Chapter 25
Luciana’s first instinct was to say no. She scrambled for an excuse. “Uh, no need. I’ve got a shift at the restaurant later. It’s not on your way.” Thiago narrowed his eyes, a dark storm brewing behind them. Without a word, he grabbed her sketch bag off the chair and slung it over his own shoulder, looking at her with a half–smirk. “Come with me, or your art supplies are staying with me.”
Biting her lip, Luciana glanced at Alicia, who looked completely stunned. She then reluctantly followed Thiago out of the luxury high–rise.
The two walked through the complex in silence. It was late summer, and the sycamore trees lining the sidewalks still had their thick canopy of green. Streetlights filtered through the leaves in wide, golden patches, casting a dizzying glow on the pavement.
Luciana trailed behind his tall figure, and for a second, it was like déjà vu–she saw flashes of that boy from their senior year of high school. The one in the crisp white uniform shirt, always walking like he owned the world.
Suddenly, Thiago turned around. Under the messy bangs of his hair, those flirtatious eyes of his were unusually soft.
“Luciana, I know you got fired from that restaurant.”
She froze, Her lashes cast faint shadows beneath her eyes, her expression making her look small and vulnerable.
“How do you know that?”
Wait… Had she somehow offended him? Was he the reason she got fired?
Thiago stepped closer and bent slightly at the waist, bringing his sharp and handsome face inches from hers. His voice was unusually serious. ” Doesn’t matter how I know. Just don’t run your mouth in front of me again. It pisses me off.”
Luciana looked up, her eyes glassy and welled with tears.
She didn’t dare argue. She didn’t even have the right to. But she had no idea what she had done to provoke him. She had been trying to stay away from him.
Was this still about that ridiculous crush she’d had on him in high school?
Seeing the growing look of hurt on Luciana’s face, Thiago instantly knew–this little overthinker was spiraling again.
He almost laughed. She was too easy to read.
Thiago reached out and gave her hair a rough tousle, turning her smooth, neatly brushed strands into a mess in seconds.
“Dummy, the restaurant manager is gonna call you tonight. You’ll be back at work tomorrow.”
The way he said “dummy“—soft and doting—made Luciana snap her head up. Her wide eyes blinked up at him, a few stray strands of hair brushing the tip of her nose. She looked so lost and adorable that it made him want to mess with her even more.
“What? I can go back to work? I thought you were the one who got me fired?”
Thiago raised an eyebrow. “Luciana, what kind of grudge would I even have against you to do that?”
Luciana tilted her head, thinking. Okay, maybe there was no grudge, but he could’ve held onto how she had annoyed him back in school… There were also those 98 burritos…
She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Thiago reached out and yanked her straight into his arms.
Luciana panicked, nearly yelping, but he quickly pressed a hand over her mouth. “Shhh.”
Her wide, panicked eyes shifted toward the direction he was looking–and then, she froze.
Just a few feet away, Wendy had her arms wrapped around Nigel’s waist. She rested her chin on his chest as she whined softly, “Nigel, I really, really like you. Are you sure you’re not staying over tonight?”
Nigel had one hand cradling the back of her head as he replied gently, “Not tonight. I have stuff to handle. Next time, alright?”
Wendy murmured something under her breath, then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. He didn’t stop her. The two of them melted into each other by the flowerbed, their kiss growing deeper by the second.
Luciana could only stand there, stunned. Her mind instantly flashed to that afternoon–Vivian sitting on the dorm bed in tears, saying she wanted to give her first time to Nigel
Up until now, Luciana had always thought of Nigel as perfect–smart, kind, and principled. He was the kind of man who took responsibility. He was, in her mind, the ideal guy.
But this–this was like a bolt of lightning on a clear day. It shattered everything she thought she knew and flipped her entire worldview upside down
