The Moon And The Stars

CHAPTER 8

TW: mention of (healed) self-harm scars and depressive thoughts

As I walk out the office door I feel Luca place his hand on my lower back, leading me towards the elevator.

Like the previous night a sudden urge to push him away washes over me and I walk ahead, causing his hand to fall off. I hear him sigh and I close my eyes.

I'm so done with today.

He stands slightly behind me as we wait for the elevator to get to our floor and I suddenly feel a wave of self-consciousness hit me.

What if he sees my tattoo? Shit. I take a step back so I'm standing beside him and he looks down at me. I try to ignore him and stare straight ahead.

The elevator dings and the door opens. I step in and lean against the back, and Luca comes to stand beside me.

I hear my phone go off and I see my Father's messaged me.

Papa

Papa: Here are the addresses for the penthouses mon chére ❤️
Papa: *see 5 attachments*

I open the links and am met by his breathtaking houses. I smile to myself at the thought of staying in one, even under these weird circumstances.

"They look nice," Luca observes, looking over my shoulder.

I hum in response.

"Don't do that to me Adelyn," he says softly, almost begging me.

I shake my head.

I'm so exhausted.

"Please Adelyn," he whispers. "Please don't ignore me, we were so good before,"

I'm so drained.

"Luca I can't do this today," I say, my voice barely audible.

Every time I think back to what he said to me, how he said it, I feel sick. My stomach drops and I feel like crying again. The thought of how quickly his tone changed when I tried to walk away. I can't be stuck in a marriage like that. He doesn't understand. He's just a man. A simple man who like all men, will never understand what that feels like.

The elevator comes to a halt and we both step out. We're met by a foyer bustling with people, and I feel my stomach drop again.

There's so many people.

They're so loud.

They're everywhere.

Why are there so many people here?

I feel my breathing get more rapid and Luca wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. "It's ok, I've got you," he says quietly, his voice calm as he leads me outside to where his car is parked.

He opens the passenger side door for me and I get in. Once seated he reaches past me and puts my seatbelt on for me. "I can do that myself," I say, my tone confused.

He smiles at me, "I know." He closes the door and walks around to the drivers side.

"Can you give me the addresses?" he asks, connecting his phone to bluetooth. "Actually just give me your number and you can message them to me," he says decidedly.