The Temporary Wife: Chapter 12

“Val?”

I look up, surprised to find Theo Miller, one of our fund managers, standing by my desk. “I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I was lost in thought and didn’t notice you standing there. God, I’m so sorry. What can I do for you?”

He smiles at me sweetly and shakes his head. It’s clear he’s been standing here a while, but I didn’t even notice him. I need to pull myself together.

“There was an error in the report I sent you, so I printed a new copy for you ahead of the meeting. I hope I’m in time?”

I glance at my watch and nod. “We have about forty minutes left. I can’t thank you enough for catching and correcting that so swiftly.”

He shakes his head bashfully. “I never should have made a mistake in the first place. If the boss caught it, my job would’ve been at risk. You know what he’s like.”

I smile ruefully and nod, the mere thought of Luca bringing a frown to my face.

“Are you okay, Val?” Theo asks. “In all the years I’ve known you, an error like the one today has never slipped past you. If there’s anything I can do for you, I’m always here.”

I force a smile for him. “I just haven’t been sleeping well, and it’s impacting me during the day. Maybe I’m just a little overworked?”

Theo throws me an understanding smile, his gaze lingering on me for a moment before he walks away.

I haven’t been myself since Luca’s engagement announcement last week, and even my colleagues are starting to notice. I need to do better.

I keep trying to convince myself that I don’t care, and that I’m happy for him, when nothing could be further from the truth.

Every night, my mind has been tormenting me with images of him with Natalia, warping my memories until all I can see is him touching her the way he touched me.

When I close my eyes, I hear him whispering into her ear, telling her to look at no one but him. Just thinking of him holding Natalia that way, his eyes filled with the same desire he once felt for me… it fills me with unwarranted jealousy.

I inhale shakily and try my hardest to clear my mind, to no avail. Things have been different between us in recent days, more friendly in a way, yet more distant than ever before. It’s as though his engagement allowed us to finally put our argument behind us, and it’s bittersweet. I should be grateful for it, but instead it leaves me feeling lonely in a way I never have before.

My phone buzzes, and I glance at it reluctantly. Sierra and Raven have been texting me incessantly, wanting to discuss the engagement, but I’m not sure what to say. I never told them what happened between Luca and me, and the more time passes, the harder it becomes to speak up. Now I’m stuck having to act supportive and happy for him, when each mention of Natalia chips away at my tattered heart.

I run a hand through my hair and take a deep breath. Perhaps it isn’t jealousy. Maybe I’m just resistant to change. Luca and I work well together, and we have our routines. It’ll be strange to no longer be his date to work events, or to go on business trips with Natalia accompanying us. Maybe that’s just all it is.

I lean back in my chair and get to work. Staying busy is the only way for me to escape the thoughts I can’t control. For as long as I can remember, I’ve chosen to lose myself in either education or work. I’ve always felt like those are the only things in my life that I’m fully in charge of, and it’s no different today.

Just as I get in the zone, I’m snapped out of my workflow by the sound of heels clicking on the floor loudly. I look up to find Natalia walking toward me, her short blonde hair perfectly straight and her makeup as impeccable as always. I’ve seen her at a variety of events, and she always looks as though she walked straight out of a fashion magazine. She’s exactly the kind of woman someone like Luca should marry. I shouldn’t envy her, but a small part of me does.

Natalia glances at me and smiles smugly before heading straight for Luca’s office instead of dropping by my desk first to see if he is available.

I jump to my feet, but she’s faster than I am and storms into his office. No one has ever barged in like this before, and no one has ever entered Luca’s office without my express permission — not even his family. I rush to follow her in, shock rendering me speechless. Luca looks up, his eyes widening when he sees Natalia.

“Darling,” she says, drawing out the word. “You’ve been ignoring my text messages, so I had no choice but to come here myself.”

He looks past her and frowns at me in confusion, but all I can do is send him an apologetic look. He rises from his seat and stares at her for a moment, his eyes lingering on her face. I wonder what he sees when he looks at her. She’s insanely beautiful, and I have no doubt he’s captivated. I’ve never seen Luca flustered before, and something about the way he looks at her… hurts.

“Natalia,” he says, his voice warmer than I expected it to be. I thought he’d be annoyed at her for interrupting his workday without prior notice, but he seems pleasantly surprised to see her. Luca doesn’t like deviations to his schedule, but I suppose his fiancée is an exception. That’s how it should be, yet I don’t want it to be.

I stand back as she walks around his desk and pauses right in front of him, a grin on her face. She’s standing so close to him that she might as well press her body flush against his, and he isn’t stepping back.

I bite down on my lip as I watch them together, my heart heavy. They look as perfect together as I thought they would. This is an image I’ll have to get used to.

“What brings you here today?” he asks, his tone gentle.

“Can we talk?” She glances back at me and frowns. “About us? Our families will be announcing our engagement soon, but we’ve barely discussed it between the two of us.”

He nods at her. “I suppose we should.”

She throws me a condescending look and glances back at Luca. “Without your employees present,” she adds. “I want her gone.”

I tense and look at Luca, unsure what to do. It’s irrational, and it’s crazy, but I don’t want to leave the two of them alone.

Luca glances at me and sends me a pleading look. “Valentina,” he says, his voice soft. “I’ve got it from here. This is… a personal matter.”

I stare at him for a moment, surprise stealing away my words. A personal matter. I don’t remember the last time Luca asked me to leave a room. I don’t think he ever has.

I involuntarily grit my teeth and nod politely before walking out, my hand trembling as I close the door behind me.

This is a ridiculous thing to be upset about, but I don’t like the thought of the two of them alone in there. The way she looked at him and the gentleness he showed her… it was unexpected, but it shouldn’t have been. Natalia is the one who will be his wife. No one but her is entitled to that version of him. What was I thinking? Did I truly think I was the only one he’d show that side of him to?

I’m restless as I sit behind my desk, my eyes trailing back to his closed office door every few minutes. Luca made his windows opaque, and it makes me uncomfortable that he wants privacy with her. I shouldn’t care, and I hate that I do. One single kiss threw off our dynamics entirely. I took something I never should have, something that was never meant for me, and now I’m left wanting more of someone who can never be mine.

I tense when the door opens, and Natalia walks out with the biggest smile on her face. She pauses by my desk and looks me over for a moment. “I need dinner reservations for tonight,” she says. “Two people. Eight o’clock. Somewhere with a nice view.”

I blink in confusion. I ceased being a personal assistant years ago, and even if I was, I wouldn’t take orders from her.

“Get it done,” she says, before walking out and leaving me speechless. I rise to my feet and walk into Luca’s office, my heart heavy. He’s standing by the window, his gaze averted.

“Luca,” I say hesitantly.

He turns to face me, his expression unreadable as I walk up to him. With each step I take, my heart aches a little more. A sense of dread settles in the pit of my stomach when my eyes zero in on the smudged lipstick at the corner of his lips.

I reach for him without thinking. Luca’s eyes widen, and I pause with my thumb a mere inch from his mouth. “Lipstick,” I murmur, my voice trembling ever so slightly.

He freezes and turns his back to me. How long was she even in his office? Ten minutes at most. Just a few days ago, he called her a spoiled materialistic airhead, yet now he’s kissing her?

“I… Natalia asked me to make a dinner reservation for you tonight.”

It rubs me the wrong way that she didn’t even introduce herself, and Luca didn’t bother introducing us either. It reminded me that in the end, I’m no one to Luca. I’m nothing more than another one of his employees, one that his grandmother has taken a liking to. For a little while, I forgot that.

He turns back to face me and runs a hand through his hair, the lipstick gone. “Yeah,” he says. “I said I’d take her out for dinner tonight. Pick something nice, please.”

I grit my teeth and look into his eyes. “You want me to make a reservation for your fiancée and you? You have a personal assistant for that kind of thing, Luca.” My job technically only involves monitoring his work schedule, company budgets, and other upper-level diplomacy tasks. Granted, I do a lot more than that, but I haven’t been asked to do such a basic task in years.

“Valentina,” he murmurs, his tone pleading. “Please. You’ve always taken the initiative to make reservations for me when I take either Sierra or Raven out for lunch. I need to make sure this is done right. It’s important.”

I look out the window and inhale shakily. “Is she that important to you already?” I ask, knowing that I shouldn’t.

Luca sighs. “She’s going to be my wife,” he simply says.

His wife. Hearing him say that shouldn’t hurt as much as it does.