✦CHAPTER 10— The Meeting
1043 Words
Nova POV
Bri’s been pacing for twenty minutes straight.
“You’re not going,” she says for the hundredth time. “We’ll pack your things, disappear, dye your hair, fake your death—I don’t care, but you’re not walking into that club.”
“I don’t have a choice,” I whisper. My hands tremble as I zip up my black dress, the one that used to make me feel confident. Tonight it feels like armor that doesn’t fit.
“She’s baiting you, Nova. That’s what people like her do. She wants to scare you.”
“Then maybe it’s working.”
Bri stops pacing, her voice softening. “If you go, call me every ten minutes.”
“I can’t. She said no phones.”
Bri glares. “Then at least promise you won’t be stupid.”
“I’ll try.”
When I look at my reflection—red lipstick, loose curls, fear behind the eyes—I barely recognize the girl staring back. The girl who used to believe love was enough.
Now love feels like a crime scene.
Luca POV
By the time I get to the Monaco Lounge, the night has already turned poisonous.
Valets in black gloves. Cameras hidden in chandeliers. The kind of place where deals are made over cocktails and people disappear after dessert.
I spot her immediately—Sienna in crimson silk, legs crossed, smile sharp enough to cut glass. She looks like the devil dressed for a gala.
“Right on time,” she says as I approach. “You were always so obedient when you wanted something.”
“I’m not here to play.”
“Then why are you sweating?” she teases. “Sit, Luca.”
I do, if only to keep the peace long enough to understand what she’s planning.
She slides her phone across the table. On the screen is a still image—me and Nova outside her dorm, too close, too real.
“You didn’t even try to hide it,” she says. “Bold of you.”
“Sienna—”
“Don’t insult me,” she interrupts. “You think I don’t know that look? I’ve seen it before. You looked at me like that once.”
She leans forward, voice lowering. “But I’m not the girl you throw your world away for, am I?”
I hold her stare. “No.”
Her laugh is small, bitter. “Finally, some honesty.”
“What do you want?”
Her smile returns, slow and cruel. “You. But since that ship has sailed, I’ll settle for watching your empire burn.”
She lifts her glass, takes a slow sip, and nods toward the entrance.
I turn—and freeze.
Nova stands there, framed by the golden light, every inch of her trembling but defiant.
“What did you do?” I hiss.
Sienna shrugs. “Invited the other woman. Fair’s fair.”
Nova POV
The club smells like money and danger. My heart beats so hard I can hear it over the music. Then I see them—Luca and Sienna, beautiful and deadly across from each other like a scene from a movie that ends badly.
Sienna’s smile widens when she spots me. “Perfect timing. Join us.”
Luca stands instantly. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Too late,” I whisper.
Sienna gestures to the seat between them. “Come on, Nova. I don’t bite—unless provoked.”
I sit, because walking away now would make me look weak.
Sienna studies me like I’m a puzzle she’s already solved. “You’re prettier up close,” she says. “I can see why he risked everything.”
“Sienna—” Luca warns.
She ignores him. “Tell me, Nova, what’s it like knowing every touch of his belongs to a world you can’t survive in?”
“I’m not afraid of you,” I say, though my voice shakes.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Her smile turns razor-sharp. “You should be.”
She taps her phone screen, and the video plays—me and Luca, drenched in rain, his hands on my face, Intimate. Exposed.
“Delete it,” Luca growls.
Sienna looks bored. “I will. After I get what I want.”
“And that is?” I ask quietly.
“An ending.” She looks between us. “One of you walks away. The other loses everything.”
She stands, her perfume trailing behind her like smoke. “You have twenty-four hours to decide.”
Then she leaves us sitting there, the world suddenly silent.
Luca POV
I reach for Nova’s hand. She pulls away.
“Don’t,” she says. “She’s right. You’re going to lose everything.”
“I don’t care about the business—”
“This isn’t just business!” Her voice cracks. “This is your life, Luca. Your family. People get killed over less.”
I move closer, lowering my voice. “Let them come for me. They’ll never touch you.”
She looks up at me, eyes full of fear and something worse—hope. “You can’t protect me from everything.”
“Watch me.”
Nova POV
When we finally leave the lounge, the air feels heavy, like it’s waiting for the next disaster. Luca walks beside me, hand hovering near mine but never touching.
“Go home,” he says. “Pack a bag. I’ll send Elijah to—”
“No.” I turn to face him. “If this ends, it ends because we decide it does. Not her.”
“Nova—”
“Stop treating me like I’m fragile,” I say, voice trembling. “You started this. You don’t get to finish it alone.”
He stares at me for a long second, then steps closer, his breath warm against my skin.
“You have no idea what you’re asking for,” he murmurs.
“Then show me.”
For a moment, the night holds its breath. Then he kisses me—rough, desperate, like we’re already breaking apart. It’s not sweet. It’s survival.
And somewhere deep down, I know this won’t end clean.
Because love like this never does.
- Writer
