Chapter 269: Let Me Think About It

Sophie’s question made Luca’s heart skip a beat.

’Something happened?’

He knew Rachel probably wouldn’t be bold enough to confront Sophie directly.

Trish, however, was another matter entirely.

’Could that girl have told Sophie something she shouldn’t have?’

He and Rachel had indeed crossed a few lines that a brother-in-law and sister-in-law probably shouldn’t cross.

But as far as Luca knew, Trish hadn’t discovered any of that yet.

The unexpected question left him momentarily speechless.

Sophie noticed his silence and immediately grew suspicious.

Earlier that day, while thoroughly cleaning Rachel’s room, she had accidentally discovered a photograph of Luca tucked inside her sister’s drawer.

On the back of the photograph, Rachel had drawn a heart shape.

If she hadn’t found that photograph, Sophie probably wouldn’t have realized her younger sister’s feelings so quickly.

But once she had seen it, several things suddenly made sense.

The way Rachel looked at Luca.

The admiration in her eyes.

The faint, almost imperceptible affection that had always been hidden beneath it.

When the realization finally hit her, Sophie had felt as though a firework had exploded beside her.

Her mind had gone completely blank.

She had stood frozen in place, clutching the photograph in one hand and a cleaning cloth in the other, needing quite some time before she could accept what she had discovered.

Yet she couldn’t really blame Rachel.

Luca had been incredibly good to their family.

He had even saved their mother’s life and helped pull the Kennedy family back from the brink of collapse.

To Sophie, Luca was practically her family’s hero.

So perhaps Rachel had come to see him the same way.

It was understandable that her younger sister would develop feelings for him.

The problem was that both sisters had fallen for the same man.

That was something Sophie needed time to process.

Even so, after the initial shock passed, her thoughts quickly turned toward Rachel.

’She must be hurting too, right?’

"Luca."

"Hmm?"

Sophie took a deep breath before asking seriously, "How far have you and Rachel gone?"

"..."

The question made Luca’s expression stiffen.

He hesitated for a moment before finally explaining what had happened that morning.

Rachel had climbed into his bed of her own accord, but ultimately, nothing serious had happened.

They had gotten closer and crossed a few boundaries, but Luca had stopped things before they went any further.

Ultimately, Luca had to admit that he had been attracted to Rachel for quite some time.

He simply had his own considerations.

First, there was Sophie.

Second, Rachel had only recently become an adult.

He had originally planned to give her some time and wait a couple of years before seriously testing her feelings.

But before he could even follow that plan, Rachel had eagerly climbed into his bed herself.

’Who could withstand that?’

Sophie listened quietly as Luca explained everything.

When she finally understood that the two had gone beyond simple flirting and had genuinely grown closer, she fell silent.

If it had been some other woman she barely knew, Sophie might have felt a little jealous. She probably would have gotten over it eventually.

But these two were the people closest to her.

One was her younger sister.

The other was her man.

Her head suddenly began to ache.

"Sophie?"

Luca noticed her troubled expression and was about to comfort her, but she interrupted him.

"Don’t say anything. Just give me some peace and quiet."

She took a breath.

"And don’t do anything with Rachel until I give you permission!"

Luca nearly laughed.

’So she’s actually considering the possibility?’

The two of them were real sisters, after all.

"Did you hear me?" Sophie asked when he remained silent.

Her mind had already begun filling in the worst possibilities.

’Could Luca still be hiding something from me?’

’Has Rachel already gone further than he admitted?’

"Okay. I understand."

Luca nodded seriously.

He wasn’t in a hurry anyway.

Although he was certainly attracted to Rachel, she had only recently become an adult. He was willing to give her time.

After the call ended, Arabella came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, her hair still damp from her shower.

She had changed into a simple nightgown, and a few strands of her white hair clung to her neck.

Luca glanced up from the bed.

"You’re going to sleep with it like that?"

Arabella looked at him through the mirror.

"It’ll dry eventually."

"That’s not the point."

He got up, walked over, and picked up the hairdryer.

"Come here."

Arabella gave him an amused look but sat down in front of the mirror.

Luca plugged in the dryer and started working through her hair, moving slowly so he wouldn’t pull on it.

Only then did he realize how much of it there actually was.

Her hair fell well past her shoulders, straight and silky, catching the light whenever he moved it aside.

Arabella noticed him staring through the mirror.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You’ve been looking at my hair for the past minute."

"I was just thinking there’s a lot of it."

She smiled.

"That sounds like a complaint."

"I’m considering how long this is going to take."

"Then you should have let me do it myself."

"You’d probably leave it half-dry and go to bed."

"I wouldn’t."

Luca raised an eyebrow.

"You absolutely would."

Arabella laughed softly.

She watched him through the mirror for a moment, her expression becoming increasingly amused as he concentrated on the task.

"You’re being unusually serious about this."

"I’m trying not to burn you."

"You’ve been staring at me more than you’ve been watching what you’re doing."

Luca paused.

"I have not."

"You have."

She turned slightly, catching his eyes in the mirror.

The corner of her lips lifted.

"You’re not very good at hiding it."

Luca cleared his throat and redirected the dryer toward the ends of her hair.

"You’re imagining things."

"Of course."

Her tone made it obvious she didn’t believe him.

She settled back into the stool and let him continue.

For a while, neither of them said anything.

The steady hum of the dryer filled the room, broken only by the occasional rustle of her hair.

Eventually, Luca switched it off.

Arabella opened her eyes.

"Done?"

"Almost."

He ran his fingers lightly through the ends of her hair, checking for any remaining dampness.

"There’s still a little."

Arabella looked at him through the mirror.

Something in her expression had changed.

The teasing had faded, replaced by a quiet warmth that made Luca pause.

He knew that look.

He also knew better than to point it out.

"It’s dry enough."

"No."

He looked at her reflection.

"No?"

"Not completely."

Before he could respond, Arabella turned around on the stool.

The room suddenly seemed much quieter.

She looked up at him, her cheeks faintly flushed.

She simply held out her arms.

A moment later, Luca bent down and lifted her from the stool.

He looked down at her, amusement returning to his eyes.

"And now? Is it dry?"

Arabella wrapped her arms around his neck, hiding her face against him.

Her cheeks grew warmer.

Her voice came out softer than usual.

"Maybe."

"..."

"Luca..."

"Hmm?"

She hesitated.

Then, almost inaudibly, she said,

"Husband."

Luca froze for a moment.

He had heard her call him that before, but for some reason, it felt different this time.

A deep sense of satisfaction settled over him.

’This is Arabella Windsor.’

’The famously aloof campus beauty of San Fierro University.’

Forget getting her to call someone ’husband’ or act spoiled.

Even having a normal conversation with her had once been difficult.

There were countless wealthy and handsome heirs at San Fierro University who had tried to win her attention.

They had gone out of their way to make her smile.

Yet none of them had managed to win her heart.

Some hadn’t even received a second glance.

To outsiders, Arabella was an exceptionally beautiful woman who seemed cold, distant, and almost impossible to approach.

But around Luca, she was an entirely different person.

She could be surprisingly proactive, tease him without hesitation, and occasionally say things that even made him feel embarrassed.

’If people outside found out about this...’

’Especially Vincent.’

’I wonder if he’d be angry enough to cough up blood.’