THE REAL RELATIONSHIP
1187 Words
EPISODE 5: THE REAL RELATIONSHIP - PART 1
The contract was over.
But nobody left.
Elena woke up the next morning and Luca was already in the kitchen.
No suit. Just gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt. Hair messy. Making pancakes.
For Milo.
“Mommy!” Milo ran to her in his dinosaur pajamas. “Daddy made breakfast!”
Elena stared. “Since when do you cook?”
Luca shrugged, flipping a pancake. “Since I have a reason to.”
The word hit her. Reason.
No cameras. No lawyers. No $10 million contract.
Just 3 people in a kitchen that smelled like syrup.
It felt... dangerous. Because it felt real.
---
But real was hard.
That afternoon, Luca had to go to the office.
Board members were losing their minds.
“CEO dating the nanny. Share price down.”
“Is the engagement real?”
“Is the child legitimate?”
Elena stayed home with Milo.
Mrs. Hale kept looking at her differently now.
Not like “the contract wife”.
Like “the woman who might actually stay”.
At 6pm, Luca came home late. Tie gone. Sleeves rolled up. Eyes tired.
“Bad day?” Elena asked, handing him water.
“The worst.” He drank it in one go. “Victoria’s telling people we’re still together. That I paid you off.”
Elena’s stomach twisted. “Are we?”
Luca looked at her. Really looked. Dark eyes searching. “No. Are we?”
Elena didn’t answer. She didn’t know.
That night, they sat on opposite ends of the huge couch.
Milo asleep between them, head on Luca’s leg, hand holding Elena’s.
Silence. Heavy.
Then Luca spoke. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Real.” He laughed bitterly. “Without a contract. Without rules. Without lawyers drafting every move. I’m good at business, Elena. I’m terrible at people.”
Elena smiled a little. “Me too.”
Luca turned to her. “Can we... try? No contract. Just us figuring it out. Messy and real.”
Elena’s heart pounded. “What if we mess up?”
“Then we mess up together.”
He reached for her hand.
This time she didn’t pull away.
His hand was warm. Calloused. Real.
---
The next week was weird. And good.
Luca started coming home at 7 instead of midnight.
He learned how to make Milo’s favorite pasta. Burned it twice.
He asked Elena about her day. Actually listened.
He kissed her goodnight. On the forehead. Every night.
No pressure. No expectations.
Just... trying.
Milo noticed. “Daddy’s home more.”
“Yeah baby,” Elena said. “He is.”
But the world wouldn’t let them be peaceful.
Tabloids: “MORETTI’S NEW GIRL: GOLD DIGGER OR LOVE STORY?”
Reporters camped outside the gates with cameras.
Victoria gave an interview to Vogue: “He’s using that woman to get to me.”
Elena saw it on her phone at 2am. It hurt like hell.
One night she broke down in the kitchen.
“Maybe we should stop,” she whispered. “For Milo. For you. For the company.”
Luca was behind her in seconds. “Elena. Look at me.”
She did. Eyes full of tears.
“I lost you once because I was stupid and 25 and thought money was everything.” His voice was rough. “I’m not losing you again because I’m scared. This is real. You are real. Milo is real. And I’m choosing this.”
Elena shook her head. “I’m scared too, Luca.”
“Then be scared with me.”
And he kissed her.
Not like in the contract.
Not for the cameras.
For real. Soft at first. Shaking. Like he’d been holding back for 5 years.
Elena kissed him back.
Her hands in his hair. His hands on her waist.
When they pulled apart, both of them were breathing hard.
And Milo was standing in the doorway in his dinosaur pajamas.
“Are you kissing now?”
Luca and Elena burst out laughing. Embarrassed and relieved.
“Yeah buddy,” Luca said, pulling them both into a hug. One arm around Elena, one around Milo. “We’re kissing now.”
Milo grinned. “Good. I like when you kiss.”
That night, Elena slept in Luca’s bed.
Not because of the contract.
Because she wanted to.
No s*x. No pressure.
Just sleeping. His arm around her. Milo between them.
For the first time in years, the Moretti house felt like a home.
---
But real life came fast.
Two days later, Luca’s assistant called. Emergency board meeting.
Luca left at 5am. Came back at 11pm.
Elena was waiting up. “How was it?”
“They voted me out as interim CEO.” He dropped his jacket. “Until the ‘scandal’ dies down.”
Elena’s chest hurt. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault.”
“Don’t.” Luca pulled her to him. “It’s my company. My mess. My choice.”
He lost millions that week. Stock dropped. Investors pulled out.
And still he came home every night. To her. To Milo.
One evening, Elena found him in his office. Staring at nothing.
“You okay?”
“No.” He looked up. “I’m terrified. I’ve never had something to lose before. Now I have you. And him. And I don’t know how to protect you from all of this.”
Elena sat on his lap. “You don’t have to protect me from everything. Just stay.”
Luca buried his face in her neck. “I’m staying.”
---
Saturday. One month since the contract ended.
Luca took them to the park. No bodyguards. No press. Just a baseball cap and sunglasses.
Milo ran on the playground. Luca pushed him on the swings.
Elena watched them. Her heart so full it hurt.
Luca came and sat next to her on the bench. “Happy?”
Elena leaned her head on his shoulder. “Yeah. Are you?”
“More than I’ve ever been.” He took her hand. Laced their fingers. “This is what I wanted. 5 years ago. And I ruined it.”
“You didn’t ruin it.” Elena squeezed his hand. “We’re here now.”
Luca kissed her temple. “For real this time.”
“For real.”
---
Back home that night, after Milo was asleep, Luca stopped her in the hallway.
“Elena.”
“Hmm?”
“I love you.”
Elena froze.
Luca panicked. “s**t. Too soon? I’m sorry. I just—”
Elena put her fingers to his lips. “I love you too.”
Luca exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for years.
They kissed. Slow. Deep. Certain.
No contract made them do it.
No money.
Just 2 people who messed up, found each other again, and chose to stay.
For the first time, it wasn’t a contract.
It was a choice.
[END OF EPISODE 5]
#StrayWritingMarathon #ContractMarriage #BillionaireRomance #Episode5 #CEOxNanny #RealLove #Family #SecondChance #RomanceNovel #BookTok #Healing #MorettiSeries
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