Luca refused to let me walk even after I was discharged. He carried me from the hospital to the car, then all the way into the villa before carefully lowering me onto the sofa as though I might break if he handled me too roughly.
"You're still healing," he said gently. "Don't push yourself yet. I don't want you wearing yourself out."
His voice was filled with warmth.
With concern.
With the kind of tenderness that would have fooled anyone.
Then I saw Celeste.
She stood quietly among the servants, dressed in a maid's uniform as though she had always belonged in this house.
My chest tightened painfully.
I looked at Luca, struggling to process what I was seeing.
Celeste had begged him to let her leave the villa.
This...
This was his answer?
He had brought her here.
"Camille, listen to me." Luca drew me into his arms again, holding me close as though he feared I might disappear. Although his voice remained gentle, there was unmistakable determination beneath it. "If she'd been sent to prison back then, she would've finished her sentence by now. Four years isn't enough for what she did."
He lifted my chin until I met his eyes.
"So I brought her here instead. From now on, she'll serve you every day. Let her spend the rest of her time making amends."
My stomach twisted.
He genuinely believed this made sense.
"I even consulted a psychologist," he continued. "You've been carrying too much emotional weight lately. They said confronting the source of your trauma instead of avoiding it might actually help you recover."
His thumb brushed lightly across my cheek.
"Trust me, Camille. Everything I'm doing... I'm doing because I love you."
Love.
The word slipped from his lips so naturally.
What hurt most was that he looked completely sincere.
It was the same expression he had worn seven years ago when he knelt before me and vowed that I would never suffer again.
Now he was the one tearing me apart.
Day after day.
What he was doing felt no different than rubbing salt into a wound that had never healed.
I thought I would lose control.
I thought I'd scream at him.
Tell him to get Celeste out of my house.
Fight him.
Instead...
I felt nothing.
It was as though every emotion had already been drained from me.
"Alright," I answered quietly. "I'll do things your way."
At that point, it wouldn't have mattered if he had made Celeste the mistress of the villa.
I was leaving soon anyway.
None of this would be my problem much longer.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Celeste played her role perfectly, quietly cleaning the house, serving meals, and keeping her head lowered whenever anyone looked her way. Luca barely acknowledged her existence. He spent the entire day beside me, behaving as though she weren't even in the room.
That evening, he handed me a glass of warm milk.
"Drink this before bed," he said with a gentle smile. "It'll help you sleep, and your body still needs the rest."
I accepted it without argument.
The moment he turned his back, I quietly emptied the glass into the sink.
Something about it made me uneasy.
When I returned, I pretended I had finished every drop.
Later that night, I lay motionless beneath the blankets with my eyes closed, keeping my breathing slow and steady while I waited.
Just as I'd expected, Luca leaned over and kissed my forehead.
"Sleep well," he whispered.
A moment later, he quietly left the room, and the bedroom door clicked softly shut behind him.
Only a few seconds passed before I heard another voice.
"Honey..." Celeste sounded nervous, though excitement lingered beneath her words. "Are you sure this is alright? Doing this while she's here?"
Luca laughed under his breath.
"You're thinking too much," he replied. "Have I ever broken a promise I made to you?"
My eyelashes fluttered.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Through the glass doors leading to the terrace, I could see them clearly.
They were only a few steps away.
Luca had Celeste pressed gently against the wall, his body close to hers as he lowered his head to kiss her with slow, patient affection, as though time itself had stopped.
It was as if I had disappeared.
My fingers curled tightly into my palms until my nails dug into my skin.
The pain was still there.
But it wasn't as unbearable as it had been before.
Somewhere along the way, I'd stopped believing he deserved my tears.
The following morning, Luca left early for the office while I stayed in my room, focusing on my medical designs. I had no desire to cross paths with Celeste, so the maids simply brought my meals upstairs. Breakfast came and went. Then lunch. The house remained quiet, and for several peaceful hours I was left alone.
That peace lasted until evening.
A knock sounded at my bedroom door.
When I opened it, Celeste was standing there holding a serving tray.
Her posture was perfectly straight, her chin slightly raised, and there was something ugly hidden behind the smile in her eyes.
"Camille," she greeted pleasantly. "I saw you outside the conference room that day."
My fingers tightened around the doorknob.
"I never imagined someone like you would end up this pathetic," she continued with a faint smile. "You used to be so proud. Then you lost one hand... and gave up everything you'd worked for. Tell me, how does it feel living like this?"
Disgust rolled through my stomach.
She stepped closer.
"But I suppose you didn't have much of a choice," she said almost sympathetically. "You're useless now. You can't stand on your own anymore. Without Luca, you wouldn't survive, so naturally you don't have the courage to fight for him."
Looking at her made my skin crawl.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" I asked evenly.
Her smile widened.
"I'm saying that no matter how long you hide behind your pride, you'll never keep him." She looked directly into my eyes. "Little by little, I'll take your place until there's nowhere left for you to stand."
Then she smiled with quiet satisfaction.
"Luca is mine."
My hand instinctively curled into a fist.
For a split second, I wanted to slap her across the face.
Instead, I forced myself to relax.
She wasn't worth dirtying my hands over.
There were far better ways to win.
I took a step backward, intending to shut the door.
Then I heard approaching footsteps.
The moment Celeste heard them, her entire expression transformed. The smug smile vanished instantly, replaced by wide, tear-filled eyes. Without warning, she threw herself backward. The serving tray flew from her hands, sending rice and soup splashing across her uniform.
She lifted her already reddened hand, allowing it to tremble dramatically.
"Miss Hart..." she whispered through tears. "I know you're still angry with me. If pushing me made you feel better... then I'll accept it."
Another tear rolled down her cheek.
"If you want to do it again... I won't complain."
Revulsion washed over me.
"I never touched you," I replied calmly. "You staged this yourself."
She cried even harder.
"If saying that helps you..." she sniffled, "...then I'll tell everyone I simply fell."
Luca was standing behind her.
For the briefest moment, I saw genuine pain flash across his face.
Not because of me.
Because of her.
My stomach sank.
A shadow crossed his expression before he looked at me, almost forcing himself to believe my innocence.
"Camille," he said slowly, "I trust you."
He turned toward Celeste.
"If the two of you can't live under the same roof, then she'll leave."
Celeste stared at him in disbelief.
"...What?"
Luca's voice turned ice-cold.
"Didn't you hear me?"
"Pack your things."
"You're leaving."
She bit her lip as tears welled in her eyes.
"O-Okay..."
"I'll go."
"Good."
The harshness disappeared from Luca's face the moment he looked back at me.
"Don't let someone like her ruin your mood," he said gently. "I came home early because I wanted to spend time with you. Let's go out for a while. I'll take you somewhere nice."
He took my hand and led me into the dressing room as though Celeste hadn't just put on a performance worthy of an award. He carefully chose a dress for me, matched it with jewelry, and studied each piece with complete concentration, making it seem as though I was still the center of his world.
"Get changed," he said. "I'll take care of her first."
As soon as he left the room, I activated the receiver hidden inside the ring.
His voice came through immediately.
It was gentle again.
Soft.
"Honey... I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said quietly. "Seeing her treat you like that made me so angry."
I clenched my jaw.
"But everything went according to plan," he continued. "She agreed when I said I'd send you away, which means you're finally free."
Celeste sounded confused.
"...What do you mean?"
"For now, go back to the villa," Luca explained. "After that, you can go wherever you want. You're not a prisoner anymore. Just send me a message when you arrive so I'll know you're safe."
Her voice trembled with emotion.
"You're... so good to me."
Luca let out a quiet laugh.
"You're my wife," he said without hesitation. "If I don't look after my own wife, then who else is supposed to?"
I switched off the receiver.
By then, both of my hands had gone ice cold.
