Chapter 29: Gray
Alessia took a step back.
Her heart pounded, not from longing but from disbelief.
Lorenzo was standing right in front of her, looking as alive as ever.
The man she had once loved. The man she believed had died... or tried to kill her.
"Lorenzo..." she breathed, stunned.
His lips spread into a relieved smile, as though just the sight of her revived something inside him. "Alessia. My God. I knew I wasn’t hallucinating. It’s really you..."
He stepped forward, reaching for her, but Alessia tensed, frozen in place.
"I have missed you and we have to leave now, your beast and his men shot me that day, I have been on coma and I’m just recovery. Alessia let’s elope now" he whispered urgently, his voice trembling with suppressed emotion.
"You don’t belong here with that beast. I’ll take you far away. Tonight. Let’s go now—before he finds you."
Alessia blinked, her voice hardening. "No, Lorenzo. I’m married now. And my husband doesn’t tolerate such disrespect."
Lorenzo paused, eyes searching hers. Then, slowly, his fingers found her waist. "You were mine before anyone else. You’re still mine, Alessia."
She jerked away, her breath catching in fury. "What do you think you’re doing? Don’t touch me. I’m married. Stay off me."
"You don’t mean that," he murmured. "Back then... maybe I went too far. But what I did, it was out of love. Out of jealousy. I couldn’t stand watching you walk down the aisle to another man. I wanted to end it all—him and me. And you."
Her eyes widened, pain rippling across her features. "So it’s true. You really tried to kill us both?"
"It was a mistake. I—"
"No, Lorenzo. It was evil." Her voice shook. "You tried to kill me because you couldn’t have me. You didn’t fight for me—you tried to destroy me."
"Because I loved you". He exploded.
"And now you want me to believe this is love?" she hissed. "Even if I wasn’t in love with the man I married, you gave me every reason to be. With him, I found peace. With you? I nearly lost my life."
Lorenzo stared at her, stunned by her steel. Alessia’s eyes, no longer the naive, adoring gaze of a girl but fierce, unbreakable, and laced with disappointment.
She turned and walked away, the chill of her rejection cutting deeper than any blade. But she didn’t see the shadow behind the trees.
Bianca had been there. Watching. Lurking.
She smirked wickedly, snapping photos with practiced fingers. Lorenzo’s hand on Alessia’s waist. The tension in their faces. The closeness. All framed perfectly to twist the truth.
Before Alessia could reach the Morano estate,
Bianca was already dialing Luca’s number.
Luca had just left a meeting when his phone buzzed.
Bianca’s voice came through like poison wrapped in silk. "Luca... I really didn’t want to tell you, but I think you deserve to know.....
Lorenzo is back in town. And your wife—she still can’t resist him."
"They went shopping together.
She laughed, and smiled.
He held her waist... They posed together like a couple. And she... she let him."
Click.
She sent the pictures.
*******
Luca’s eyes darkened as the images loaded on his screen.
There. Alessia, smiling faintly—caught in a still frame that screamed betrayal.
And Lorenzo’s hand on her waist.
His fingers clenched the phone so tightly the glass screen cracked.
A pulse throbbed at his temple.
The air around him seemed to burn, warping with his rage.
His voice dropped an octave. Lower. Darker. Like thunder wrapped in venom.
"Driver let’s go home quickly. Drive the car Now," he yelled.
"Y-yes sir," his assistant stammered.
"Get my guards. All of them and let’s go immediately."
As he stormed through the hallway, a new guard—tall, lean, barely weeks into service—stepped forward. "Boss... is everything alright?"
Luca stopped.
Turned.
And stared straight into the man’s soul.
The poor guard swallowed hard, a bead of sweat trailing down his neck. "I-I’m sorry, sir."
Luca didn’t respond.
He didn’t need to.
His silence was lethal. His eyes—a wildfire set loose.
Moments later, three black cars drove into the Morano estate, moving like shadows under his fury.
Inside the main vehicle, Luca sat in silence, his hand resting on the pistol in his coat pocket.
His phone buzzed again—another image from Bianca.
Alessia. Still smiling.
But now?
Now the smile was a lie he couldn’t forgive.
"Sir," his right-hand man murmured from the front seat. "Should we call for backup?"
"No," Luca said quietly. "I want to handle this myself...... ".The doors of the room slammed open with thunderous force.
Alessia turned from the window at the sudden noise..
Her heart stuttered at the sound of hurried footsteps storming down the hallway.
Then she saw him.
Luca.
His eyes were fire. His jaw clenched so tightly the veins on his neck bulged.
In his hand was his cracked phone, its glass screen shattered, but the image still visible—Lorenzo’s hand on her waist.
"Luca..." she breathed, stepping forward.
But he didn’t stop.
He stormed into the living room, and without a word, he slammed his fist into the crystal flower vase beside the entrance.
It exploded on impact.
Glass flew across the marble floor. Blood streamed from his knuckles, but he didn’t even flinch.
"You think I share my woman?" he growled, his voice low and terrifying. "Tell me, Alessia... where the hell did you go with your lover?"
"Luca..... "
"Don’t " he roared, pointing a bloodied hand at her. "Don’t speak until I’m done".
His breathing was ragged.
His anger, a storm barely held in check.
"I saw the pictures. He held your waist like it still belonged to him.
You smiled like you weren’t mine. Like everything we’ve been through meant nothing!"
"Luca, please let me explain... "
"I don’t want explanations" he shouted. "You still haven’t gotten over him, have you? After everything... after all the nights we shared, the loyalty, the vows, you still let him touch you!"ll
Alessia’s eyes welled with tears. "He came out of nowhere—he was supposed to be dead. I was just as shocked..... "
"Don’t lie to me" he snapped.
"You think I didn’t notice how you froze when I touched you last week? Or how you flinched when I whispered your name? Was your mind already running back to him?"
Alessia staggered backward, stunned.
Luca turned away and pulled out his phone.
"Ben" he barked.
A tall, lean man rushed in—barely in his mid-twenties, newly appointed as Luca’s personal assistant.
"Yes, Boss?"
"Take the guards. Go out there and find Lorenzo. Dead or alive. Do you hear me?"
Matteo blinked, startled. "S-Sir..... "
"If you must, declare war! That bastard touched the mafia’s bride. Make sure he regrets ever waking from that coma."
"Understood." Matteo bowed and left at once, rounding up the guards like a pack of wolves let loose.
Alessia stood in the center of the room, trembling.
"Luca..." she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "Why won’t you listen to me? I have always forgiven you."
He paused at the door, his back still turned.
She took a shaky step forward. "When you walked into another woman’s room and left me outside in the cold... I forgave you. When Bianca accused you and left her panties in your suitcase, I still chose to believe in you. Why can’t you do the same for me?"
Luca’s hand gripped the doorknob.
For a long moment, he didn’t move. His eyes closed.
But he didn’t turn around.
"I despise you right now, Alessia," he said coldly. "And I don’t want to see your face."
Then he walked out, slamming the door behind him with a bang that echoed through her bones.
*****
Thick fog rolled over the silver-capped mountains as dusk began to fall.
Donato stood at the edge of a stone courtyard, his cloak fluttering in the wind. His thoughts were elsewhere—restless, knotted with worry.
A guard approached him, bowing low. "Prince Donato. We’ve traced Enzo’s location. He climbed Mount Veilor this morning. We suspect he was searching for network—he thought no one would notice. But one of our scouts said he overheard him mention... Seraphina."
Donato’s brow furrowed.
"Seraphina?" he repeated.
The guard nodded. "That’s what the scout claims. But... no one knows anyone by that name here."
Donato chuckled darkly. "That’s because Seraphina is the name of someone who was buried years ago. And if Enzo is talking to her... he’s not just hiding something. He’s playing a dangerous game."
He turned, eyes glittering with dangerous curiosity. "Maybe I should ask Enzo why he sneaks off to make secret calls and hides his phone like a man with a double life."
He began to step forward.
But Princess Elowen suddenly blocked his path.
"No," she said gently but firmly. "Donato, don’t confront him yet. If you do, he’ll know we suspect him. He’ll run or cover his tracks. And everything we’ve worked for will be lost."
Donato stared at her, his jaw tense.
"You’re protecting him?"
"No. I’m protecting you. And our plan to expose him properly."
There was a beat of silence.
Then Elowen exhaled, gathering courage. Her voice softened. "Donato... ever since I laid eyes on you, I’ve felt something I have never felt before. I have been trained to hide emotions.
But I can’t hide this anymore."
He looked at her, his face unreadable.
"I love you," she whispered. "Like no other."
The wind howled between them.
For a long time, Donato said nothing. Then, his eyes dropped to the ground.
"My heart..." he said slowly, "...belongs to no one until I find the book. Until I find myself again."
She swallowed hard. "And if you do... and your heart yearns for someone?"
He looked up, a flicker of pain in his gaze. "Then that person will know. But until then... it’s a secret."
Before she could respond, a royal guard ran into the courtyard.
He bowed low, panting. "Prince Donato, the King requests your presence in the high chamber."
Donato raised a brow. "For what?"
The guard smiled.
"The Black Book, sir. It’s time to take it with you "...