The Temporary Wife: Luca and Valentina's Story(16)

My office door opens suddenly, and my head snaps back up. My eyes widen in surprise when my grandmother walks in, disappointment washing over me. For a moment, I thought Valentina had walked back in.

I frown as I rise from my seat. While she’s technically the chairwoman of this company, my grandmother never comes to the office anymore.

“Grandma.” I walk around my desk and hug her tightly. “What are you doing here?”

She sighs and glances back through the glass wall, her eyes settling on Valentina seated behind her desk. She’s got her head down as she types away, her expression unreadable. “This is the only way I get to see her,” Grandma says, her tone filled with accusation. She looks back at me and raises her brows. “What did you do to her to make her stay away? She hasn’t come home for dinner in months. Even Sierra and Raven are worried. This goes beyond the petty feud you had with her. She’s staying away from her friends, from me — because of you.”

I look away, guilt rendering me speechless. How could I possibly tell my grandmother what happened between us?

“This can’t go on like this, Luca,” she warns me.

I nod and glance at Valentina. “I know,” I whisper.





Chapter Eleven





Luca

“Did your grandmother specify why she demanded my attendance tonight?” Valentina asks as she steps into the car. I blink in surprise and sneak a look at her. I’ve gotten so used to her icy silence whenever we’re in the car together that her words startle me. Unless there’s something to discuss with regard to work, she no longer speaks to me at all.

“No,” I admit. “But the last time she called all of us together in this way was when she announced that Hannah broke off her engagement with Ares.”

I feel her gaze on me, the silence between us filled with both of our worries and countless unspoken words. She knows as well as I do what my grandmother will be announcing tonight. If she wants Valentina there, whatever she has to say will be about me. Grandma has always included her when it came to me, whether I like it or not. How would she respond if the announcement I’m expecting is truly what I think it is?

Valentina smiles as we walk into the dining room, catching me by surprise. I haven’t seen her smile in so long, and it hits me right in the heart. I missed her more than she’ll ever know.

“Rave!” Valentina calls before rushing over to my sister-in-law. It’s clear they haven’t seen each other in a while, when they used to be so close. Did I truly do that? Am I the reason she’s been staying away from Sierra and Raven?

Raven hugs Valentina tightly before stepping back to check out her clothes. “I love this dress on you.”

Valentina twirls around with the biggest grin on her face, showcasing the dress that Raven clearly designed for her. “I only wear the best of the best, and this designer? She tops them all.”

So it’s Raven I have to thank for my rapidly devolving sanity. Every fucking day, my mind wreaks havoc on me, imagining her on my desk, her clothes on the floor. I can’t look at her without wanting her.

“Kids,” Grandma shouts, her eyes moving over all of us. “As you may have guessed, I have an announcement to make.”

The room falls silent, each of my siblings as tense as I am. The only exception is Ares, who has his arm wrapped around his wife, his expression unfazed.

Grandma smiles, her eyes briefly settling on Valentina, and then on me. My heart sinks before she even says my name. “Luca.” My spine straightens, and I nod in resignation. I was hoping I was wrong, but deep down, I knew this meeting was about me all along. “Your engagement has been decided.”

I feel my siblings’ burning gazes on me, but somehow, it’s Valentina I seek out. She stares at me wide-eyed, and for a moment, I’m convinced I see a flash of agony in her gaze.

I take a deep breath before speaking up. “Who is it?” I ask, resigned to my fate. I always knew I’d end up in an arranged marriage, so why do I feel so wronged? This is simply another business deal, and nothing more.

“Natalia Ivanov, daughter of Nikolai Ivanov and heiress to an oil empire. Oil is an industry we have yet to enter, and this will be our in.”

My stomach drops. “Natalia Ivanov?” I repeat, my head snapping up. “The socialite? She’s a spoiled, materialistic airhead.”

Grandma throws me a chastising look. “She’s your soon-to-be fiancée. She’s a sweet girl, Luca. You’ll see.”

I stare at my grandmother for a moment, my heart heavy. The words she spoke at Ares and Raven’s wedding run through my mind, adding insult to injury.

You know that everything I do is for you and your siblings, right?

How could this possibly be in my best interests? Natalia is my polar opposite in every single way. I could never be with a woman like that. I can’t even imagine being in her presence for over ten minutes without being at risk of losing some brain cells. If this marriage had been arranged with me in mind, the one I’d be marrying would be someone like… Valentina. Calm, sophisticated, intelligent, and as cold as I am in daily life, yet blazing hot when I have my hands on her.

I shake my head and walk out of the room, needing a moment to myself to digest the bomb Grandma just dropped on me. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. I always thought I’d accept the news calmly, yet I can’t deny the aching of my heart.