Marrying The Ruthless Luciano (Luciano Brothers #1)

CHAPTER 8: TRAPPED

I stayed near the window, pretending to be interested in the view outside.

Anything was better than standing in the middle of the ballroom and wondering whether everyone could tell I wasn't Czarina.

The young woman beside me continued talking.

"Honestly, you're lucky."

I turned toward her, "Lucky?"

She nodded. "Connor."

My stomach tightened at the name.

"What about him?"

She smiled behind her mask.

"He's one of the most eligible men in the country."

I almost laughed.

Eligible wasn't exactly the word I would use.

It should be intimidating, cold, impossible to read. Those were closer.

"I suppose," I answered.

She looked at me strangely.

"You don't sound excited."

I forced a smile. "I'm just nervous."

"Of course you are. It's a big step."

A big step.

That was one way to describe marrying a stranger.

Before I could respond, the music slowly faded.

The conversations around the ballroom began to quiet.

People turned toward the small stage at the center of the room.

I followed their gaze.

A man in a dark suit stepped forward and tapped the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention."

The room fell silent.

My fingers tightened around the glass in my hand.

I knew what was coming. Still, my heart began pounding.

"Tonight, the Schuet and Luciano families are pleased to celebrate another generation of partnership between our two families."

Applause filled the ballroom.

I forced myself to smile.

The man continued.

"For decades, our families have stood together through business, friendship, and shared traditions."

I swallowed.

"And tonight, we celebrate something far more personal."

My stomach twisted.

"Please join us in congratulating Mr. Connor Luciano and Miss Czarina Schuet on their engagement."

The ballroom erupted.

Applause. Cheers. Glasses clinking. People smiling. People congratulating one another as if something wonderful had just happened.

I stood there frozen.

Czarina's name echoed through the room.

Czarina Schuet. The heiress. The bride.

The woman who wasn't here.

And somehow... I was standing in her place.

I smiled because everyone expected me to.

Someone nearby raised their glass.

"To the future of the Schuet and Luciano families!"

Everyone followed. I lifted mine.

My hand was shaking.

Then I heard footsteps approaching.

I didn't have to look. I already knew.

It was him. Connor.

He stopped beside me.

The applause continued around us, but somehow I could hear my own heartbeat more clearly than anything else.

"Congratulations," he said quietly but with a hint of sarcasm.

I turned toward him.

"Thank you. Congratulations to you as well," I fired back.

His eyes remained on me.

There was something different about his expression tonight.

I don't know... something closer to curiosity.

"You seem surprised."

I blinked. "About what?"

"The announcement."

I forced a small laugh.

"I knew about it."

"Did you?"

His question was simple.

But something about it made me nervous.

I looked away, "Of course."

He didn't respond.

For a few seconds, we simply stood there.

Then someone called his name from across the room. He glanced in that direction before looking back at me.

"I'll be back."

My heart skipped. "Why?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

I realized how strange my question sounded.

"I mean...why would you come back?"

His lips almost curved into a smile.

"Because you're my fiancée."

Then he walked away. I stared after him.

Fiancée.

The word felt foreign. It didn't belong to me.

None of this did.

Yet as I watched Connor disappear into the crowd, I found myself wondering why he kept appearing whenever I tried to find a quiet place. But somehow, I am glad he did. Instead of talking to different people here.

It was safer if it's him.

I shook my head. His smirk is still etched in my mind.

Tonight would end. Tomorrow, I would return to my apartment. Back to my work at café. Back to my ordinary life.

And Czarina would figure out what came next.

The gala continued for another hour. I avoided Connor as much as possible. Whenever I saw him across the room, I suddenly found something else to look at.

A painting, a table, a waiter. Anything.

It was ridiculous.

He hadn't done anything to me. Yet there was something about him that made me painfully aware of every movement I made.

At one point, I turned toward the entrance and nearly walked straight into him.

He caught my arm before I could stumble.

"Careful."

I froze.

"I'm fine."

He released me immediately.

"You keep saying that."

I looked at him.

"What?"

"That you're fine."

My heartbeat quickened. He studied me for a moment.

"You don't look fine."

I didn't know what to say. Thankfully, someone approached him before I had to answer.

"Mr. Luciano, your father is looking for you."

Connor nodded. "I'll be there."

Before leaving, he looked at me once more.

"Don't disappear."

I watched him walk away again.

For some reason, those two words stayed with me.

Don't disappear. If only he knew.

When the gala finally ended, I returned to the hotel room where Czarina had been waiting for me.

The moment I entered, she stood.

"How did it go?"

I removed the mask.

"Their family announced your engagement."

She smiled.

"I knew they would."

"Everyone congratulated me."

She laughed softly.

"Technically, they congratulated me."

"Not tonight."

I dropped the mask onto the table.

"Tonight, I was you."

Her smile faded. "I'm sorry."

I looked at her.

She really did look exhausted.

There were dark circles beneath her eyes.

For the first time, I wondered how long she had been carrying all of this alone.

"Connor talked to me."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"He did?"

"Several times."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing important." I hesitated. "He just...kept noticing things."

Czarina became quiet.

"What things?"

"That I was quiet. That I looked different."

Her expression changed. "What?"

I immediately felt nervous.

"He didn't seem suspicious."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so."

Czarina sat down.

None of us spoke. Then her hand moved instinctively toward her stomach.

I noticed.

"You should rest."

She smiled weakly. "I will."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

I nodded. I wanted to believe her. I really did.

But something in the back of my mind kept telling me that things weren't going to stay this simple.

And I was right.

The next morning, I woke up to several missed calls.

All from Czarina.

I stared at my phone for a few seconds before finally calling her back.

She answered almost immediately.

"Jade."

Her voice was different. Not the tired voice I had heard before. Not desperate. She was terrified.

I sat up. "What happened?"

Silence.

Then I heard her take a shaky breath.

"My father knows."

My stomach dropped.

"Knows what?"

She didn't answer immediately.

"Czarina?"

"He knows about Franco."

Everything inside me went still.

I got out of bed.

"What do you mean he knows?"

"I don't know how he found out." Her voice cracked. "But he knows his name. He knows where he works. He knows about us."

I paced across my room.

"Does he know about the baby?"

Another silence.

"I don't know."

I closed my eyes. This was bad. Much worse than I expected.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

That answer frightened me more than anything else. Czarina always had a plan.

Even when she was scared, she always found something to hold on to. Now she sounded completely lost.

"Where's Franco?"

"With me."

"Are you safe?"

"For now."

For now. I hated those words.

"What did your father say?"

"He called me this morning." She swallowed. "He said I have until the wedding."

"Until the wedding for what?"

"To end things with Franco."

I stopped walking and my chest tightened.

"And if you don't?"

Her voice became barely a whisper. "He'll make sure Franco disappears from my life."

I didn't speak and she didn't as well. The silence between us felt heavier than anything she had said.

Then Czarina continued.

"He knows everything, Jade. Where Franco teaches. Where he lives. His family. His friends."

She started crying. "He said he could destroy his career before the wedding even happens."

I clenched my fist.

"Can he really do that?"

"He's my father."

That was enough of an answer. I sat on the edge of my bed.

"What about leaving?"

"We can't."

"Why?"

"Because now they'll be watching."

My heart sank.

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

Again. That same answer. I looked down at my hands. For the first time, I understood how trapped she really was.

Before, running away had been difficult. Now it was dangerous. For her, for Franco, and for the baby.

And suddenly, the marriage wasn't simply something she wanted to escape anymore.

It was the only thing standing between her and the people she loved being destroyed.

"Jade..."

I looked up.

"I need to ask you something."

My stomach tightened.

"What?"

"I know what I promised you." She paused. "I said I wouldn't ask you for anything else."

I didn't answer.

"But I don't know what else to do."

My chest hurt.

"Czarina..."