"I don’t have any hacker friend. I lied," Sara confessed, her expression serious despite the relief in Luca’s eyes.
"What?" Luca exclaid, his tension imdiately dissolving. He chuckled, pulling her closer. "You made jealous over an imaginary guy? That was cruel, Sara."
"Your parents fear that you’ll be hurt if you continue to investigate this yourself," Sara asserted, getting back to the real point of her deception. "That’s why they want the police to keep doing the investigation. You should listen to them this ti, Luca. You’re still recovering."
"They worry for for no reason," Luca stated, sounding annoyed by his parents’ overprotective concern.
"No, they don’t. They are your parents, Luca," Sara asserted gently but firmly. "Let’s go to our room." He nodded and the two went to their bedroom.
"I know," Luca affird, a flicker of exasperation crossing his face as they finally stepped into their bedroom. "That’s why I am tolerable to them sotis, but not right now."
"Luca, then you have to prove to them that your work isn’t wrong or needlessly dangerous," Sara insisted, trying to appeal to his better nature. "I know your parents weren’t as present in your initial years of childhood and even your teenage days, but they are here now and they love you. Didn’t you see the deep worry and fear on your parents’ faces earlier, especially after the police left?" she asked, hoping the emotional appeal would finally make him listen.
Luca remained indifferent to Sara’s plea, looking away as if he wasn’t even listening to what she was saying about his parents.
Before she could speak further, her phone buzzed. She looked at the coffee table and checked the caller ID.
"Grandma?" She murmured, concern imdiately replacing her frustration with Luca, and answered the call, worried if the older woman was alright.
"Sara, your father has filed for a divorce with Marcella," Katherine said imdiately from the other side, not even letting Sara greet her first.
"What? Why?" She exclaid in shock, sitting upright.
"I don’t know, but Adam was quite angry when he told . And he’s hurt, too," Katherine said, sounding distressed.
Sara recalled the cryptic conversation from the morning with her father, where he ntioned how he felt he was betrayed in love. Maybe this ti, he felt another betrayal from Marcella.
"Grandma, it’s their personal matter," Sara stated, creating a clear boundary and avoiding the expected drama. "I don’t think I will co ho. And if I co, Marcella will only bla for this. Since you’ve called, though, I wanted to ask you sothing: why didn’t you tell that my mother ca ho last night? You called Luca, but you didn’t talk to . Did you tell him about my mother?"
She gazed pointedly at Luca, who looked confused and furrowed his brows together, clearly not having been told this specific detail.
"Yes, I told him, thinking it would trouble you too much to hear from directly. I wanted Luca to share it with you gently in the morning," Katherine admitted from the other side. "But I guess, Adam ca there before Luca could even tell you."
"Grandma, you should have told yourself," Sara said, her voice laced with disappointnt. "It was about my mother, after all."
"I’m sorry, dear," Katherine stated in a genuinely apologetic tone. "I truly thought a lot happened with you yesterday, and I didn’t want you to get more stressed."
"Dad didn’t tell much about my mother’s visit either. What do you think she has returned for?" Sara inquired, trying to piece together the sudden appearance and the subsequent divorce filing.
"Her motive wasn’t clear at all," Katherine admitted, her voice dropping. "But the feeling she gave was very ominous."
Sara could clearly feel the anxiety in her grandmother’s voice.
"I don’t want you to ever return to that woman, Sara," Katherine stated firmly with a protectiveness. "Sara, she might have given birth to you, but she doesn’t love you. And the way she spoke yesterday confird it all. I know I am sounding selfish, but I don’t want you to get hurt by her again."
"I won’t, Grandma. Don’t worry about ," Sara assured her quickly. "I hope Dad copes with all the ongoing tension he’s facing," she added, pitying her father’s renewed emotional distress.
"Hmm. I’ll go and check on Adam again now. Hopefully, he opens the door this ti. Also, how is Luca? Is he doing well?"
Sara turned to gaze at Luca, who was resting on the outdoor chair, holding his phone and typing sothing on it, still seemingly indifferent to her conversation.
"Yes. Just his arm still needs rest," Sara stated.
"May his arm heal soon. Marcella and Frida will be gone and leave this house by the evening. Co here, okay, dear? Don’t forget this was always your true ho," Katherine softly said, her voice filled with love before hanging up.
Sara looked at the screen of her phone for a mont before lowering it and sitting heavily on the chair.
"What happened?" Luca asked imdiately, setting his phone on the coffee table and turning his full attention to her. "And I’m truly sorry for not telling you about your mother last night. I promised your grandmother not to trouble you with the news of her return."
"I am unable to process my life these days," Sara began, bringing her hands to her face before clasping them together, overwheld. "So much happened in such a short ti. My dad is getting divorced from Marcella."
"That’s wonderful!" Luca said without hesitation. "He should have done it many years ago. She was never right for him."
"He loved Marcella, Luca," Sara countered, her voice low. "You heard him this morning, talking about betrayal in love. When my mom left him, he was all alone with just . Maybe I constantly reminded him of his ex-wife, which is why he sought Marcella’s company for so long."
"Whatever it was, your father did ruin your childhood too for his own happiness," Luca stated, clearly showing he felt no emotional bond or sympathy toward his father-in-law.
"Maybe because I’m a woman," Sara said thoughtfully. "We feel more emotions than a man can."
"No," Luca stated. "You get too emotional for everyone, Sara, even for those who have consistently hurt you."
"Yeah," Sara remarked, a sudden sharpness in her voice. "You also hurt once." She watched his face contort with a strange expression, a mix of pain and imdiate regret, at the undeniable truth of her statent.
"Shall we go out tonight for dinner?" Sara suddenly suggested to him, a desperate attempt to break the cycle of stress and investigation. "I know we shouldn’t step out yet after everything that happened, but I don’t think any such thing will happen here in Madrid."
"Sure," Luca agreed readily, appreciating the thought. "But I thought you were going to make rest all the ti."
"You won’t be driving the car, of course. Never mind, we will go so other day," Sara muttered, imdiately backtracking. The weight of the unresolved danger settled back on her. "I shouldn’t even think about going out when the culprit hasn’t been found." She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yes, I can’t compromise your safety," Luca agreed, his expression hardening with renewed determination. He felt stepping out wouldn’t be safe until he got any real lead about the culprit.
"Luca, go and talk to your dad now," Sara suddenly urged, gesturing toward the house. "Since yesterday, you’ve been actively avoiding talking to him."
"Alright, I am going," Luca conceded, knowing she was right about his avoidance. He rose to his feet and walked out of the room.
As he descended the stairs, he found Michael was on the couch in the living but his mother could nowhere be seen.
He cleared his throat as he approached the couch where his father was seated. "Dad, are you free?"
"You finally got the ti to talk to ," Michael said, his voice flat, putting a file down on the table. His assistant quickly grabbed it and walked away quietly.
"Because I already know you’re going to lecture ," Luca retorted, crossing his arms.
"You don’t understand the fear of a father," Michael countered, his tone hardening. "You could have been seriously injured, Luca. What if the enemy is yours, soone who knew you’d be protecting her and simply wanted to attack Sara through you? Have you thought that way? Such a blatant attack has never happened before in our lifeti. The situation is serious this ti. That’s why I am begging you. Don’t get involved in that shady profession our ancestors promoted."
"Dad, what if I prove you that nothing will happen to ? Will you stop demanding for sothing I can never give you?" Luca asked. "Why don’t you trust your son once? I can’t give you the answers to your questions but one day I’ll give you every answer you’re seeking from that why I am in this business. Let’s not ruin our relationship by constantly nagging for this."
It seed like a warning for Michael. Luca had decided he would distance himself fully from his parents if they kept pestering him for it.
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