Free Web NovelChapter 151: To make sure you’re safe
Sara set the tablet down on the polished conference table, leaning back in her leather chair as a quiet sigh of relief escaped her lips.
"I’m glad the meeting with Mr. Zarino went so smoothly," she said, a genuine smile softening her features. "I still remember spotting him at that business gala a year ago, surrounded by people, looking every bit the untouchable legend. His name alone felt too big for me to even dream of introducing myself."
Luca, standing near the window with his hands in his pockets, turned to her with a warm, proud glint in his eyes. He crossed the room in a few relaxed strides and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, giving it an encouraging pat.
"Well, now you’ve not only met him, you left him impressed," he said fondly. "The way you walked him through that initial draft, he couldn’t take his eyes off the projections. So be proud of yourself, Sara."
She felt the warmth of his palm through her blazer. A smile tugged at her lips as she glanced up at him.
Luca lifted his wrist to check the watch. "It’s already noon," he said lightly. "We should head out for lunch. You’ve more than earned a proper break."
Sara shook her head, gathering her notes into a neat stack. "Not yet. I still need to finish the discussion with Joseph."
Luca arched a brow, a playful protest forming. "He can wait another twenty minutes."
"That would be unprofessional," she countered. "I promised him we’d go over his proposal in detail the moment this meeting wrapped up." She stood, smoothing down her trousers, and met his gaze with determination. "We’ve got plenty of time for lunch after. And I’m counting on you to wait for me."
The last words came with a soft, knowing smile, the kind that always made Luca’s resolve waver just a little. Before he could stop her, she already had walked out.
Luca exhaled slowly. He turned to gather the scattered presentation folders when the door opened again.
Fabio stepped in, tablet in hand, mouth already parting to deliver whatever update he’d come for.
"Why wasn’t I informed that Joseph sent a proposal to Sara?" Luca asked before Fabio could get a word out.
Fabio blinked, caught off guard. "Who?"
"Joseph Montes," Luca clarified, eyes narrowing slightly as he leaned against the edge of the conference table.
Fabio’s brow creased in genuine confusion. "What? I didn’t know about this. No one flagged it to me." He tapped quickly at his tablet, already pulling up schedules and inbox filters. "I’ll dig into it right away and find out how it slipped through and who routed it directly to her."
Luca lifted a hand, stopping him mid-motion. "That won’t be necessary now. Joseph is already here. He and Sara are meeting as we speak."
Fabio froze and asked with a stutter, "He-he’s here? In the building?"
"Yes."
"But Boss," he ventured carefully, "why don’t you want Sara meeting Joseph? One day she’ll find out she has a half-brother. It’s not as if the truth will destroy her. She’s stronger than that."
Luca arched a single eyebrow. He pushed away from the conference table.
"Seriously, Fabio? You think Sara will just... Shrug this off?" Luca exhaled slowly as he took a brief pause.
"Her mother walked out when she was a child. She didn’t look back once, not until she needed something from Sara recently. And in all that time, she built a new life, had a son... raised him, loved him, kept him close in a way she never did with Sara. That woman chose Joseph over Sara every single day."
He let out a slow breath, running a hand through his hair.
"Sara will smile through it, of course. She’ll be polite, gracious, curious even. But inside? It’ll hurt her, Fabio. It’ll reopen every wound she’s spent years convincing herself had healed. The abandonment, the feeling she wasn’t enough... all of it." ƒreewebɳovel.com
Luca glanced toward the door Sara had disappeared through moments ago.
"I’ve already warned Joseph to stay away," he said. "Told him exactly what this would do to her. But he’s persistent. So we’ll see what he chooses. And I can’t lie to her, not when she looks at me with those eyes. I don’t want her to get hurt, that’s why I was making a little effort to keep this truth hidden for better."
Sara stood frozen just outside the boardroom door, her hand still resting lightly on the metal handle. She had paused to take her phone which she forgot when Luca’s low, protective voice drifted through the narrow gap that had left ajar.
And now the words hit her like individual shards of glass.
The warm smile she’d been carrying since the meeting vanished in an instant. Her fingers trembled against the handle; she pulled them back as if it had burned her. She felt betrayed.
She took one unsteady step backward, then another, before turning and hurrying toward the private elevator that led to the executive lounge on the top floor.
Inside the elevator as the doors slid shut, Sara caught sight of her reflection. Her eyes were already glassy, and she immediately looked away. She brought her hand to her mouth, biting down on her thumbnail.
’Why does everyone who’s supposed to love me decide I’m not worth the truth?’
"No," she whispered to the empty air. "My mother was never close to me. She was never even... Mine."
A single tear slipped free down her cheek. She dashed it away angrily as the elevator chimed, announcing the top floor.
The doors parted, and Sara stepped out.
Joseph was there, standing near the panoramic view, phone to his ear. He glanced over and saw her; his expression brightened for a split second before something in her face made him pause. He ended the call quickly.
"I’ll call you back later," he said into the phone, then slipped it into his pocket. "Oh, you’re back."
Sara stopped a few paces away, forcing her voice to stay steady even as her pulse thundered in her ears.
"What’s your full name?" she asked, the question coming out sharper than she intended.
Joseph blinked, clearly surprised. "I... realized I didn’t attach it to the proposal, didn’t I?" He offered a polite, slightly sheepish smile. "I prefer not to use the family name in professional settings. There’s no rule saying I have to, right?"
He hadn’t the faintest idea she already knew. He thought it was simple curiosity, maybe even cautious business practice.
Sara swallowed hard, the ache in her chest sharpening. Joseph was her Half-brother. The words Luca had used still echoed in her ears. She wanted to demand answers from Joseph for his reason to approach her. But not here, not in the open lounge where anyone might walk in.
"So," Joseph continued gently, "shall we head back to your office, Mrs. De Augustino? I’d love to go over the details whenever you’re ready."
Sara’s throat tightened. She didn’t want to be in the same room with him. She didn’t want to hear his calm, kind voice or see the hopeful light in his eyes—eyes that might, if she let herself look closely enough, hold echoes of her own.
But she refused to unravel in public.
She nodded once. "Yes," she said. "Let’s go to my office." With that, Sara sharply turned and went to her personal office space while Joseph followed her.
Sara reached her office first. She walked straight to her desk, gripping the edge of the polished wood as if to anchor herself. Joseph followed a few steps in, launching smoothly into his prepared pitch about the proposal.
"Why did you come to see me?" Sara’s voice cut across his words.
Joseph faltered mid-sentence. He realized Sara knew who he was.
He’d been so sure Luca would keep the secret, shield her the way he clearly wanted to. Joseph’s hands curled into fists at his sides.
Sara turned slowly to face him fully.
"What do you both want from me?" she asked.
Joseph opened his mouth, desperate to explain. "Sara, I—I didn’t know about you until—"
"Don’t lie to me." Her voice cracked on the last word, and she blinked hard as tears welled up in her eyes but refusing to fall. "You both want to ruin my life. She left me years ago, and never looked back until she needed something. And now..." She drew a shaky breath, staring at him as if searching his face for traces of the mother who’d abandoned her. "Now her son is standing right in front of me."
Joseph’s fists unclenched. Every careful speech he’d prepared dissolved. All that remained was the sight of his half-sister, who was on the verge of crying. And just like his pain and even more, Sara suffered in the end because of their mother.
"Sara," he said softly, voice thick, "I didn’t come here to hurt you. I swear. I just... I just wanted to meet you. To know you and to make sure you are safe."
