Part 4
Part 4 · 2 min read ·
“Where did you get that money?”
I didn’t answer immediately.
He looked at me again.
“Nora, where did you get three million dollars?”
I finally whispered:
“From my inheritance.”
He froze.
“What inheritance?”
I took a shaky breath.
“My father left me a private investment portfolio before he died. I never told you because I didn’t want your family to know about it.”
Luca stared at me.
“Your father was a schoolteacher.”
“He was a schoolteacher during the day.”
I paused.
“But he was also an investor. He built a private portfolio over thirty years. The lawyers contacted me after his death, and I inherited everything.”
“How much?”
I looked at him.
“Enough that I never needed your money, Luca.”
The silence was deafening.
He had spent three years believing I was a woman who had married him for his wealth.
His mother had said it repeatedly.
His business associates had made jokes about it.
And I’d never defended myself.
Because I had never cared what they thought.
But now Luca was looking at me as if he’d just realized he had been married to a stranger.
THE WOMAN WHO HAD BEEN WATCHING US
The next morning, I woke up to find Luca sitting in the chair beside my bed.
He hadn’t changed clothes.
His eyes were red.
A cup of untouched coffee sat on the table.
“How long have you been here?” I asked.
“All night.”
“Why?”
He looked at me.
“Because I don’t know how to leave you again.”
I turned toward the window.
“You’re very good at leaving, Luca.”
He accepted the words without defending himself.
Then his phone rang.
The caller’s name appeared on the screen.
VIVIAN FERRARO.
His mother.
He answered.
“Mother.”
“Where are you? The board meeting starts in forty minutes.”
“I’m not coming.”
A pause.
“What do you mean, you’re not coming?”
“My wife is in the hospital.”
Another silence.
Then Vivian laughed.
“She’s probably exaggerating. Nora has always been dramatic.”
My eyes closed.
Luca stood up.
“Don’t speak about her like that.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said don’t speak about my wife like that.”
“Your wife? Luca, you haven’t spent a proper evening with that girl in months. Why are you suddenly pretending this marriage matters?”
He looked at me.
I could see the shame in his face.
Then his mother continued.
“Besides, we have more important things to discuss. The Moretti acquisition is scheduled for today. And I expect you to announce the engagement arrangement with Isabella at dinner.”
Luca went completely still.
“Engagement arrangement?”
“Don’t play stupid. Isabella has been waiting long enough. Everyone knows your marriage to Nora was only a temporary arrangement.”
I slowly turned my head.
Isabella.
The woman whose name had appeared on Luca’s phone at midnight.
The woman who had sent flowers to his office.
The woman he claimed was only a business partner.
Luca looked at me.
“Nora, listen—”
I raised my hand.
“Don’t.”
His mother was still talking.
“Your father would never have allowed this ridiculous marriage to continue if he were alive. Nora has no place in this family.”
Luca’s expression turned cold.
“Mother, the marriage you keep calling ridiculous is legally binding. And Nora is my wife.”
“Then divorce her.”
He was silent for a moment.