The Temporary Wife: Luca and Valentina's Story(69)

She inhales shakily and lowers her gaze. “I walked into his bedroom to find him on top of one of our mutual friends. It devastated me, but it was more than simple betrayal. It was proof of everything my mother had warned me about. I thought my life would be different, that what happened to her would never happen to me, yet the first relationship I was ever in ended the exact way she’d told me it would. I think that might have been when I truly stopped believing in love.”

She looks out the window and sighs. “There truly is nothing for you to worry about. I don’t have any feelings for him, Luca. Perhaps some lingering resentment, but that’s it.”

“I see,” I murmur, unsure how to feel about her story. I thought it was difficult enough to compete with the beliefs her mother drilled into her mind, but to know she once rebelled against those constraints, only to be proven wrong? It’ll be near impossible for me to make her see that I’m nothing like him. The betrayal she experienced runs deeper than the surface, and the heart I so desperately want may not have any room for me in it.

“What did you two talk about two weeks ago, when he first came to the office?” I wish she hadn’t given him any of her time at all. Guilt flashes through her eyes, and I tense.

“He said he wants me back,” she says, her voice soft.

My stomach fucking drops, thoughts of her with him filling my mind. The two of them might be competing for the same role, but because of that, they’re seeing each other a whole lot more often than I’d like. What if a late work night turns into a conversation, forgiveness… a stolen kiss?

Would she moan his name in the same way? Would her lips part for him the way they do for me? Does he know her body better than I do? It’s clear that he was her first love, but that’s most likely not the only first he took. They say a woman never forgets her first love, and I’m starting to worry that it’s true.

“Luca,” she says, her tone gentle. I look up, keeping my face perfectly expressionless. “I told him he was crazy, and we argued. It isn’t something to worry about, but I didn’t want to lie to you about it.”

“Does he know you’re married?”

Her eyes widen a fraction, and she shakes her head. Of course he doesn’t. She’s been adamant that no one could ever find out. Was he one of the reasons why? She might tell me that all she feels for him is resentment, but there’s a thin line between love and hate. The fact that she still feels anything at all when she looks at him worries me.

Our server clears the table, and we’re both quiet as I get the bill. This isn’t how I saw tonight going. My fingers brush against hers as we walk toward the exit, and she pulls away before I can even grab her hand, frustrating me even further. My own fucking wife won’t even hold my hand in public, and it pisses me off endlessly. She might say that she doesn’t have any feelings for Ben, but he affected her enough to make her withdraw from me.

“Luca Windsor?”

Valentina tenses, her body going rigid, and I look back to find Miguel Garcia standing in front of the restaurant, his eyes moving from Valentina to me. He extends his hand, and I shake it hesitantly, confused as to why the CEO of the country's largest insurance firm is looking at my wife with such hostility. Does he not value those eyeballs of his?

“You’re a hard man to track down, Luca,” he tells me, before glancing back at Valentina. He raises a brow and smiles. “I’ve called your office several times and emailed your secretary, but for some reason, I’m always told your schedule is fully packed, no matter how much I offer to invest.”

There’s a hint of panic in Valentina’s eyes as our eyes meet, and then she looks down. It’s not like her to purposely ignore potential clients, especially ones we already have a business relationship with. What’s this all about? She knows he’s in charge of every single Windsor insurance policy. If he were to invest even a portion of his insurance funds in us, that could be a game changer.

The Garcia family is just as influential and vast as the Windsor family. Compared to their entire empire, Miguel and ReInsure are small fries — that’s how powerful the Garcia family is. Miguel isn’t the head of his family, but he’s powerful enough to have been made CEO of one of their most profitable companies. He isn’t someone I can take lightly.

I glance back at Miguel, only to find him staring at my wife. He’s older, but even I can’t deny he’s handsome. First I have to deal with fucking Ben, and now this fucker appears out of nowhere. Maybe I don’t keep my wife busy enough, if she has time to attract all these fucking fruit flies.

“You might not remember,” he tells me, “but I still remember you sitting in my lap when you were much younger. I was friends with your father.”

I grit my teeth. “Indeed, I don’t remember. I’m not a sentimental person, Mr. Garcia, but there’s nothing I hate more than people I don’t know bringing up my parents.”

He looks taken-aback and nods. “Very well, I can understand that.” He reaches for his wallet and hands me a business card. “I gave your secretary a business card when I ran into her a few months ago, but it’s clear you never received it.”

I stare at it and place my hand on Valentina’s lower back. “It indeed looks like there’s been a misunderstanding of some sort,” I tell him, my voice soft despite my anger. “It appears you think Valentina is merely a secretary. You’re mistaken. She is the one person I trust above anyone else, my right hand, my de facto co-CEO. If she didn’t grant you a meeting, it would be for a reason. I don’t need to know why, and quite frankly, I don’t give a fuck. If she says no, it means no. I respect her opinion above all else, and I strongly suggest that you do the same.”