Luca’s Inferno by Karima Sa’ad Usman

29 Getting By Luca.

I roared with all my might. My pain was real, my heart was broken, and my soul had been ripped from

me. Why was I doomed? Emma was everything I had ever wanted in a woman; perfect in every way. She

was my soulmate, and I had to let her go. I had to let her go, so I do not lose her. There were two many

unknown people after me, and she wasn’t cut out for this life. My heart was bleeding. Images of her

crying in the car reeled in my mind. All I had to do was change my mind, and all this pain would be gone,

but I knew the pain would be worse if I let her stay and she got killed. She bared her heart out and

pleaded with me; little did she know I was more in love with her than she was with me. Why did I have to

do well in the family business and rise to the top? I was ambitious, and look where it got me. The one

thing I wanted so much, I could never have.

I knelt on the floor in my bedroom and wept. Usually, she would hold and try to console me, but now that

it was over, who will do those things? I did not know how lonely I was until now. My life was bleak, and

she brought colour into it. She made me feel alive. I wept. I went to the closet where her clothes were

and sat in the middle, taking in her scent and crying. She left empty-handed. She didn’t want to take

anything I got her. I wanted her to keep the ring, but she left that one too. I looked at my wedding band

and did not know what to do. Taking it off will be difficult. I knew someone was at the door, but I could not

leave the closet to check I was broken.

“Emma!” I roared again. What the fuck had I done? I was tempted to call Gerald to bring her back, but

every time I remembered the scene in the hotel room, I would decide against it. What if she had died?

What if the bullet had hit her heart? At least she was alive and well. Yes, her heart was broken, but she

will heal with time. I wept for a bit. Images of us reeled on my mind, and I never knew a time would come

when someone would get to me and touch my heart profoundly.

My problems were too much. There was a faceless mob rising, families that wanted my position and

business territories, the Bianchis and their stupid proposal, and the bastard that sent humans to try to kill

Emma and me. The problem was much. If only I knew where my problem was from, I would have risked

it, but other than Deigo Gallo and Bianchi, the rest were faceless, and that was the most dangerous

threat. It could be anyone. I did not know a time like this would come. Somehow I wish I could get a do-

over in my life. I would have given the family business to Roberto and run away with my sweet Emma.

My curse had somehow become hers.

Emma’s warning rang in my head, and something in her eyes stated she meant it. If I dared die, she

would kill herself. I remained in the closet for a while and returned to my bedroom. A FEW HOURS

LATER.

Gerald finally called my phone, and I answered.

“Hello,” I managed to sound hard and unaffected.

“We have dropped her off at her folks,” he said, and I knew he was hesitating.

“Say it,” he ordered him.

“She cried all the way, alpha. Begged us to turn around a few times and cried some more. It wasn’t easy,

alpha,” he said, and my heart shattered some more. I was responsible for her pain. She said no strings

attached, but we were both deceiving ourselves when we said we wouldn’t get our hearts involved. I was

stupid. The attraction was there from the bus. I knew she was meant for me, yet I still went ahead,

thinking I would have the heart to let her go when the time carne. I guess my stupidity was what it was,

stupidity

I hung up and lay on my bed. I had loved her one last time, and she had let me. I will cherish that

moment for the rest of my life.

ONE WEEK LATER.

Catalina walked into my home office. I knew she was scared because I had been cranky since Emma

left. Yelling and getting angry at every slight provocation. I had almost killed innocent people, and that

pissed me off. I felt myself losing my mind, and there was nothing that could keep me centred.

“Come in,” I said to my sister, and she came to sit.

“Luca,” she managed, and I looked at her.

“Do not push yourself like this. Emma is tougher than she looks. She can handle our lifestyle. Go and

bring her back. There is no reason why you two should be apart. Please, Luca. She was hurting when

she left,” She said, and I looked at her. I wanted to ask her if she had spoken to Emma but decided

against it.

“Stop talking to me about Emma. Tell her to move on when you speak to her because I won’t change my

mind. It was a contract, and now it is over.” I said, and she looked at me. She was about to speak again

when I yelled at her. She shook with fear, and I regretted it the instant I had done it.

“I am sorry, Catalina. Please. I have too much to do. Do not speak of Emma again. Whatever was

between us is over. Soon she will stop crying and get over it. I promise.” I said more to myself than to

Catalina. My sister did not say a word but got up to leave. Who was I fooling? My heart was in the same

state as Emma’s. The only difference was that, unlike her, I dared not break down in the presence of

others.

TWO WEEKS LATER

Emma had done an excellent job with the books and organised everything. I doubted I would find

someone who could genuinely help me like she did. For now, I will have to do it myself. So I decided to

go through the entries to take my mind off the disease plaguing it called ‘ Heartbreak’. It wasn’t long

before I found something that Emma did not mention. Why didn’t she tell me? These were suspicious

transactions, and she did not bring them to my attention. I knew it was deliberate because she made the

entries. My father was paying money into three accounts of people I did not know without permission. It

was my money. He had wasted all the money left to him by his father. I built this family’s business from

peanuts, and now he was wasting what I had managed to gather. What I saw did not sit well with me,

and I was mad.

He paid monthly money to Karolyn Wallace, Marco Wallace and Randy Wallace. Who the fuck were

these people, and why was my father paying them money monthly? Why didn’t Emma tell me? This was

the time that I would have liked to spank her for this shit, but she was in her father’s house. I wanted to

call Tevin to ask to speak to his sister, who was still my wife, because I was yet to bring myself to start

the annulment process. I planned not to annul the

marriage ever so I would know when she wanted to settle down, and then I will divorce her properly.

Keeping her as my wife on paper made my heart bear the pain. Why did she keep this from me? Why

didn’t she tell me? I knew my mental state wasn’t so good, and I was erratic, but I had to confront my

father. It was things like this that made me suspicious of people. I angrily left my office and went down

the stairs. He was in the living room with my mother, watching television. The moment my parents saw

me, they smiled. My father was glad I was out of the office, and my mother was concerned. Ever since

Emma left, my mother had been acting weird. She missed Emma in her own way. When you fight with

people often and live in the same space, blaming them for everything that goes wrong, you feel it when

they are no longer around. My mother had not brought up Teressa since Emma left, and with how things

were looking, she would not bring it up. She knew how I felt about Emma, and after Emma took a bullet

for me, there was no questioning how she felt about me. She also proved she did not care for the money,

which was what my mother thought she was after initially. I saw regret in her eyes, but it was too late

because I had let Emma go so she could have a decent life, safe with a certain future, instead of living

on the edge and watching her back every time. “Father, I need to talk to you now,” I commanded, and my

father frowned at me. He looked a bit confused. Since he was with my mother, I figured there was no

point speaking about the issue behind her back, so I spoke up.

“Why are you paying the Wallace money every month? Who the fuck are these people?” I asked him,

and he was in shock. He did not expect me to know but too bad for him, Emma was good at her job. I

guess that was why she did not tell me; she did not want to create a problem between my father and me.

She knew how I would react when I discovered that my father had been secretly paying money that I

worked for to strangers. Because of this money and business, I could not have the woman I love in my

life. Thinking of the extent of my sacrifice for the family business made me angrier, and I yelled.

“Tell me, god damn it!” I yelled, and he shook.

“Sweetheart, you need to calm down. Your father will answer your question.” My mother said, standing

up with my father. She turned to my father and placed her hand on his chest.

“Common Theo, tell him. It is his right to know. I, too, am curious to know why you are paying this family

money. Are they blackmailing you?” my mother asked, but his eyes showed pure fear. I wasn’t the one

he was afraid of; it was my mother.

“My office,” I told him, and he nodded and followed me quietly, leaving my mother behind. Once we got

there, I closed the door and looked at him.

“How did you find out?” he asked me, surprised he was caught. “I had someone look into our books,” I

said, not mentioning my wife’s name. “Please, you can’t tell your mother,” he said, and I looked at him.

“Now that you are in love and have experienced heartbreak, I can explain.

“Karolyn is to me as Emma is to you,” he said, and I staggered. I could not believe what I was hearing

“Is that why you will be sending her and her children money? I get you want to help your ex girlfriend, but

you have done enough. The money is ridiculous. If she needs help, let her mate do it,” I complained, and

he sighed.

“He is missing in action,” my father said, and I could not care less. “Still, the money is ridiculous. I gave

the Wyatts little money, and they are on their feet. If these people truly understood that you are just

helping, they would have gotten on their feet with that money instead of living large. I am blocking you

from accessing the fund.” I said to him, and he got angry.

“Don’t you dare forget that I was boss before you,” he warned me, trying to sound like a don, and I

laughed.

“To the mafia community, you might have been big. Might have even struggled for power with Mathias

Bianchi. Still, we both know financially that you were a bottom-runt boss with no money. I now see how

you blew all your money away with limited resources. You frittered most of it on this Wallace woman and

wasted all that grandfather worked for. If I hadn’t taken over when I did, the world would have known our

secret. I am cutting you off from the money, father. Tell your ex to get a job, and the same goes for her

children.” I warned him and walked away, leaving him seething with anger. I did not care.