Chapter 7 - The Ruined Engagement|
Luca looked down at the yellowed letter from his mother one last time. Then, with deliberate slowness, he tore Vanessa’s fifty-thousand-dollar check directly down the middle.
Snap.
He folded the pieces and tore them again. White scraps of paper fluttered down onto the polished marble floor between them like bitter snow.
"The engagement is over," Luca said coldly.
Gasps rippled through the grand ballroom. Two men near the bar—Luca’s top enforcers—immediately shifted their posture, stepping out from the shadows to guard the exits.
Vanessa looked as if she had been struck across the face. Her lips trembled as her shock twisted into ugly, aristocratic rage.
"You’re ruining a multimillion-dollar merger over a maid and an old woman who bakes cheap pies?" she shrieked, no longer caring about her precious image. "Are you out of your mind, Luca? My father will pull every single investment from your shipping docks by midnight!"
Luca stepped closer to her, lowering his head so only she and those standing right beside them could hear his words.
"Tell your father he can pull whatever he wants," Luca whispered softly. "And tell him if you ever step foot on my property again, or if anyone in your family so much as looks at Mama Rosa or Emma, I won't just pull investments. I will burn your legacy to the ground."
Vanessa stared at him, realizing in an instant that he meant every single word. She spun around on her red heels, gathered the train of her gown, and stormed out of the ballroom.
Her father and two Bellini bodyguards hurried out right behind her, leaving thirty stunned guests standing in absolute silence.
Luca didn't even watch her leave. He turned back to Rosa, and the terrifying darkness in his eyes melted away instantly.
He took the wrapped pie from my hands and set it down on the center table—right beside the twelve-thousand-dollar engagement cake.
May you like
Then he pulled out the head chair. The seat reserved for the bride.
"Mama Rosa," Luca said gently, gesturing to the chair. "Please. Sit down."
