As the man slowly wraps around Amanda's waist, Luca's fist automatically tightened.
"Don't touch her." He warned in a calming but authoritative matter which the latter just laugh at.
"You? Ordering me? Who are you anyway Luca?" Steven shoots back and steps forward.
"You may be my boss' son but you are inside my house, and I could do whatever I want with you, Steven."
"Oh!? Scary right Amanda?" He mocked back at Luca and kept on stepping forward.
"This house is yours? Don't make me laugh. My father owns this rental apartment, Luca. Technically, I own this too." It silenced Luca, he doesn't have any idea that Carter owns this rental, and it somehow embarrassed him.
"If I were you, I'll go to my room pack my things and get out of here because you won't be able to touch Amanda again."
"I'm Amanda's husband. You cannot do that." Luca replied and glanced at the woman who was blankly staring at him. He wished that this is just a dream, or at least his wife to do something. Ask for some apologies and give him some explanation, that all of what he saw was just a misunderstanding. That he knew, despite how clearly she was cheating, he'll be able to forgive her still.
"You're claiming to be his husband yet you cannot provide her basic need like a comfortable shelter. Me, I could give her a whole palace, with a comfortable bed, all her wants and leisure."
And it slapped him. The truth confronted Luca this time, he thought that these two will be the ones to embarrass him in the end, but it seems like they still have the audacity to insult him and trampled on his humanity.
"Tell him that you'll leave him, Amanda. That you'll file a divorce, and definitely end everything between the two of you. Five years is enough suffering."
Luca's eyes were fixated on Amanda. He wanted to run towards her, hug her tightly, and tell her that everything will be alright.
"I may not be able to provide everything but I'm doing my best Amanda. I-I'm doing my best." Luca's voice cracked, yet he continued. He cannot just keep it to himself, because Amanda knows how good a husband he became for five years.
"I never hurt you physically and never lay a finger on you. I always respect your decision, if you don't want to bear a child yet, I'm willing to wait, sweetie."
"I-I love you so much, Amanda…"
"Enough of this drama! For Pete's sake, Amanda tells him."
"I don't want to see you anymore, Luca. Please leave."
Luca shook his head and was about to walk towards her when a firm fist landed on his face.
"Don't make me repeat what Amanda said. Leave, or I'll call the police and put you in prison assh*le. You know how capable I am of doing that."
But instead of leaving, Luca slowly bends on his knees in front of Amanda with the side of his lips slowly bleeding but he endures it.
"What do you think you are doing?" Steven asked in a taunting voice. Seemingly getting interested in the current event.
"Luca, don't do that. Save some pride for yourself at least. " Amanda uttered, she looks worried at the same time her conscience slowly eating her alive. This man serves her for five years, the only thing that he cannot provide are luxury items. But she'll only fool herself if she will keep on acting in love with this man, he only pities her. And she's been cheating on him for those five years already.
Steven throws Amanda a short glance, it may just be a plain one but Amanda gets it. There's no way she'll show remorse for her husband having Steven's existence beside her. She just wants to wrap up this happening and live her life to the fullest.
"L-Leave," Amanda added trying to strengthen her voice.
Luca shook his head. "P-Please forgive me if I can't afford some of your needs Amanda, I know that's the only reason why you're here with this man but I could still feel that you love me."
"H-Here, I bought this for you." Luca still managed to stand up and wiped the tears that fell from his eyes as he took the flowers and his gift from the corner and handed it to Amanda. The woman's heart was somehow warmed seeing the brand of the gift was the same necklace she's been getting crazy over for months, and now wearing it because Steven bought it for her. And knowing the range of Luca's salary, he surely saved up several months just to buy it.
"I may not be able to afford it in one go, but you see… I still can. Just give me time, and I'll double my efforts to have higher earnings…"
"Luca enough…" Amanda cut him off.
"I-I don't love you." She added and that brought Luca in a different pain. Something that cuts deeper than seeing her having sex with another man.
"Y-You don't mean that do you? Steven is just here that's why you said…"
"No, Luca."
This time Amanda step up in front of Steven.
"Let's be real here. Why don't you understand that the reason why I don't want a child with you is that, I don't want her to be born with a poor dad? I'm not happy with you. I can't even go with my friends whenever they're having a vacation in another country because I cannot afford it and you don't want me to ask my mom for money. What do you want me to do then? Be your housewife forever? I cannot enjoy my life anymore!"
"W-why aren't you telling me that you want to…"
"What's the point when you can't afford it anyway? After all, I'm not your priority but your mom and younger sister kept on bugging you for money." Amanda cut him off for the second time.
"Amanda please, they're my family. I cannot just abandon them, you know my mom's condition right? Let's talk about this. I-I can forgive you still because I love you. We've been together for five years and…"
"and all I could feel within those years is pity for you and myself, Luca. Let's end this." Amanda said full of finality in her voice before she turn around and enter their room.
"Just leave man, don't embarrass yourself more." Steven gave him a mocking grin before he followed Amanda, leaving Luca dumbfounded.
"And one more thing…" Steven is not yet finished and turned around.
"Don't expect that you still have a job waiting for you in the Carter's Corporation…"
"You're fired."
"Don't worry I'll ask my dad to give you good compensation so you could still buy your mom some medicine, but I'm not sure how long it will last though."
Luca can't take it anymore, the insult and the disrespect are too much. It's fine if he'll be the one to not gain such respect as he used to it, every single day. However, it was his mother. The woman who raised him, and the reason for who he became today.
Luca holds Steven's neck and pushes him onto the wall.
"Don't you dare, disrespect my mom?" Luca warned, his voice was menacing as if he became a different person.
Luca tightly pushes him more making Steven unable to move. His face was getting red, a sign that he wasn't able to get enough oxygen, and he was running out of breath.
"L-Let me go!" Steven murmured making Luca smile devilishly.
"I know you'll fire me from your abusive company. Being my boss' son won't matter anymore if I kill you now, you assh*le!"
"Luca!" Suddenly, Amanda went out of the room with eyes piercing towards him. She run towards them and kept on removing Luca's hold on Steven. And the latter seemed to be in relief when Luca finally let go.
"Are you insane? You might kill him!" Amanda roared towards Luca.
Luca tries to compose himself and threw Amanda a short glance.
"I hope you won't regret this, Amanda." Luca calmly speaks this time, and the latter just shot him a raised eyebrow.
"I won't regret this, Luca. I've been patient for five years. I've already told you nicely earlier that I'm done with you. I want you gone out of my life." Amanda replied in finality.
Luca nods his head, slowly understanding the situation, and the fact that Amanda won't take back her words. Another tear fell from his eye but this time he harshly wipe it.
"T-Thank you for giving me the opportunity to catch you cheating."
That was his final word before he left the apartment. Luca even heard Steven curse him, but he shrugged it off. He's heartbroken, he loves Amanda so much, and he became loyal to her the whole time, and never lay eyes on other girls. And knowing the fact that he doesn't have a job now worsens it more. The only thing he wanted to do is see his mom and sister. They are all that he has right now, his family.
But before he could even leave the entire building of their apartment, his eyes narrowed at the pair o red stiletto shoes in front of him. Luca has an idea of who it was yet he still hopes it wasn't her.
"Looks like something happened in the middle of the night." It was Agnes, his mother-in-law.
Luca was about to ignore her because he can't afford a few more statements of insults when Agnes held his arm tightly.
"P-Please Miss Ashton." He uttered, trying to reprimand a polite conversation but Agnes just laugh at him.
"Looks like my daughter finally went back to her senses, didn't she?" Agnes asked trying to mock him even more.
"I went here in the middle of the evening because my daughter called me, she asked if I could provide her some security so she wouldn't be able to see her useless husband again. I wanted to see how severe the situation is… but it seemed like…it's really, really bad."
Luca closed his eyes. His mother-in-law never liked him ever since Amanda and he got married. Agnes kept on pressuring him to provide for her daughter the luxurious life that he cannot afford in just a blink of an eye because unlike Amanda he wasn't born with a golden spoon in his mouth.
"I wonder what happened, but you know what… I'm happy right now. No, happy isn't enough words to describe how delighted I am to witness this situation. Finally, after five years, my daughter's kicking you out of her life, our lives! You poor bastard! Get lost, and never come back because we wanted our Amanda to be wed this time to Carter's son, a handsome billionaire heir of the Carter where you are employed. Damn, the fact that you're working under their company as a nerd employee makes me feel disgusted and embarrassed, what else could my Amanda feels as she became your wife? At last, there's no need to hide their relationship from the public because you're gone! The divorced papers will soon follow, see you in hell!"
"Mom!" It's Amanda's voice, with her heavy footsteps slowly nearing them. But Luca can't even make a single word.
It's not the harsh words that made Luca stunned, because he got used to it whenever he meets Amanda's mom, but the fact that Agnes knows about her daughter cheating on him.
"Y-You know Steven Carter, M-Miss Ashton?" Luca asked in a low lifeless voice and tries to ignore Amanda this time. They were outside of the apartment building, and there's a possibility that they might be in the news tomorrow morning.
"Of course, who wouldn't know him, Luca? If there's someone invisible on this planet, and a name that doesn't ring a bell, then it's you." Agnes shot back with a wide grin on her face.
"S-So you also knew that your daughter is cheating on me for years?" Luca asked, and it silenced them all.
"And so what? Amanda wasn't happy with you anymore, Luca. Can't you understand…"
"W-was it a reason to cheat then?" Luca cuts Agnes, he was blazing inside with anger. Even though they're not close, it feels like he was betrayed. Everyone knows about Steven and Amanda's relationship, except him.
"T-This is unbelievable," Luca whispered, and throw his wife Amanda a disappointed look. Meanwhile, the innocent and soft-spoken look on Amanda's face completely vanished and was replaced by a blank one.
"Don't make a scene here, Luca. Just f*cking leave." Amanda held his arms and dragged him out, completely.
"If you love me, Luca. You'll let me be happy. I'll send you the divorce papers as soon as possible, and you should sign it."
Amanda turned her back and bring her mom with her inside their apartment, leaving Luca in the silence of darkness. Wrecked, and shattered into pieces.
Luca was left without any option but to walk out of that place. As he tries to stop himself from the urge of crying again, trying to figure out what did he do wrong to deserve that pain.
When Luca thought that his nightmare is already over, a call made an aftershock that left him dumbfounded.
"Is this Mr.Luca Scott? I'm sorry to tell you but your mom had a heart attack and we weren't able to revive her. We did our best, and we're sorry about your loss."