"They will go sideways. That's guaranteed."
"Then I'm definitely staying close."
A knock on the library door. Marco sticks his head in.
"Luca wants to see you in his office, Axel. Says it's important."
Here we go.
I drain the whiskey in one swallow. It burns but doesn't help.
Viktor follows me upstairs, stopping outside Luca's office while I go in alone.
Luca is behind his desk, still in his travel clothes, looking tired but alert. He smiles when he sees me.
"Axel. Good. We need to talk about the engagement situation. I've been thinking, and I might have found a way to..."
He keeps talking, but I'm not hearing the words. I'm watching his face, memorizing this moment before I destroy everything between us.
"Luca," I interrupt. "I need to tell you something."
He stops mid-sentence. "What is it?"
"It's about Aurora."
His expression shifts slightly. "What about her?"
I close the office door. Lock it. Turn back to face him.
"I slept with her."
Silence.
Luca stares at me like I just spoke a foreign language. "What?"
"Before I knew who she was. Before I came to you with the marriage proposal. I met her at a club. We spent six days together. Then she left, and I didn't know..." I stop, force myself to continue. "I didn't know she was your daughter until the engagement party."
More silence. I watch him process, watch the pieces click together in his mind.
"The baby," he says slowly. "The baby she's carrying."
"It's mine."
Something in his face shatters.
"You." His voice is deadly quiet. "You're the father."
"Yes."
"You got my daughter pregnant. Then you came to my house and arranged for her to marry your son."
"I didn't know it was her! I swear to God, Luca, I didn't know. She was just Aurora. I didn't know her last name. We used first names only. I had no idea she was your daughter until I saw her at that engagement party."
He stands slowly, and there's something terrifying in how calm he looks. "Let me make sure I understand this. You fucked my daughter. Got her pregnant. Then arranged a marriage for her without knowing she was the woman you'd been with."
"Yes. And as soon as I realized, I tried to end it. That's why I've been pushing to break off the engagement."
"Oh, now it makes sense!" His voice rises, the calm cracking. "Now I understand why you've been so fucking protective of her! Why you shield her with your own body! Why you look at her like she belongs to you!"
