Chapter 107

Third Person

“Hey, Silas,” Luca nudges his younger brother’s arm, his eyes scanning the room. “Where did Stella and Sebastian go?”

Silas looks up at Luca, a dead expression on his face. Disinterest or just lacking emotions, nobody really knows except for the man himself. Silas simply shrugs in response, which earns him an eye roll from Luca.

“Great, thanks,” Luca sarcastically says.

Luca remains quiet after this. He continues to watch the crowd, knowing that there are enemies of the Obsidian Pact inside the gala. Many of which are probably waiting for them to show a moment of weakness so that they can exploit it, using it for their advantage to take out the Obsidian Don himself.

Luca also remembers the time a little over a month ago when Stella was kidnapped. Silas had heard about it in a dingy bar that he goes to for information and jobs. That was the only reason they knew that Stella was going to be there. It was how they were able to save her.

Luca can’t help but think that the same situation is happening now. If she was with Sebastian, then Sebastian must have been taken out in order to capture Stella. She has to be around here somewhere, hidden in plain sight.

Silas looks up at his brother. He quietly sighs and shakes his head, knowing that his brother is overthinking something so deceptively simple. He knows that he should put his mind at ease by giving him any kind of information before things get worse for them and their reputation.

“Last time I saw them, they were over by the bar. Stella was having to hold onto him. Maybe she’s feeling a bit weak tonight,” Silas adds, trying to give his brother as much information as possible. He simply does not wish to sit through another lecture about how Luca must know everything at all times.

For a man who loves chaos and everything in-between, he sure does love having control and knowing everything there is to know about the people in his life.

“Where do you think they could have gone?” Luca murmurs to himself. He looks around the gala, pushing off of the wall that he has attached himself to.

Luca moves deeper into the gala with Silas hot on his tail. He holds a glass in his hand, one filled with an aged whiskey that costs more than the car he drove to the event. His eyes scan the event one last time, the man spinning around in a circle, before his eyes land on the glass window.

Outside stands Stella and Sebastian. Luca’s heart begins to calm down, the once rapidly beating organ now taking a rest as his mind begins to stop its overthinking.

Luca begins to walk towards the glass doors, watching as Sebastian wipes away Stella’s tears. His mind, though, begins to sound off a few alarms.

Sebastian is close to Stella. Maybe a little too close for comfort. Definitely not close in a way that a brother is with his little sister but is close in a way that screams that they are something more.

Luca reaches out, his hand curling around the metal doorknob, watching as Sebastian leans in and presses a kiss to Stella’s forehead. He hesitates to move. He watches as Sebastian pulls away, the small smile on Stella’s face, before the man moves in again to press a kiss to her lips.

The glass door slams open, rattling in its hinges, as the couple jump in their skin, turning to look at a frustrated and angry Luca who storms their way.

“Luca?” Sebastian asks, clearing his throat. “Is everything okay?”

“What the fuck did you just do to her?” Luca asks in a low and dangerous tone. His eyes goes dark, the tall and burly man beginning to slowly see red.

“Me?” he asks with a perked up eyebrow.

Sebastian looks at Stella and begins to inch closer to her. Luca steps in and shoves the man away from her, placing his younger sister behind him, acting like a barrier that will protect her from the man he now deems as a threat.

“What the fuck are you doing with her, Sebastian?! That is our sister!” Luca calls out.

Stella moves out from behind Luca, her eyes landing on Sebastian. He looks back at her with a confused look on his face, unsure of what to do or say in the current moment. Stella is at a loss for words too, her greatest fear now coming into fruition in front of her eyes.

Sebastian’s face slightly hardens. He is now determined to tell the truth, unable to hold back and hide his feelings for Stella any longer. He straightens his posture and clenches his jaw, his fists balled at his side.

“Stella…we should not have to hide anymore,” he speaks to her.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Luca asks. He turns and looks at Stella, her hazel eyes wide and glossy at the unfolding scene.

“Stella and I are in a relationship, Luca. We have been for a little while now. We haven’t seen each other as a brother and sister in a long time and—”

Sebastian is interrupted by Luca shoving him into the railing. He grabs a fistful of his shirt and leans in, fist in the air, ready to swing at the man he used to see as his brother in arms.

“Luca! Stop this immediately!” Stella cries out. She grabs his arm and pulls him away from her boyfriend, shaking her head at him. She places herself in between them, head moving back and forth. “Let’s be mature adults here, okay?”

“Is this true?” Luca asks. He looks down at his little sister, confusion and denial flooding his veins. Oh, how he wishes that what Sebastian said is not true. “Are you and Sebastian in a relationship?”

“Yes,” Stella stammers, forcing the single word out of her mouth the best that she can. Her hands tremble at her side, unable to do anything else in that moment.

“Okay, Stella,” Luca huffs out hot air. He turns around and looks at Silas. The man steps forward, ready to receive his command. “Take Stella home.”

“What?” Stella chimes in. She looks at Luca, shaking her head. “You can’t do this to me!”

“Luca, let’s be reasonable here,” Sebastian tries to speak up but one look from Luca immediately silences him.

“No,” Luca states, “you do not get a say in family matters anymore. Stella, go home. I need to have a talk with this…boyfriend of yours.”

“Luca…” Stella breathes out.

Luca avoids her gaze. It sends a sharp pain through her heart. Her hazel eyes float back to Sebastian. All he does is nod, sucking in a deep breath as he begins to prepare for the worst.

Stella looks back at Luca. Tears fill her eyes. She is unable to say a thing, to try and convince Luca to go easy on Sebastian, to remember what they have done and accomplished together in the past.

But Stella knows that the past is the past. Luca will not allow their previous memories together to blur his current perspective.

“Luca,” Stella mutters his name.

“Go home. Now. I need to deal with him,” Luca grunts.

Stella simply nods and follows Silas away from the balcony, leaving Sebastian and Luca behind.