Luca’s Inferno by Karima Sa’ad Usman

Chapter 23

23 Listening Emma. I was planning to head downstairs when I heard Luca and his mother arguing. Their voices were loud. I could listen because I was at the staircase; if not, their conversation would have been incoherent. Lacy was hurting about something, and Luca wouldn’t have it. I moved closer to hear clearly. I wasn’t into sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong, but when you live in a big house and aren’t allowed to go out, you start trying to find things to amuse yourself. “I am afraid you are losing yourself, Luca. How can you let that girl into your business? She can betray you. Did you forget you have a temporary arrangement with her? You are spending too much time with that girl, and I hate to see you broken when she finally leaves. How can you let her in on your business knowing she would leave, Luca?” She can sell our family secrets to our enemies. You paid a considerable sum for her; what would stop her from collecting money from another party to sell you out? She is an Omega from a wretched home that has tasted wealth. She would not want to go back to a simple life. Wake up, Luca,” She said, crying and Luca growled at her. “Mind your business, mother. All I wanted to tell you was that Emma and I would be going on vacation for ten days and you are giving me a speech. For your information, she is a decent girl, not a gold digger. Emma has never asked for much or tried to hurt me. Whenever I am down, she is there. She is more family to me than you are.” Luca said, and I heard a slap. His mother had slapped him. “You should be ashamed of yourself. A boss and Alpha losing his shit over a bloody omega. She has four more months with you, and you act as if she will be in your life forever. If she is so precious, why don’t you keep her? This is the time you should be putting yourself out there. Dating so you can settle down and have heirs. I understand you are a kind man, and you chose to marry her to save her, but you weren’t supposed to be her husband. You were not supposed to touch her. I understand how alluring omegas can be, and she is beautiful, so it is okay you fuck her, but it should be for fun. It seems your heart is tangled in the shit, Luca. I hate to see you hurt, but that is where you are heading. She just has four months and two weeks,” she said, and Luca growled. I could feel his anger. I knew he was controlling himself.

“Do not push me, mother, or I will extend her contract indefinitely. I see you are counting. There will be nothing to count if it becomes indefinite,” he said coldly with a growl. My heart beamed with joy, hoping Lacy would push Luca to make good on his threat. Indefinitely meant a lifetime with him; I wanted that so badly. “You are boss, Luca.” She said calmly, “yet I see you act like a schoolboy. I am worried. That girl is a terrible distraction. You should be on your guard, protecting all of us and keeping our family at the top, But instead, I see you come home and rush upstairs every time. I hear her moaning and calling your name. She should do the one that pleases you and not the other way around. How can you degrade yourself so much?” She said, and I heard Luca laugh wickedly. “So you listen. That is bad, mother. Just so you know, it pleases me to please Emma. It pleases me to bury myself in her. It pleases me to eat her up and make her cum…” He said, taunting his mother, but I was getting wet listening. “Stop it! Stop It. Don’t you have any shame or respect, Luca?” His mother said in tears. “You started it, mother, talking about her moaning and calling my name..” He said, and I

giggled quietly. “You will be heartbroken when she leaves. Stop it now and get over her. I hate to see you broken. I know you are still hurting over Roberto; we still are; Don’t do this. She is a distraction. If you weren’t smitten by her, you would have been at the club to protect your brother. Remember that when next you want to do whatever it is you two do together.” She said, and Luca laughed again. “It isn’t my duty to protect Roberto, mother. It was his duty to protect himself. He got himself mixed up in shit and paid for it with his life; It has nothing on me. If nothing, I am grateful that I am smitten by Emma. I would have been dead by now.” He said, and she began to wail. “You do not even care for your brother’s demise? What has she done to you, Luca? My boy. What has she done to you? It is your duty to protect us. To keep us safe.” She said, crying. “Yes, I agree it is my duty to protect my family members and keep them safe. In return, I expect my family to protect me and my reputation, be loyal and not create trouble for me. As things are, I have my hands full. Instead of helping out, Roberto was planning on taking me out with the help of Deigo Gallo,” he said, and she began to scream in disbelief. I was in shock too. I did not know. I could not believe Luca could stomach such a betrayal. Tears stung my eyes just to know what Roberto had tried to do. “Stop lying, Luca. Stop it!” She screamed.

“Enough!” Luca commanded her. “You will listen to me. That stupid matchmaking family dinner you and father organised, Roberto stole my phone and copied my calendar so he would know my movements. He contacted Deigo and promised to give the Gallos Celio to run their business if they helped him take me out so he could be head of this family. I was fortunate to survive. If Emma wasn’t here, I would have died because, you know, we do not use hospitals. That Omega I am losing my head over saved my life, mother. The night after the office attack, Roberto called me and insisted I join him at the club. I had just recovered from the attack and did not need the noise. So I decided to stay home with my wife in bed, buried inside her like you stated, and I do not regret it. He called Deigo to stand down, and Deigo took him out, afraid that I was at the club and Roberto had come clean about their plans. So you see, mother. I can not feel guilty about Roberto’s choices. Do I miss him? Yes, but I don’t blame myself or my darling Emma for it,” he said, and I was shocked at the revelation. So amazed that I stood still. I knew Lacy was shocked, too, because she was silent for a long time. “I did not know, Luca. If I knew.” I heard her say in a very low tone. I couldn’t catch the rest of her words. Their voices weren’t high anymore. I guess the revelation had quieted her down. I decided to go to the office instead. Before I got there, Catalina blocked me. “Good afternoon, Emma,” she said as respectfully as she could manage. I believed she was working against me, but for some strange reason, she was always polite. I began to wonder what Luca did when he said he reprimanded her. As simple as it sounded, I doubted it was simple. I believed Luca was mean to her because I knew how mean he could get with people that cross him. The things his mother said made me hopeful. Could it be possible that he had fallen for me? “Hello, Catalina,” I said to her with a smile. “Emma may I speak with you,” she said. She looked sad. Her dark hair roots were out; it did not look nice. She needed to go and die her hair blonde so it would match. She had also lost weight, and her skin looked sallow. “Catalina, are you alright?” I asked her, and she smiled at me, but it didn’t touch her eyes. “I need to talk to you about something, but you must keep it between us,” she requested, and I did not know what to say. It might be a setup, but at the same time, she looked like she needed help. “Please don’t tell Luca. He is easily mad,” she said, and I frowned. My better judgementConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

said I should walk away, but my heart told me to listen. I looked at her and decided to listen. Hopefully, it won’t get me in trouble. “What is it?” I asked her keeping my fingers crossed and hoping I would not regret it. She pulled me towards her room, and I followed her. It was beautiful, like my old room. Everything was beige, though, and I did not like it. My old room was a mix of Beige and brown, but this was different. It looked regal with tones of gold; not my thing. I guess that was how she felt: like a princess. She was indeed a princess. The princess of the Alessandro dynasty. “Please sit, Emma.” She said, and whatever she had to tell me must have been serious. I sat on the only couch in her room. It was comfy. If it weren’t a serious situation. There was a possibility that I would dose off in it. “How do you do it, Emma?” she asked, and I frowned. “Luca is difficult. He would never look at a woman twice, but here you are, a contract wife, but we all know that isn’t what is happening here. You two are in love,” she said, and I wondered what that had to do with her problem. I also did not miss the jab between her sentence, but it didn’t bother me. Some people lacked people skills, and Catalina was one of them. Not wanting to interrupt her, I remained silent, wondering where the story was heading. “I am in love with someone, Emma. I think he loves me too, but he is too scared because our families are not on good terms. I want to run away with him. Elope and be happy like you.” she said, and I stood up in shock. How the fuck did I get myself into this shit? This was not my turf, and I did not want to be mixed up in her mess when shit blew up. “Catalina, this isn’t a discussion you should have with me. Please, I do not want to hear about your plans. If you are seeing someone Luca doesn’t like, I advise you to end it. It is for a good reason,” I said, and she shook her head. “It is a family feud, Emma. It started in our great grand father’s time and soon became a habit. We don’t even know why we are enemies. I love him, Emma. But he is sometimes indifferent Luca is like that, yet he isn’t that way with you. Teach me how to be submissive. How to make a man want to protect me with his life? I need to know how Emma, please; I need your help.” She said, and I realised she got it bad. “If he cannot love you for what you are, it is not worth it. I am not submissive, Emma. Luca just hasn’t done anything that would make me challenge him, and besides, our relationship is not real. So I am the last person to talk to. He will let me go in four months, and I will be history. Knowing I can’t hold on to him,

how can I tell you how to hold on to your friend? But I advise you to talk to your brother about it and not do anything stupid in the name of love. You are his only sibling, and he loves you, Catalina. Do not hurt him by running away, please,” I pleaded with her, and she wiped away her tears. “He won’t let you go, Emma He loves you. He slapped me because of you. Threatened to cut mother and father off because of you. He has done things he would never do because of you. He won’t let you go. Mark my words, Emma. He won’t let you go, and I do not want him to because he has never been this happy. Omega or not, you are good for him. I hope you will be confident in me one day to truly lend me a piece of advice. I will listen,” she said, and I could not form the words in my mouth. She had said so many things. I was hopeful she was right, and I was shocked at the extent of his actions. He reprimanded her as he had said. Catalina’s eyes were lost, and I did not know if I had gotten through to her. Still, I hoped for my sake that she does not go through with her plan because if Luca found out she told me, and I did not tell him, I would have hell to pay. If I told Luca and he flared up, Catalina would hate me for life, and I will be untrustworthy. I cursed inwardly because this was a bad situation for me. Why did she have to tell me?