Her cheeks were streaked with tears. She looked so delicate, so helpless... as though she were the one who had been wronged.
A crushing weight settled in my chest.
So this was the truth.
This entire evening had never been meant for me.
It had always been for her.
"Sweetheart..." Celeste's voice quivered. "I'm sorry. I should've been satisfied just getting to leave the villa. But when I saw you with her... the way you looked at her, the way you treated her..." She lowered her head. "It hurt more than I expected. I couldn't breathe. I lost my footing. I embarrassed you." Her eyes searched his face anxiously. "Did I ruin your anniversary with Miss Hart?"
Luca answered without the slightest hesitation.
"No."
His fingers gently brushed away the tears on her face.
"I'm only worried about you. You don't look well." His voice softened. "I'll have someone drive you back and call in the best specialist. You need to rest."
"I don't want anyone else." She wrapped her arms around him more tightly. "No doctor can help me. You're the only one who can make me feel better." Her voice dropped to a plea. "Please... don't send me away."
Something dark flickered behind Luca's eyes.
"Is that so?" he murmured. "You really think I'm all the medicine you need?"
A faint smile tugged at Celeste's lips.
"Find out."
He let out a quiet laugh before pulling her closer and kissing her.
The air caught in my lungs.
I couldn't move.
Everything in front of me felt horribly unreal.
When he finally drew back, he rested his forehead against hers.
"Feeling any better?"
"A little," she whispered. "But not enough."
Her fingers slowly traced across his chest.
"I think I need a little more."
Luca released a low groan, tightening his hold around her waist.
"Damn," he muttered. "Is this because you're sick..."
He looked into her eyes.
"...or are you trying to torture me on purpose?"
She smiled against his ear.
"Maybe both."
The next instant, whatever restraint he'd been holding onto disappeared.
He pushed her gently back against the conference table.
I flinched.
The room blurred.
A memory crashed into me.
Four years ago.
The same woman had stood naked on Luca's office desk, desperately begging him.
"Please... just once..."
Back then, he'd never even looked at her.
"Get this filth out of my office."
Then he'd wrapped an arm around me, covering my eyes.
"Don't look," he'd whispered. "It's disgusting."
He'd kissed my forehead.
"The only woman I'll ever touch is you."
I had believed him.
With everything I had.
Now...
He was touching Celeste with a tenderness I'd once thought belonged only to me.
There was no disgust in his eyes.
Only affection.
I couldn't bear another second.
Turning away, I stumbled out of the room, my knees trembling so violently that I nearly collapsed.
...
By the time Luca returned downstairs, he acted as though nothing had happened.
As though he hadn't shattered my heart only minutes earlier.
He walked straight toward me carrying a gift box.
"Camille."
A small smile crossed his face as he placed it into my hands.
"This hotel belongs to you now."
I stared at him blankly.
"What?"
"The ownership documents are inside." He spoke as casually as if he were talking about the weather. "I figured tonight deserved a memorable gift."
A hotel worth billions.
Given away without a second thought.
Around us, people quietly gasped.
Their eyes filled with envy.
To them, I was the luckiest woman alive.
None of them knew the truth.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Celeste.
She descended the staircase wearing the waitress uniform again, her face hidden behind the same mask.
No one recognized her.
I did.
Even without seeing her expression, I could tell she wasn't pleased.
Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides.
...
A little while later, Celeste returned to serving guests as though nothing unusual had happened.
She carefully arranged champagne glasses into a towering display, stretching onto her tiptoes to place the top row.
Everything seemed perfectly ordinary.
Until it wasn't.
Suddenly, she slipped.
At least...
It looked that way.
Her ankle twisted awkwardly.
She grabbed at the tablecloth for balance.
The entire champagne tower collapsed.
Glass exploded across the ballroom with a deafening crash.
Fragments scattered in every direction.
Gasps echoed throughout the room.
Luca reacted instantly.
He ran.
Not toward me.
Toward Celeste.
Without hesitation, he pulled her against his chest, shielding her completely with his own body as though she were the only person who mattered.
I'd already stepped away from most of the falling glass.
Then Luca collided with me.
Hard.
The impact threw me backward.
I hit the floor headfirst.
For a moment, everything went white.
Then warmth trickled down my temple.
Blood.
Sharp shards bit into my skin.
One cut.
Then another.
Each one burned like fire.
Pain spread through my entire body until I couldn't even find the strength to scream.
The room faded in and out of focus.
Strangely...
I smiled.
Now I understood.
I'd spent years convincing myself he loved both of us.
Maybe not equally...
But enough.
I was wrong.
When the moment came to choose...
He already had.
...
When I opened my eyes again, harsh hospital lights greeted me.
My head pounded.
"Camille..."
Luca sat beside the bed, his expression heavy with guilt.
"I was trying to protect you."
He lowered his gaze.
"I panicked. I grabbed the wrong person."
The wrong person.
He repeatedly kissed my hand as though that simple gesture could erase what had happened.
As though affection could undo betrayal.
I felt nothing.
Looking straight at him, I asked quietly,
"What happened to the waitress?"
I knew perfectly well her fall hadn't been accidental.
Luca hesitated only briefly.
"She was careless."
His voice remained indifferent.
"I've already had her blacklisted. No hotel will hire her again."
I blinked.
Then I laughed.
Again.
It hurt.
Every laugh felt like another crack spreading through my chest.
Celeste wasn't even a waitress.
How was that supposed to be punishment?
It was like forbidding a fish from flying.
Meaningless.
Completely absurd.
Luca mistook my laughter for relief.
His shoulders relaxed.
Thinking everything was fine again, he stayed beside me for the rest of the day.
He personally checked my IV.
Adjusted the drip.
Changed my bandages himself with gentle, practiced hands.
Later, he peeled a lychee and held it toward me.
"Here."
I quietly ate it.
Without saying a word, he extended his hand afterward, waiting for me to spit the seed into his palm like I'd done countless times before.
Passing nurses glanced at us with obvious envy.
If only they knew.
Then his phone rang.
That familiar ringtone.
He froze.
Only for a heartbeat.
Then he stood.
"I need to stop by the company," he said calmly. "I'll be back soon. Don't wait for me."
I simply nodded.
What else was there to say?
The moment he disappeared from sight, I activated the receiver hidden inside the ring.
Only then did I understand.
Celeste was staying in the same hospital.
But unlike me...
She wasn't injured.
She'd suffered nothing more than a tiny scratch.
It had already healed.
Instead of tending to wounds...
Luca was with her.
"Don't move."
His voice drifted through the receiver, lower than before.
"You'll only make things harder."
I froze.
I didn't want to hear another word.
Didn't want to imagine what was happening.
Yet somehow...
I couldn't bring myself to turn it off.
"Sweetheart..." Celeste whispered, her voice fragile. "If you keep locking me away, I'm going to lose my mind."
She drew a shaky breath.
"I can't stay in that villa forever. Every day feels like I'm suffocating."
Her voice cracked.
"Please... don't send me back."
"I want to go outside."
"I want people to see me."
"I want to stand beside you..."
She hesitated.
"...even if she's there."
My fingers tightened painfully around the ring.
"I want to be close to you..."
Her voice grew even quieter.
"...even in front of her."
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I couldn't listen anymore.
"Be careful what you're asking for."
Luca's voice was calm.
Dangerously calm.
The sounds that followed told me everything I needed to know.
I reached down and switched the receiver off.
My hand wouldn't stop shaking.
Inside my chest...
There was nothing left.
When everything finally fell silent, I remembered the last thing Luca had said.
"Okay."
Three days later, I was discharged from the hospital.
