He Chose To Drive
1390 Words
CHAPTER 4
Arabella's POV
“Start the car.” My voice comes out sharper than I expect but Luca doesn’t move, not even a little. His hand stays on the steering wheel with his fingers tight under the dim parking light.
My father’s footsteps hit the ground hard behind us fast and getting closer. “Arabella, get out of that car!”
I know that tone, so I draw back not because of the volume. That is not a request, it's the last warning before control turns into something else.
I say again, but with a lower tone this time. “Luca, please”.
He finally turns his head and our eyes meet. For the first time since I’ve known him, he looks so confused.
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he says.
“I do.” I said.
“No,” he shakes his head once. “You don’t.”
A bright light flashes across the windshield as another car pulls into the lot, drawing more attention and witnesses.
Luca continues, his voice tight. “I am your driver, your father gave me a direct order.”
“I’m not asking you as his daughter,” I say quickly.
His jaw gets tight. “Then what are you asking me as?”
The question hangs between us leaving it heavy and dangerous. I didn't answer because I don’t know how to describe it.
The car door behind us slams. “Arabella!” My father again and this time, he's closer.
Luca looks past me, toward the sound then back at me. His control is slipping and I can see it. “I can’t do this,” he says.
Something inside me breaks, and I answer fast. “You already are, you stopped for me and didn’t walk away. So don’t pretend this is still just your job.”
That hits because I can see the truth of it in his eyes. He exhales slowly like he’s trying to hold himself together. “I stopped because you called my name,” he says.
“Exactly.” My voice softens without meaning to. “So don’t leave me now.”
My father’s shadow falls across the car while he slams his hand against the roof hard. “Get out.” The words cut through the night.
I freeze for a second and I almost obey. That old instinct rises fast but then I remember the ballroom, the photo, whispers and the way everything was decided for me.
“No,” I say. The word feels strange and unfamiliar in my mouth but solid.
My father goes very still. “You will not embarrass me further tonight,” he says with a low voice.
“I’m not embarrassing you,” I reply with my hands shaking in my lap. “I’m trying to breathe.”
His face goes hard. “You are coming with me.”
“No.” I said.
My father took a step closer, another command waiting to happen.
Sebastian’s voice cuts in from behind him. “Mr Kingsley”. He sounds calmer but there’s something sharp under it.
“This isn’t helping.” I turn slightly.
Sebastian is standing a few feet away now, his suit is still perfect and his expression is carefully controlled. Only his eyes being cold and calculating give him away.
“This situation needs to be handled properly,” he continues. “Not like this.”
Then handle it, because clearly she won’t.” My father snaps.
Sebastian’s look shifts to me, then to Luca and something in his expression changes, recognizing him as a problem, not a person.
“Bella,” stepping closer to my side of the car. “Look at me, this ends now,” he says quietly. “You get out of the car, we go back inside and fix this.”
The word fix hit me so hard like I’m something broken. “And if I don’t?” I ask.
He goes still. “Then you make things worse.”
“I think that has happened already,” I reply.
Irritation flashes across his face. “You’re not thinking clearly.”
“I’m thinking for the first time.” My voice comes out slow as the words sit in silence. The tension between all of us feels like it could take off at any second.
Then Sebastian reaches for the car door. My body reacts before I can think. “Don’t,” I warn.
He pauses slowly, then he straightens and looks at Luca. “You,” he says. The word is sharp and disrespectful like Luca is nothing. “Open the door.”
Luca doesn’t move, speak and doesn’t even look at him. His eyes stay on me waiting and choosing.
“Did you hear me?” Sebastian insists.
Still nothing and that’s when everything shifts because now it’s not just about me anymore, it’s about him, if he obeys or not.
My father sees it too. “Romano,” he says, with his voice colder than before. “Do your job.” The command lands heavy and final. This is the moment and line.
Luca breathes in slowly as I can see the decision building in him breaking through years of discipline and knowing his place while staying silent.
He squeezes his hand tight on the steering wheel and starts the engine with a loud roar as the sound cuts through the night like a gunshot.
My heart jumps and my father steps back immediately. “Don’t you dare…”
It's too late, as Luca shifts the gear, the car jerks forward with voices exploding behind us. “Stop the car”, “block the exit”.
Headlights jerk side to side as security rushes around but Luca doesn’t hesitate. He drives fast, the gates ahead are still open for now, we speed through them just as one of the guards starts to move. Too slow because we’re already out.
The city lights cover us and for a few seconds, neither of us speaks. The silence is loud, heavy and unreal.
I turn slightly in my seat with my heart still racing. “You did it,” I whisper.
Luca doesn’t answer. His eyes stay fixed on the road, holding the wheel so tight.
“You just drove away from my father,” I say.
Still nothing, the weight of what just happened begins to settle. This wasn’t small, it changes everything. “Luca…”
He exhales sharply. “You shouldn’t have made me do that.”
The words hit harder than I expect. “I didn’t make you,” I say quietly.
“Yes,” he replies immediately. “You did.” His voice feels tense and controlled now but barely. I look at him with the tension in his jaw with the way his shoulders are set and refuse to look at me.
“Are you angry?” I ask.
He laughs once without humor. “I just lost my job.”
The words sit heavy between us because I didn’t think about that, I was only thinking about escape.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
He shakes his head. “That’s not even the worst part.”
My stomach tightens. “Then what is?”
For the first time since we left, he looks at me and there’s something unguarded and dangerous in his eyes I’ve never seen before.
“You don’t understand what this means,” he says.
“Then tell me,’’ I reply.
The city and the blur lights move past the window together and time feels strange like we’ve stepped into something we can’t undo.
“I can't take you back home,” he says, while looking away.
The words aren't clear to me. “What?”
“I can’t take you back there,” he repeats.
“Then… where are we going?” I asked, feeling cold all over.
He didn't answer immediately and that scares me more than anything tonight. Luca always has control and direction.
He pauses for a second and quietly says, “Somewhere your father won’t find you.”
My heart skips suddenly because this isn’t just escape anymore, it's now something bigger and more dangerous and I have no idea what I’ve just started and where it ends.
- Writer
