Juliette secretly sighed in relief when the interior shade of the room she's going to use was different than that of what she had seen from the house so far. In contrast to black and rust, the room was beige.
It wasn't as glamorous as her room, but the intricate wall designs, the room layout, as well as the luxurious furniture, had her give Luca a secret thumbs-up.
Stepping inside, a small living room greeted them with a furry carpet on the floor, a four-seater leather couch in place, a small table, and a large flat-screen television in front. It's a perfect place to read books and just hang out with herself.
"Pardon the simplicity. I never predicted that Ervings' daughter would come here so soon. But you could always request a change. It's your call."
Juliette glanced at Luca. "Nah," she refused.
She wasn't planning on staying for a long time. So why bother?
They came next to the bedroom, and the room smelled of new sheets and a newly painted room.
She's hoping there was something to complain about so she could have a reason to leave his place, but there was none.
Everything was perfect, as Luca intended it to be.
After Juliette saw every corner of her new room, they proceeded to tour other parts of the penthouse.
She wanted to check Luca's bedroom, so when they skipped it, she felt a bit disappointed.
The humungous penthouse was enough to amaze Juliette, plus, it's the most sought place in the kingdom. At one time, she wanted to own it as well, but someone else already owned it.
And she finally met the owner.
Juliette spotted a grand piano in the living room. She walked near it and brushed her fingers on the keyboard but it didn't make a sound. She gazed at Luca and asked, "Do you play?"
"No," he vehemently denied.
"So what is this? Just an add-on to the looks of the place?"
Luca nodded his head, and Juliette scowled at the thought that he displayed a piano for the looks.
"Come, let me take you somewhere breathtaking," Luca beckoned.
Juliette savagely refused to take Luca's hand and just raised an eyebrow at him in a mean way. Luca, meanwhile, laughed softly, placed his hands back in his pocket, and learned his lesson for the nth time.
They came to the balcony. And surely, it was breathtaking but not in a good way. It almost made Juliette's knees wobble when she realized they're standing on a peeking balcony up on the 100th floor of the Dungeon.
"Does living up here not scare you? You're approximately more than a thousand feet high from the ground," Juliette commented and glanced at Luca.
The pride and satisfaction in Luca's face told Juliette that the former certainly loved living in such a high place.
"Why would I be? I'm standing above everyone."
As Juliette peered at the dizzying gap between her and the almost invisible ground, everything ultimately sunk in.
'He doesn't just own the freaking penthouse. He owns the entire Dungeon! Insane! Is he that rich?' She was still in disbelief.
At last, they stopped the tour in the kitchen. Staff in their uniform were there in the kitchen preparing a meal.
"You have staff in your kitchen," Juliette stated the obvious.
"I don't eat just anything. I make sure I know what I put inside my mouth." Luca shifted his gaze at her. Juliette could already tell he's about to say something nasty.
"But I can eat you."
And she was right.
"Shut up!" she gushed and turned her eyes to the staff.
Juliette was unsure if the staff didn't hear Luca or if they just pretended they didn't hear anything.
"Have a seat, Miss Ervings." Luca motioned her to sit down.
"I will, Mr. Romano," Juliette replied sarcastically, "even if you don't tell me to."
Luca softly chuckled at her sarcasm.
Juliette took off the coat she was wearing and placed it at the back of the chair. Although she tried to wash the blood off of her shoulder during the flight, there were still visible red stains.
After they sat in front of each other, the kitchen staff started serving food on the table. Fine dining on a not-so-fine day wasn't the best meal to enjoy.
Her father was shot, and she was suddenly transported back to Gracia by strangers!
Luca leaned at the back of his chair and gawked at Juliette making her awkward.
Juliette's hair at the back of her neck stood up, and she had goosebumps that quickly went away. She felt discomfort in her stomach.
"I hate how you're looking at me," Juliette told Luca off.
"Why? How am I looking at you?" Luca asked but maintained the same intense and mysterious gaze at Juliette.
Juliette stared back at Luca's eyes that were looking at her in a manner she couldn’t quite understand.
"It's like you're stripping me naked inside your head."
Luca raised his eyebrows at her to tell her she didn't make sense to him.
"Like you're gonna eat me alive," she added.
Juliette earned a full hearty laugh from Luca, but he immediately regained composure and retorted, "I will. If I have a chance to, and if you let me."
"You're not my type," Juliette straight up rejected him.
This made the playful grin on Luca's face fall off. It was his first time hearing that from a woman.
Whenever he wanted a woman, he gets her. All the time.
"What's your type then?"
"Someone handsome."
"I am handsome," Luca claimed confidently.
Juliette stared at him but looked away because there's no way she could disagree on that matter.
"Someone rich," she added.
"I'm rich too."
"A gentleman. Someone loyal. Someone who doesn't flirt."
"Well, I can become loyal if you'd want me to."
Juliette chose to ignore what he said.
"Most importantly, someone who doesn't kidnap a woman in the middle of the street."
Luca took his water goblet and drank from it, then wiped his mouth with the table napkin before responding. As if he suddenly became parched. Or as if he needed that tiny time to think.
"Why frame it as kidnapping? I literally saved your ass from your killer."
"That…"
Juliette found it suspicious how everything fell into place. The assassination of her father and Luca's timing on saving her.
It's like he's perched in the dark, waiting for the tragedy to happen so he could appear as a knight in a black sedan to save her from danger.
'It could've been staged,' she baselessly thought. 'He could've ordered my father's assassination and pretended to save me to get what he wants. But the question is, what does he want?'
With all the thoughts surging inside her brain, she lost the appetite to eat. She only took a few spoonfuls, then she decided to retreat to her room. To be away from him.
"I wanna rest now," she told Luca. "I might seem fine to you, but I'm nearly breaking down."
Luca just nodded and eyed the bloodstains on her shoulder. "I'll send someone to your room to give you fresh clothes."
As Luca mentioned, someone came to Juliette's room bringing clothes. Juliette was thankful but kept it inside her heart.
She had to keep in mind that Luca could've been the enemy.
When she was alone, the strong façade she wore the entire time started crashing down on the floor, as her tears streamed down her face.
'Dad…'
She couldn't even call anyone from her dad's company because Luca confiscated her smartwatch and she had lost her phone at the scene.
The thought that her dad could've been dead as she's lying on a soft mattress squeezed her heart.
Juliette wasn't the type to cry herself to sleep. But that night, she did.
Later that night, she woke up to soft lovely tunes.
"It's a piano!" she exclaimed.
Still not fully awake, she stood up and minced out of her room to see what made those beautiful notes. She found Luca sitting on the piano, making the soft tunes that woke her up.
The living room was dimly lit, which added a bit of melancholy to Luca's back facing her from the piano.
"You said you don’t play," she interrupted without hesitation.
Luca immediately stopped playing and turned his head to look at her.
She walked near the piano, near him.
"You fucking lied," she complained.
Abruptly, Luca held Juliette's wrist, startling her. Juliette tried to shove his hand away but couldn't. Luca stood up, placed both his hands on Juliette's waist, scooped her up, and made her sit on the piano. As soon as her butt landed on the keyboard, the piano made a chaotic series of notes.
"What are you doing?" She tried to sound angry but failed. It came off as a nervous one.
Luca locked his hands around her waist, making her unable to move. And he's so close to her that she could smell him.
And she hated how she thought he smelled good.
'Shit!' She cursed inside her head.
Under the dimmed light, Juliette could still see Luca's teasing eyes and playful grin. He traveled his eyes down on her chest.
"You're not wearing anything under," he lustfully whispered.
The thin fabric of her nightwear wasn't enough to hide her nipples. When Juliette realized this, she felt conscious.
'How stupid of me to come here!' she told herself off.
"I told you, right? If you say the f word again I will do you right where you're standing."
One of Luca's hands started caressing Juliette's stomach slowly, and she felt thousands of electric sparks surging in her veins, making her breathless.
"Juliette," Luca softly whispered.
Juliette hated how her name sounded like music to her ears when he said it.
"I think it’s time you learn to take my words for what they are."
A cold shiver ran down her spine when his hand started to go up. Up to her breasts.
Inches before it reached her chest, with all her might, while catching her breath, Juliette demanded, "Stop."
Luca's hand halted, and he stared at her eye to eye while a playful grin plastered on his mouth.
"I'm going back to sleep," she said as if his hands on her body didn't bother her.
She slightly pushed him away, then she immediately stepped down from the piano and quickly padded back to her room with a pulsating feeling in her cheeks.
Meanwhile, when Luca was left alone in the living room, he chuckled in amusement. As he thought, flustered Juliette Ervings was adorable.