He Let Me Bleed So I Let Him Go Chapter 20
The sun was bright.
Luca hadn’t gone to the harbor. Instead, he drove Elena to Santa Monica Beach in an olive-green Jeep.
They sat at a restaurant overlooking the water.
In front of Elena was a cup of black tea. The silver spoon chimed softly against the porcelain.
Finally, she broke the silence.
“Luca.”
“Mm?”
“What exactly do you want from me?”
Luca’s hand paused on his coffee cup.
Elena met his gaze.
“I have no reason to keep accepting all of this. I don’t like owing debts I can’t even measure.”
Luca didn’t answer right away.
He took a slow sip of coffee, then set the cup down.
“Whether you accept is your choice. Whether I offer is mine. It’s that simple.”
Elena gave a faint, wry smile and leaned back in her chair.
“You’re not in love with me, are you?”
The moment she said it, the smile faded.
“I’ve been married. I terminated a pregnancy. In the De Luca family, they’d say I failed to protect their heir and forfeited my right to be the Don’s wife. A lot of people would say I come with too much baggage.”
Luca’s gaze darkened slightly.
“That’s their reason for losing you, not a reason for you to look down on yourself.”
“A woman doesn’t need to stake her profession, her dignity, and her future on one man.”
“He wasn’t worth it. So why are you still punishing yourself with his judgment?”
Elena said nothing.