Chapter 3 - The Kiss That Was Never Supposed to Happen
The next two weeks changed everything.
The fake relationship became public.
We were photographed leaving restaurants.
Walking into meetings.
Attending charity events.
Every appearance was carefully planned by Luca’s PR team.
Yet something unexpected happened.
We stopped pretending when nobody was watching.
The first time was at a coffee shop.
Luca had ordered black coffee.
I had ordered vanilla.
He tasted mine.
“That’s terrible.”
“You’re terrible.”
He smiled.
The second time was in his car.
I fell asleep against his shoulder.
When I woke, he was staring out the window.
“You could have moved me.”
“I didn’t want to.”
Neither of us mentioned it.
Then there was the first real argument.
He had secretly arranged security outside my apartment.
I found out when a man in a black coat appeared beside the elevator.
“You’re one of Luca’s people.”
“Yes.”
“I told him not to do this.”
“He disagreed.”
I called Luca.
“You lied.”
“I protected you.”
“I don’t need you protecting every inch of my life.”
“Someone is following you.”
“You could have told me.”
“I knew you’d worry.”
“Then let me worry.”
He fell silent.
I realized something then.
Luca’s control wasn’t arrogance.
It was fear.
He had spent his entire life believing that everyone he loved could become a target.
That night, he came to my apartment.
We stood in my kitchen.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I blinked.
“I’m not used to people apologizing.”
“I’m serious.”
“I know.”
He looked around my tiny apartment.
“Your refrigerator is broken.”
“You noticed?”
“It’s making that sound.”
“It has personality.”
“You need a new one.”
I laughed.
“You’re impossible.”
He smiled.
Then the smile disappeared.
“Emma.”
“Yes?”
“I need to tell you something.”
My heart tightened.
“What?”
“I never chose you because you were convenient.”
I looked at him.
“I know.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You think this started with my family.”
“Didn’t it?”
“No.”
“Then when?”
“The first month you worked for me.”
I stared.
“You fired three assistants before me.”
“You stayed.”
“I needed the paycheck.”
“You challenged me.”
“I enjoy being difficult.”
He smiled.
“I noticed.”
The space between us narrowed.
Neither moved.
Then he kissed me.
It was nothing like the staged affection in front of cameras.
It was quiet.
Careful.
Real.
When he pulled away, I whispered, “That wasn’t part of the arrangement.”
“I know.”
“You were supposed to ask.”
“I’m asking now.”
I looked into his eyes.
“Then yes.”
We kissed again.
Afterward, I rested my forehead against his.
“What happens now?”
“I don’t know.”
For once, the billionaire had no answer.
The next morning, Victor called me.
“Your father wasn’t a hero.”
I froze.
“Who is this?”
“You know.”
“Victor.”
“Come to the old Moretti warehouse.”
“No.”
“He left something there.”
“What?”
“Proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“Why your father disappeared.”
The line disconnected.
I told Luca.
He immediately said no.
I went anyway.
Not alone.
Two security officers waited outside.
Inside, the warehouse smelled like dust and old wood.
Victor wasn’t there.
A box sat in the middle of the room.
Inside was a collection of files.
Daniel Carter’s notes.
Moretti Holdings financial records.
Photographs.
And a cassette tape.
I carried everything back to the penthouse.
The recording was thirty years old.
My father’s voice filled the room.
“Matteo, if you're hearing this, it means I failed.”
Luca froze.
The tape continued.
“Victor isn’t working alone.”
I looked at Luca.
The voice continued.
“Someone inside the family has been using the foundation to hide money.”
Luca whispered, “Who?”
Then the tape crackled.
A second voice appeared.
Matteo.
“I know.”
My father replied.
“Then you know what happens next.”
“We expose them.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because they already know we know.”
The tape stopped.
A second cassette began automatically.
Matteo’s voice.
“Daniel, if I die, give this to my son when he is old enough.”
Luca looked at me.
The recording continued.
“Not the board. Not Victor. Not even Isabella.”
A pause.
“Give it to Luca.”
The tape ended.
Luca stood completely still.
His father had known he would one day uncover the truth.
But what surprised us most was what lay beneath the recording.
A second envelope.
Addressed to:
LUCA MORETTI AND EMMA CARTER.
Luca opened it.
Inside was a letter.
The first line changed everything.
The Carter and Moretti families have been connected for generations.
My heart pounded.
The letter explained that Matteo’s family had once owed Daniel’s family a debt.
Not money.
A life.
Decades earlier, Daniel’s grandfather had saved Matteo’s grandfather from an assassination attempt.
The families became allies.
Then Victor learned of the relationship.
He believed the Moretti fortune should belong to him through another branch of the family.
He began manipulating accounts.
Matteo discovered him.
Daniel helped.
Then Matteo died.
Daniel disappeared.
And the person who had ordered the original attack was never exposed.
I looked at Luca.
“This is bigger than your company.”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
Then the lights went out.
A crash sounded from the hallway.
Someone had entered the building.
Security shouted.
Luca grabbed my hand.
“Stay behind me.”
Gunshots echoed in the distance.
I froze.
Luca pulled me toward the elevator.
We escaped through the private garage.
As the car sped away, he looked at me.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For bringing you into this.”
I took his hand.
“You didn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“The moment you asked me to pretend to be your girlfriend, my life changed.”
May you like
He stared at me.
“So did mine.”
