LUCA
I was in my room, the phone pressed to my ear. My assistant in Italy was briefing me — shipments, properties, men who needed to be reminded of their place.
My empire runs even in my absence.
And yet, something was off.
A strange, gnawing premonition was crawling under my skin. An itch I couldn't scratch. It was irritating me. People don't dare to cross me. They know what happens to those who come in my way. They have seen the consequences.
But today, the air felt... different.
The unease made me cruel. I shouted at a worker downstairs without reason. The longer the day passed, the more restless I became. A nameless madness was taking over me, and I didn't know for whom.
If the reason is that woman — that lady_ then I swear on my name, I will not give her an easy death. Woman or man, no one is allowed to mess with Luca Ferrari. No one.
Lost in my own dark thoughts, I didn't hear the door open.
A maidservant had entered without knocking.
I looked at her. And in that moment, the devil in me woke up. The prey had come on its own.
I walked towards her, slow, dangerous, each step echoing like a death knell. Before she could understand, my hand was around her throat, slamming her against the cold wall.
I leaned close, my voice a whisper of venom.
"Do you think I will tolerate it? Do you think it's so easy to reach me? You disrespect me, and now... you will be punished."
I called out, "GABRIELE!"
He came running, breathless. "Yes, boss."
I smirked at the worry in his voice — worry for the girl. Does he think I care? No. She should have known. In my world, my rules are not broken. Ever. My rules are law.
I looked at her, struggling, clawing at my grip to breathe. My smile turned more menacing.
"Take her to the basement," I ordered.
Gabriele nodded and dragged her away.
Dario was still standing in the room like a statue. He finally spoke, his voice low.
"Luca, cosa farai con lei? La torturerai?"
_(Luca, what are you going to do with her? Are you going to torture her?)_
I lit a cigarette, the smoke curling around my face like my sins.
"No, la punirò solo per l'errore che ha fatto."
_(No, I am just going to punish her for the mistake she committed.)_
He sighed. "Mr. Sharma has requested us to attend a meeting with the Rajputana s. He says it's important."
"You mean to say the King of Rajasthan?" I asked, an eyebrow raised.
He nodded and left.
I smirked. A king, huh? Let's see.
---
AADHYA pov ✨
Hayee Shiv ji! HOD ko kya problem hai mere se! Jab dekho mujhe daant-ta rehta hai!
[Oh my god, what is the HOD's problem with me! Whenever he sees me, he just keeps scolding me!"]
Okay, I think now I am overthinking but it's true. We all were working together, but he only noticed _my_ mistake in the poster. It's so unjustified, man. But what can I do?
"Okay people, I know we don't have time to rectify our mistake, so about the poster making — leave it to me and just focus on the other things which need our attention. And yes, please do fast!"
I literally begged them. _Ayyappa, utha lo mujhe is zalim duniya se._
[Ayyappa, take me away from this cruel world."]
I slumped down on the floor, tiredly. That's when I noticed the time.
"Aaj toh pakka job se nikal denge mujhe! Ayyappa bacha lena please. What's wrong with today? Subah se galat ho raha hai. Ab agar job se nikal diya gaya toh kya hoga? Kuch nahi hoga, bas apne career ki band bajegi aur kuch nahi. Hey Prabhu, mere saath hi aisa kyun..."
[Today they will definitely fire me from my job! Please save me, Ayyappa. What's wrong with today? Everything has been going wrong since morning. Now if I am fired from my job, what will happen? Nothing will happen, just my career will be ruined and nothing else. Oh Lord, why does this happen only to me..."]
My subconscious snapped — _Haan, aur agar jaldi nahi gayi na toh pakka job khatam._
[Yeah, and if you don't rush, you're definitely losing the job."]
Me — "Haan haan, taunt mat maar ab tu."
[ Don't taunt me ]
Pata nahi ye mera peecha kab chodegi. Jab dekho tab taunt maarti hai. Pata nahi isko Bhagwan ne help ke liye bheja tha ya phir...
[I don't know when she will finally leave me alone. Whenever you see her, she's taunting me. I don't know if God sent her to help me or...]
~
Shit, shit, it's already five thirty. Come on yaar, you can do this. I said to myself. Now please don't judge me for this — agar aap ko kuch karna hai life mein toh khud ko dilasa dena zaroori hai. And this is what I am doing now. First, I took the responsibility of poster making, and that shopkeeper was not ready to take the order. After lots of requests and paying him triple, he took the order and I hope by tomorrow he completes it, or else jo hoga mere saath kal vo history mein likha jayega.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I bumped into a wall, hitting my head hard. _Ab ye raste ke beech deewar kahan se aayi? Ouch, zor se lagi. Ayyappa, mera sar!_
[Now where did this wall come from in the middle of the road? Ouch, that hurt so bad. Ayyappa, my head!]
While I was talking to myself, I heard a deep, husky voice ask me, "Are you okay?"
With this, I looked up at the man who was already looking at me intensely. If looks could kill, then I was already dead by this gorgeous man standing in front of me.
My subconscious — Ji mar jaana, but he is asking you something, idiot, stop staring at him.
I immediately said "Sorry!" and ran from there. God, how can I be like this? First, I am late. Second, I was staring at a stranger like a creep, and then without saying anything, ran away. No no, I said sorry. Uff, Ayyappa, he must be thinking I am some mad person. I hope I never meet him again. I entered the lift, praying.
~~
Author POV
Near the parking lot, Dario and Gabriele were waiting for Luca.
"Why is he taking eternity to come, man?" Dario muttered.
Having had enough, they both decided to go look for him. But the scenario they saw was not acceptable to their eyes, so they pinched each other and said, "Are you also seeing the same which I am watching?" and again looked at each other, nodding.
The scenario —
After the meeting with the Rajputs, Luca, Gabriele and Dario made their way to the parking lot. But Luca got a call. As it was an important call, he asked them to wait for him in the car and he attended the call, walking towards his left as that side was empty.
Meanwhile, Aadhya was in a hurry to reach her office building. So without looking, lost in her own thoughts, she was walking towards her office hurriedly. Before Dario and Gabriele could stop them from bumping into each other — as they saw them walking inattentively — the deed was already done.
And now they were worried for the girl, as Luca doesn't allow anyone to come near him. But to their surprise, he didn't even shout at her. Instead, he was looking at her softly, as if — if he shouted at her, she would get angry at him. And what shocked them the most was, "he spoke to her softly" — which was completely out of his character.
---
Dario and Gabriele, after coming out of the shock, made their way to Luca. Standing on either side of him, they whispered, "Luca, is she our future sister-in-law?"
And Luca, still lost in her, nodded. Making them smirk at him.
Luca, after a minute, gained his senses and realized what he did. Without looking at them, he started to walk towards the parking lot, but he was blocked by both of them who were giving him a teasing smile.
Before anyone could speak, they heard a loud noise which came from the parking lot, so they immediately went there. But what they saw made the three of them burn in rage.
To be continued...
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