Sara looked out of the car as it slowly stopped at the narrow, unpaved trail that led the path to the cliff of Costa Brava. A cheerful smile formed on her lips as she ended up seeing the seagulls circling over the blue surface of the water.
"Let’s get down," Luca said as he got out from his side. Sara, too, stepped out, and the cool Mediterranean sea wind immediately brushed past her. The wind tousled their hair as they began walking on the rocky path.
"So, this is your secret place," Sara said, walking carefully, her attention split between the stony path and the stunning drop-off to her right. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ears before tilting her head to look at him.
"Yeah. The cliffside of Costa Brava," he replied, his gaze fixed on the ascent.
"This place is quite far from the city," she pointed out.
"Hmm. But it’s one of the few silent places I prefer whenever I have to make crucial decisions regarding my life," he affirmed, finally glancing at her. "Like seven years ago, I stood right here and made the decision to take control of what was rightfully mine from the beginning."
"You mean the inheritance? But I always thought your grandfather left everything securely in your name," Sara inquired, confused by his tone.
"He did," Luca confirmed, his voice becoming sharper. "But the legal formalities and family greed was tied up in it. My uncles and aunts, they were circling like vultures, wanting the maximum shares, trying to claim assets my grandfather never intended for them." He shook his head grimly.
"You won’t believe that my own parents even agreed to their demands because they felt they ’had enough.’ And, yes, my mother comes from a powerful family since she was their only daughter, so her substantial family business was also meant for me. But I didn’t wish to give my opportunistic uncles and aunts anything except the precise stipulations Grandpa had mentioned in his will. I fought them all."
Sara absorbed those words keenly, the pieces of his fragmented past suddenly clicking together. "I... I thought your parents had simply abandoned you," she murmured, lowering her eyes.
Luca stopped walking, turning to face her fully on the narrow trail. The wind whipped past them. "No, Sara," he stated, his eyes holding hers firmly.
"It wasn’t that simple. I was the one who walked away from that house once I was about to turn 18. Ten years ago, my grandfather passed away, and he mentioned in his will that at the age of 21, I should become the heir of the family, carrying his legacy forward. That’s how I decided I wouldn’t stand by and watch them dismantle what my grandfather had built. I didn’t leave because I was thrown out. I left because I refused to be part of their apathy and hatred toward what my grandfather did."
Sara nodded slowly. She realized now that Luca was deeply devoted to his grandfather and his legacy.
"You didn’t step foot into the De Augustino estate after your grandfather passed away, did you?" Sara asked.
Luca’s expression hardened. "I didn’t. I couldn’t walk through those halls where I made a lot of memories with my grandfather. However, seven years ago, I did witness the bloodshed that occurred there."
Then, taking a deep breath, he continued, "Yesterday was the first time in ten years I went inside the mansion... because you asked me to."
Sara stepped closer. "Luca, I don’t think your parents were necessarily wrong in principle. The Mafia world is full of suffering and endless risk. Maybe they simply wanted a quieter life for you, away from the violence and the constant looking over your shoulder."
Luca let out a chuckle. "They weren’t looking for silence, Sara. They were looking for an easy life. They had the chance to protect something honorable and instead chose to compromise for comfort."
"Well, that’s better than seeing bloodshed. I would never want my kids to be involved in something so dangerous," Sara asserted.
Luca smiled at her words that briefly softened the sharp edges of his face. "I won’t let you fall into danger ever, nor will I allow it for our kids. That is a line I won’t cross. Whatever battle I have to fight to keep you out of that world’s reach, I will win it."
"Our kids?" Sara arched her brows, a skeptical frown replacing her smile. She took a step back. "I—I plan to leave you after a year. The contract will end then," she asserted.
"I won’t let you leave me," Luca stated. It was a promise laced with pure determination.
"Don’t be delusional. You know what I do once I make up my mind," Sara reminded him. She looked out at the vast, indifferent sea, then turned back to him, allowing a casual comment to slip out, testing the waters. "But if you leave this mafia-related stuff, then I may consider living with you."
Luca’s strong posture remained. He didn’t dismiss the possibility outright. He stepped closer.
"You think I could just walk away from everything my grandfather built and what I fought so hard to reclaim?" he asked, not as a challenge, but as a genuine inquiry.
"Well, if you truly want me in your life, then you will," Sara answered, meeting his gaze.
"I am a simple girl when it comes to family. I was an abandoned child by my mother, where all I ever feared was to be left by my father too." She took a deep breath. "And somehow, the mafia world is also kind of that. It’s the constant threat of abandonment by death. What if something happens to you, or to me, and our kids are left behind? I won’t raise my children under that shadow."
"Hey, what are you even thinking?" Luca’s hands instinctively moved to grip hers, his protective instinct flaring.
"The truth which you fail to see," Sara stated, pulling her hands free. "My heart may get weak around you. You were, after all, my first love. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be my last."
Luca’s eyes darkened to hear that.
"Love isn’t enough for me, Luca. Safety is."