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But she had to hope redemption was within their grasp, or they’d all be lost. Maybe it was already too late.
Luca pulled her hand off the steering wheel and unwrapped her wrist cuff. He shook her arm and held it up to her face.
“Look at this. This is what our love did. Don’t you ever fucking forget what I can do to you.”
They both stared at the fading scar. Alessandra yanked her hand from his grasp.
“What do you want, Luca? Isn’t there something outside of this life for you?”
Luca pulled Alessandra’s face to him and pressed his lips against hers. Alessandra slapped him and tried to push him away, but his grip tightened. His kiss was rough and hungry. He was coming to life for the first time in years.
“I wanted someone once and lost her,” he said grimly.
Alessandra looked into Luca’s deep eyes. It was time to let him go. And the only way to do that was through the truth.
“I don’t want Enzo to kill you or Marcello,” Alessandra admitted.
“Let him come for me. I’m not afraid to die. I’ve already lost everything. There’s nothing else for me to lose.”
Alessandra sniffed but refused to cry in front of Luca.
“I’m sorry about everything.” The hardness slipped from Luca’s eyes, and the boy Alessandra once knew shone through. “You deserve so much better than the life you’ve been dealt. If I could go back to that day, I would have let Carlo kill me instead of hurting you. I sold my soul and have been walking around ever since without the only light I ever had.
“Did you know I wasn’t at your wedding because I couldn’t stand to see you walk down the aisle to someone else? I knew I wasn’t right for you, but damn if I was going to stand aside and watch you marry someone else.”
“So demanding I divorce him was purely for your selfish benefit? Do you know how much stress that put on me? On my marriage?”
Luca sighed. “He doesn’t deserve you either. The heir to the Prazza family in hypocrite clothing.”
“But he’s who I want. I choose Drake. I’m sorry, Luca. I love my husband. ”
“Don’t ever return here.” Luca’s face twisted.
Alessandra had hurt him, but he needed to hear those words as much as she needed to say them.
“Goodbye, Luca,” she whispered.
Luca slammed the car door behind him. The wound in Alessandra’s heart tore wide, becoming a cavern as she watched him walk away. But she could reconcile parts of herself and fill that empty void of pain with the good.
Alessandra picked up the wrap and looked at the scars on her wrist before wrapping it up again. In doing so, she cauterized her heart. Eventually, those scars would fade into something she could live with.
* * *
Alessandra parked in her parking spot and took the private elevator up. When the penthouse doors opened, she slipped into the smiling, unfeeling mask that was second nature to her. The pieces of her heart scattered across the elevator floor as she stepped off. Inside, she was screaming, and no one could hear her.
Jerry and Noah joined them for dinner.
“I’ve seen many couples in my courtroom during divorce proceedings. Usually, there’s some relief once all is said and done. They don’t look like they’re about to face a firing squad like you two.” Jerry pulled out papers. “With no marital assets or children, and with both of your signatures, there is no reason to prolong it in the system.”
Drake spat his drink back into the glass before slamming it on the table. “Fanculo!”
“I’m really sorry that this is the end for the two of you. We were hoping you could manage to work things out.” Noah frowned.
Drake stared daggers at Alessandra. “Apparently not.”
“Drake—”
“Not a fucking word, Alessandra.”
