.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I avert my gaze. He’s been… fantasizing about me? For how long?
“In return, I ask for your fidelity, too. I’ll fulfill all your desires, Valentina, so don’t you ever go looking elsewhere.”
I avert my gaze and nod. “I won’t ever stray. That isn’t something you’ll ever have to worry about. I’ll always be loyal and faithful to you, but that is all I’ll give you. Three years is a long time, and throughout it, we’ll no doubt confuse the lust and intimacy we feel for love, but I don’t want that to impact us. Love is fleeting. It’s a chemical reaction that fades over time, and it can’t be a factor in our marriage. No matter how we think we feel, I want us to end our marriage in three years, as agreed. No matter what. I’d rather know when it’ll all be over instead of waiting for the day an emotion as fickle as love finally fades. I want to be in charge of my life, not be at the mercy of some useless emotion.”
His gaze is searching, as though he wants to know what prompted me to tell him this, and whether another man was the cause of it. As always, though, Luca doesn’t pry.
“Are you telling me not to fall in love with you?”
My heart skips a beat, and I lower my eyes. “I suppose so.”
“Look at me,” he says again, his voice low, dangerous.
I can’t help the way my heart races as I lift my head, nerves stealing away my resolve.
“I’m fine making that promise, but are you sure you won’t regret it? What if we find out that we’re incredibly happy together, and we don’t want to part ways in three years? What if you fall in love with me?”
I chuckle humorlessly and shake my head. “That will never happen.”
Luca raises his brows, and for a single moment, I was certain I saw something akin to pain or disappointment flash through his eyes, but no doubt I was mistaken.
“Fine,” he tells me. “We won’t fall in love with each other.”
Genuine relief washes over me, and I exhale slowly. This arrangement is bound to bring complexity and chaos to the relationship we so carefully built. It’s best for us to minimize any confusion right from the start. I may have agreed to marry him, but I have no intention of getting hurt any further.
“Other than the terms my grandmother will ask us to abide by, there is one more thing I’d like to ask of you.”
I nod, curious. He sounds uncertain, and I’ve never seen Luca look so tormented. What is it he wants?
“I want you to assist me with making my father’s intended legacy a reality.”
His father’s legacy? Luca never talks about his parents, so for him to bring this up now is surprising, to say the least.
“The restructuring plans you’ve been helping me with aren’t mine. They are my father’s. When he passed away, I inherited a journal that documented his vision for Windsor Finance, and I’d like to make it come true. I’ll need your help with that. I genuinely don’t think I can do it without you, Valentina.”
I stare at him speechlessly. I wondered why he forged ahead with acquisitions we didn’t necessarily need. For years now, Luca has been strategically acquiring a variety of companies, ranging from payment processors to deep-learning technology companies. I’ve been wondering why, but he never told me his rationale. All I’ve ever received from him was orders, and I executed them perfectly. We’ve grown into a finance firm that offers far more than banking services — we now do asset management, mergers and acquisitions, trading, and so much more. All of it under Luca’s guidance.