SEBASTIAN’S POV
I gripped the handle of the gun tighter, pressing its cold steel firmly against her temple.
My voice came out low, calm, and dangerously measured. “Pick up the phone. Call him. Now.”
She hesitated, her wide eyes staring up at me. It wasn’t fear that reflected back, It was defiance. Her lips curled into a mocking smile.
“You think this changes anything, Sebastian?” she whispered, her voice laced with venom.
“Do it,” I said, cutting off her attempts to rattle me. I wasn’t here to argue, and I damn sure wasn’t here to entertain her mind games.
She exhaled sharply, her manicured fingers trembling as they reached for her phone.
Despite the strength she tried to project, I could see the faint cracks in her composure. I knew her well enough to recognize when she was cornered.
With deliberate slowness, she unlocked the screen and pulled up my father’s number. She turned to me, her eyebrows raised. “You’re not going to win this war, you know.”
“Call him,” I repeated.
Her smirk faltered as she pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear. The ringing echoed in the silent room until his voice, deep and authoritative, came through the speaker.
“Elena,” he said, his tone warm and familiar.
“Hello, Mr. De Luca,” she began, her voice taking on a syrupy sweetness that made my stomach churn.
She was always good at masking her true self, slipping into whatever role benefited her the most. “I’ve been thinking about our recent dealings.”
“And?” His tone sharpened slightly, a signal that he didn’t like wasting time.
She glanced at me, her lips twitching with the faintest trace of a smile. “I’ve decided to move forward with our arrangement. But I’ve also decided I’m no longer comfortable working through Sebastian.”
” As you know, he’s married now, and I wouldn’t want to cause any unnecessary discomfort for his wife.”
The lie rolled off her tongue so smoothly, it might have been believable to anyone else.
There was a pause on the other end of the line. I clenched my jaw, waiting.
Finally, my father responded, his voice steady. “That’s understandable. Sebastian’s personal life is his own, and I don’t expect my business partners to feel burdened by it.”
“If you’d prefer to deal directly with me moving forward, I can arrange that.”
The knot in my chest tightened. I’d expected his agreement, but hearing it confirmed only solidified what I already knew. My father’s loyalty extended as far as the next profitable deal.
“Thank you, Mr. De Luca,” Elena said, her tone saccharine. “I’m glad we could come to an understanding.”
“Of course,” he replied. “I’ll have my assistant reach out to finalise the details. Anything else?”
“No, that’s all,” she said, her voice light.
The call ended with a faint click. Elena lowered the phone, her gaze locked on mine.
“Happy now?” she asked, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
I didn’t respond immediately. The weight of my father’s words settled heavily in my chest.
His willingness to cast me aside in favour of maintaining this partnership wasn’t surprising, but it still stung.
Without a word, I motioned for her to step aside. The bathroom was cramped, its tiled walls amplifying every sound. I moved toward the door, my steps deliberate and measured.
“You really think you’ve won, don’t you?” Elena’s voice stopped me in my tracks. I turned to face her, the gun still in my hand.
Her expression had shifted, her eyes gleaming with something darker than anger,
obsession.
“No one will ever love you the way I do, Sebastian,” she said, her voice softening.
“Not Sasha. Not anyone. You can play house with her all you want, but eventually, she’ll leave you. Women like her always do. You’re too broken for someone like her to fix.”
I clenched my jaw, the muscles in my neck tightening. “Don’t,” I warned, my voice dangerously low.
But she didn’t stop. She took a step closer, her movements slow and deliberate, as if she were trying to provoke me.
“I give it six months,” she said, her tone almost playful.
“Maybe a year, if you’re lucky. But one day, she’ll realise what we both already know. You’re incapable of real love. And when she walks away,
you’ll come crawling back to me. Because I’m the only one who can handle all of you,
the darkness, the chaos, the destruction.”
Her words were like a match striking against stone, igniting something primal inside me. I took a step forward, closing the distance between us.
“Even if that happens,” I said, my voice hard and unyielding, “even if Sasha walks away and I lose everything, I would rather die than crawl back into your bed.”
Her smirk faltered, just for a moment. She hadn’t expected that.
I didn’t wait for her to recover. I turned on my heel and walked out of the bathroom, leaving her standing there with her carefully constructed facade beginning to crack.
The weight of her words lingered as I made my way through the house, but I shoved them aside. She was wrong. She had to be.
Sasha wouldn’t leave me.
She couldn’t.