Mistakenly Yours: Contract Marriage With The Billionaire-Chapter 142: Want to meet my sister

"Then... You just stopped joining the contests. I used to wonder why. I’d wait for the lists to come out, half-expecting your name right next to mine, and it never was." She paused, lips pressing together as understanding settled over her. "Wait... You started pulling back as early as eighth grade, didn’t you?" Her eyes searched his face. "Your grandfather was sick then. You wanted to be with him... To give him your time."

Luca’s heart tightened. If he told her the real reason that he’d stepped aside because he couldn’t bear to watch her lose, because even then he’d wanted her to shine brighter than anyone, he knew exactly how she’d react.

She’d feel that he’d pitied her, that he’d thought her victories meant less than his own. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel small.

So he let the half-truth stand.

"Yeah," he said quietly, nodding once. He turned toward the old poster bed. "We should get some sleep. It’s late."

Sara glanced at the clock on the nightstand and sighed. "I still need to brush my teeth and change." She crossed to the cupboard, knelt beside her open suitcase, and pulled out a soft cotton nightdress. Standing, she held it against herself for a moment, then looked back at him. "Don’t you want to change?"

Luca shrugged, a faint smile tugging at his mouth. "I just need trousers."

"Okay. I’ll get them for you." She unzipped his bag without hesitation, rummaging briefly before pulling out a pair of dark sleep trousers. As she straightened and handed them over, she spoke, "Dad’s been carrying so much stress ever since everything came out. He tried to hide it, but I could see it."

Luca took the trousers from her outstretched hand, their fingers brushing for a second. "Don’t forgive your stepmother or her children, Sara," he advised. "They hurt you too deeply. There’s no excuse that makes redemption mandatory."

"I know," she replied, meeting his eyes steadily. "I have no intention of forgiving them. Whatever relationship we had is broken beyond repair." She drew a small breath. "I was only worried about Dad. I’m the reason he lost Falcone Industries. Luca..." Her voice wavered, almost pleading. "Can I take it back? Will you give it back to him? I—I’ll do anything you ask. Anything."

Luca tilted his head, amusement flickering across his face despite the seriousness of the moment. "Anything?" he echoed lightly.

Then his expression softened, the teasing fading into something warmer, more honest.

"Sara, I’ve already decided to return Falcone Industries to your father. The contract between us doesn’t exist anymore. How could you forget that?" He stepped closer. "I don’t want to be the man who forced you into anything. Not anymore."

Sara blinked, surprise widening her eyes as the words sank in.

"I was an idiot for ever bringing that contract into our lives," Luca continued, a small, tender smile touching his lips. "I thought I needed it to keep you close. But the truth is... Having you here, in my life, just like this, that’s enough. I don’t need anything else."

For a long moment, Sara just stared at him with relief and gratitude. She dropped her eyes to the nightdress bunched in her hands, fingers tightening around the soft fabric as if to steady herself. Then, without a word, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek against his chest in a sudden, fierce hug.

"Thank you," she whispered. "If it weren’t for you... Falcone Industries wouldn’t even be alive today."

Luca’s breath caught. Almost instinctively, his arms came around her, one hand settling gently at the small of her back as he drew her closer.

His eyes drifted shut, the world narrowing to the warmth of her body against his, the quiet thud of her heartbeat echoing his own. In that moment, nothing else existed. She was the only thing that mattered, the only thing that ever truly had.

Eventually, slowly, Sara eased back, her cheeks flushed as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I’ll... I’ll go brush my teeth first," she said quickly, a shy smile flickering across her lips. She turned and hurried toward the attached washroom, the door clicking softly shut behind her.

~~~~

Joseph sat alone at his desk. The clock on his laptop read 10:17 p.m. He flipped through the pages of the proposal one last time. Every clause had been weighed and rewritten until it felt just right.

He leaned back in his chair, running a tired hand over his face.

"I hope this gets me to her," he whispered to the empty room, eyes fixed on the folder in his hand. "Just once. I just want to meet my sister."

The word still felt strange on his tongue. Sara was his half-sister, technically. Ever since he’d stumbled across the truth, a confession his mother had let slip in, he hadn’t been able to think of anything else. He just wanted to meet Sara once for real. And, if he was honest with himself, he wanted to know if she was safe.

Safe with a man like Luca De Augustino.

The thought made his jaw tighten. Everyone knew the name, even people who pretended they didn’t. Mafia ties, power plays, blood on the ledger. Joseph wasn’t naive. But Sara had chosen him, or been pulled into his world somehow, and Joseph needed to see for himself that she wasn’t trapped.

Just two days ago, he had thought not to do anything with Sara, but he couldn’t get off the fact from his mind that he had a sister. And he knew Sara was definitely not like their mother.

He had decided to meet Sara without the knowledge of their mother. Because she would only make things hard for him and even Sara.

With a quiet sigh, he switched off the lamp. He carried the proposal to his bedroom, sliding it carefully into the top drawer of his bedside table.

He then sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the drawer.

"I bet Luca already knows who I am," he murmured. "He probably had me checked the moment he learned about the connection." A bitter smile tugged at his lips. "Will he even read this? Or just burn it?"

He lay back, hands behind his head, eyes on the ceiling.

Going straight to Sara felt the right way. But how? She was now Luca’s secretary, so it was difficult for him to go to her directly without going into the premises of De Augustino Group.

He turned onto his side, pulling the blanket up.

"I’ll find a way," he whispered in determination. "I have to. I can’t trust Luca." Saying those words, he slowly fell into a deep slumber.

~~~~

Luca came back into the bedroom. He’d changed in the guest bathroom, bare-chested, wearing only the dark sleep trousers Sara had handed him earlier.

Sara was already tucked under the duvet, propped against the headboard with an old paperback in her hands.

"What are you reading?" he asked.

She closed the book with a soft snap and gave a small shrug. "Nothing important. Just some random novel I found on the shelf." She leaned over to set it on the bedside table, the lamp casting a warm circle of light over her side of the bed.

Luca reached up and flicked off the main overhead lights, leaving only the gentle glow of the lamp. He lifted the edge of the duvet and slid in beside her. The old mattress dipped under his weight, pulling them naturally closer in the narrow space.

"It’s my first time sleeping in your bed," he murmured, shifting onto his side to face her. A faint smile tugged at his mouth. "And it’s... really small."

Sara turned toward him, tucking one hand beneath her cheek. "I always liked small beds," she said, a touch defensive but mostly fond. "They feel safer. And the mattress is fluffy, isn’t it?"

"Yeah," he admitted, sinking a little deeper into it. "Like lying on a cloud."

For a moment they just lay there, close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from his bare skin, close enough that their breaths mingled in the small space between them.

Sara’s voice softened. "So... What’s the plan for Martin? How are you going to get him out of Italy?"

Luca exhaled slowly, staring up at the shadowed canopy above them. "I haven’t decided yet," he said honestly. "Everything’s still too fresh. Tomorrow I’ll talk to Remo, go over the intel, the possible risks and the options. Then we’ll figure out the cleanest way to pull him out without starting a war."

He turned his head to look at her. "But tonight... I don’t want to think about any of it."

Sara reached out, her fingers brushing lightly against his arm. "Okay," she whispered and felt a feather like kiss on her forehead. He then kissed on her bare neck before hugging her to sleep.