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Luca didn't consider himself the jealous type.

He really, really didn't.

Damien was his. He knew that.

And yet—

There she was.

Alina.

The perfect Alina.

Alina, the princess of the Ivanov Syndicate. The daughter of one of the most powerful crime families in the country. The gorgeous, elegant, absolutely-not-a-hot-mess Alina.

And most importantly—Alina, who had somehow inserted herself into Damien's life for the past week.

Luca had never felt so out of place in Damien's world before. Sure, he knew he wasn't exactly cut out for the whole mafia thing, but Damien always made him feel like he belonged by his side.

But now?

Now, Luca felt like an extra in his own damn story.

Because Alina was everywhere.

She was in Damien's office, leaning against his desk, flashing that perfect smile.

She was at headquarters, walking through the halls like she owned the place.

And then—

She was at dinner with Damien.

It started innocently enough.

Damien had mentioned that an "important guest" was coming to visit, but Luca had barely paid attention—Damien was always dealing with mafia nonsense.

Then, the next thing he knew, there was a princess in Damien's office.

Luca had walked in, expecting to see his usual overworked, overly dramatic boyfriend.

Instead, he found Damien... with her.

Alina had been laughing at something Damien said, tucking a strand of perfectly styled hair behind her ear, looking like she belonged there.

And Luca?

Luca had felt like a damn outsider.

"Oh!" Alina had said, her voice sweet as honey. "You must be Luca."

The way she said his name—like it was some cute little novelty—made Luca want to throw something.

Damien, completely oblivious, had grinned. "Sweetheart! Meet Alina. She's—"

"I know who she is," Luca had muttered, arms crossed.

Alina had giggled.

And that was how it began.

For the entire week, Luca had been stuck in a waking nightmare.

Because everywhere he turned, Alina was there.

She was laughing with Damien.

She was flirting with Damien.

She was taking up all of Damien's damn time.

And Damien?

Damien didn't even seem to notice that Luca was pulling away.

He didn't notice when Luca started avoiding headquarters.

He didn't notice when Luca stopped calling as much.

He didn't notice when Luca spent an entire night alone in their apartment, staring at his phone, wondering why the hell he felt so lonely when his boyfriend was just across the city.

And then— Then Damien had taken her to dinner.

Luca sat on the couch, poking at a box of takeout he'd lost interest in hours ago.

His phone was silent.

Damien hadn't texted him all day.

Because Damien was at dinner.

With her.

Luca groaned and flopped onto his side, staring at the ceiling.

This was stupid.

He shouldn't feel like this.

It wasn't like Damien was cheating on him.

Damien loved him.

Luca knew that.

But for the first time in their relationship, Luca wondered—

Did Damien realize how much Luca needed him?

Because right now, it sure as hell felt like Damien had forgotten about him completely.

Damien had a great time.

Dinner had been nice. The wine had been expensive. And Alina had been entertaining, as always.

But when he got home, expecting to see Luca curled up on the couch, waiting for him—

Luca was nowhere to be found.

The apartment was quiet.

Too quiet.

And then Damien saw it.

A cold, untouched takeout box on the coffee table.

A dead phone battery on the counter.

And a note.

Went to bed early. Don't wake me up.

Something tightened in Damien's chest.

Because suddenly, everything clicked.

The way Luca had been distant all week.

The way Luca had stopped teasing him.

The way Luca had stopped reaching out first.

And Damien—damn idiot that he was—had been too distracted to notice.

He had been too busy entertaining Alina to realize that he had left the most important person in his life feeling unwanted.

And Damien Callisto was not about to let that slide.

Luca was barely half-asleep when he felt the bed shift.

Then—warmth.

A strong arm wrapping around his waist.

A soft kiss against the back of his neck.

Luca sighed. "Damien, I said don't wake me up."

"Too bad," Damien murmured, pulling him closer.

Luca huffed but didn't pull away.

A long silence.

Then—

"I messed up, didn't I?" Damien's voice was softer than usual.

Luca hesitated. "...Yeah."

Damien exhaled. "I'm sorry."

Luca bit his lip. "I know you weren't cheating or anything."

"I would never," Damien said instantly, his hold tightening.

"I know," Luca murmured. "But it still... sucked."

"I know, sweetheart." Damien pressed a kiss to Luca's shoulder. "I should have seen it. I should have noticed what I was doing to you."

Luca swallowed. "I felt—" He hesitated.

"Tell me," Damien whispered.

Luca took a deep breath. "I felt replaceable."

Damien froze.

Then—

"No," Damien said, almost angrily.

Luca blinked. "What?"

"You are never replaceable." Damien turned Luca to face him, his expression dead serious. "I don't care who she is. I don't care about anyone else in this world, Luca. You're it for me."

Luca felt his throat tighten.

"You belong by my side," Damien continued. "You're my chaos magnet. My sweetheart. No one—no one—could ever take your place."

Luca swallowed hard.

Because damn it.

Even when Damien screwed up, he still managed to fix it in the most painfully perfect way.

Luca sighed. "You're really lucky I love you."

Damien smirked. "I know."

Luca rolled his eyes but let Damien kiss him anyway.

Because yeah.

Damien was an idiot.

But he was Luca's idiot.

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