THE ITALIAN HUSBAND'S LIE

Chapter 8:The Night After One Million

The house was too quiet.

I woke up in my bed. Like a normal day. Like nothing had happened.

Same white ceiling, same AC blowing too cold, same curtains closed. I was in my short sleeping dress, not the Dubai dress from yesterday. My makeup was cleaned off. My hair was brushed back.

I sat up fast and looked around.

My door was closed. My room was neat. Everything looked normal. Too normal.

How did I get here? The last thing I remembered was the living room. The dark living room. The couch where we did the couple shoot. Marco and the girls gone to Eko Atlantic, gates closed, Michael sleeping in the pool house with his headphones on.

And Luca. In the kitchen.

We said we would distance ourselves. Like before. No talking. No looking.

But we couldn't do it.

We had crashed into each other. We had held each other like we were scared to lose each other. We had kissed like we were both starving.

And then we had been intimate. We crossed the line completely. For the first time.

My face got hot remembering it. My heart was beating fast.

Then I remembered how my legs were shaking after. How I was scared to walk up the stairs. How he picked me up — carried me — and brought me to my room so no one would see us downstairs. How he stayed with me until I fell asleep.

He must have cleaned my makeup. Put me to bed properly. Made everything look unsuspicious. Like he always does. So calm. So careful.

I checked my phone. 8:12am. Missed calls from Marco — 6 missed calls. Messages from Sofia — _girl you missed the club it was crazy._

I got up. I had to get ready fast. I washed my face twice, put on foundation to cover my tired eyes, did my pink lip gloss, brushed my hair straight, flat ironed the ends. I put on the soft pink two-piece lounge set Marco loved — the one that makes me look like a soft wife for the camera.

Downstairs, I could hear them. Loud. Plates, laughter, Marco shouting.

When I walked downstairs, the whole house was at the breakfast table.

Marco at the head, shirtless with just shorts, his gold chains on, hair still wet from the shower, looking happy and fresh. Sofia, Chiara, Bella in bonnets and big t-shirts, eating pancakes and filming each other. Michael at the end of the table, with his camera already out, eating bread and eggs and yawning.

And Luca.

Luca was also sitting at the breakfast table, in a black t-shirt and black shorts, his cap backwards. He was eating toast quietly. Acting normal. So normal that it hurt.

He didn't look at me when I came down. Not at first. He just kept his eyes on his plate.

Marco saw me and his whole face lit up.

"AH! My queen! My one million queen is awake!" he shouted, standing up. "Come! Come sit! You slept well? You needed it!"

He pulled me into a hug, kissed my forehead hard for the camera that Michael was already recording.

"Today we do live! One million thank you live! Just me and you! Couple goals! You and I will be so sweet, the brands will be crying to pay us!"

I forced a smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning, baby," Marco said. "Sit, eat."

I sat down between Chiara and Michael. Across from Luca. I could feel Luca's leg under the table not moving, not touching, far away on purpose.

Breakfast was noisy. The girls were showing Marco videos from the club last night — bottles, money spraying, them dancing on tables. Marco was laughing, saying "That's my girls! That's how we celebrate one million!"

"Tonight we go again!" he shouted. "Bigger!"

Michael was quiet, editing the thank you video on his small laptop while eating.

Luca finished his toast, wiped his hands, and stood up.

Everyone looked at him.

"I go out," he said, his voice calm. "I have some business to do in town. Car parts. My friend called me. I won't be long."

Marco frowned a little. "Now? We have live in 30 minutes. You need to be here to help Michael with lights."

"Michael can do lights," Luca said. "I have to go. It's important. The car for tomorrow's shoot."

Marco waved him off. "Fine, fine. Go fast and come back. Don't waste time."

Luca picked up his car keys from the counter. He walked towards the door, passing behind Marco's chair.

And while Marco was not watching — while Marco was turned to argue with Sofia about her shoes — Luca looked straight at me.

Directly in my eyes.

Just one second. But that one second was everything.

His eyes were saying what he couldn't say out loud in front of everyone. _I'm going to come back. Wait for me. Tonight. Like last night._

It was not a normal look. It was deep. It was a promise. It was also a warning — _act normal._

My heart jumped into my throat. I looked down fast at my plate so Marco wouldn't see my face turn red.

Luca left. The big black gates opened, his car reversed, and then they closed again with a loud clang.

Michael stood up after him. "Okay, let's set up the live! Marco, Ama, living room!"

The girls took their black cards Marco gave them last night and left in an Uber, shouting, "We go shopping for tonight!"

Now it was just us three in the big house — me, Marco, and Michael. But Michael went to set up lights and never really looks at anything except his camera.

Marco pulled me to the couch. The same couch where me and Luca had been last night. My stomach turned.

He sat close, his arm around my shoulder, his other hand holding his phone up for the live. Michael turned on the big softbox light, the ring light, and started recording on the main camera too.

"Okay baby, smile, okay? One million face, okay? Be sweet," Marco whispered to me, then he clicked GO LIVE on i********: and t****k at the same time.

The numbers started flying. 1k... 5k... 12k viewers in one minute.

Comments exploding:

_OMG COUPLE GOALS IS BACK_

_AMA YOU ARE SO PRETTY_

_ONE MILLION CONGRATS_

_MARCO YOU ARE SO LUCKY_

Marco was in his element. Loud, funny, kissing my cheek every two minutes for the camera, calling me "my queen, my wife, my everything." He told the story of how we met, how we hit one million in one night, how Prada and Fashion Nova already emailed him.

"My girl made me one million!" he shouted, hugging me tight. "This is just the beginning! Two million next! Then marriage! Then babies that look like Ama!"

The comments went crazy with hearts.

I smiled. I laughed when I was supposed to laugh. I leaned my head on his shoulder when he pulled me. I said "thank you guys so much, we love you guys" in my soft voice.

I did everything perfect. Like a good actress. Like the girl in the Dubai dress from the shoot.

But inside, my mind was not on the live.

Inside, I was still in my bed, waking up confused. I was still feeling how Luca carried me. I was still seeing his eyes when he stood up to leave — _I'm going to come back._

And I knew tonight, when Marco and the girls go out again to celebrate, when the gates close again, when the house is too quiet again — we were going to do it again.

Even though we promised to distance ourselves. Even though it could kill us both.

The live kept going. 40k viewers now. Marco screaming "ONE MILLION!"

And I was smiling at the camera, while waiting for the night.