Chapter 8: The Demand

Laura Conti's POV

"Safe," I said before putting all my stuff on my table in the office. Mrs. Debaux was looking at me weirdly before she called me into her office.

"Laura, I need to ask you about something," she said before taking her seat at her desk. I sat across her.

"What's up?" I said as I leaned back into the chair comfortably as I was rushing around even in the early of the morning.

"My husband and I, we're fighting right now. I want to ask you how to resolve it," she said as she looked at me, hoping that I can help her.

Uh oh...

"I see what I can do to help you, ma'am," I said.

"Please, call me Amelia. You're my colleague now, my favorite student," she said chuckling at her comment. I smiled at her.

"So," she said, "I suspect my husband is having an affair with his co-worker. I'm afraid that if I confront him, it will not end well. I don't know how to describe but let's just called it a hunch," she said, looking at me before continuing, "I was raised that I need to trust my husband no matter what and do not snoop around where my nose does not belong. So what should I do, Laura? I don't know what to do anymore," she sighed before leaning back in her chair.

I analyzed Mrs. Debaux, sorry, Amelia up and down. In my opinion, she was of real beauty. Wearing the least makeup and just keep them natural, I can easily say that I am mesmerized by her if I was a man or perhaps lesbian. But, luckily, a certain person keeps my toes in place and keep me straight in a heterosexual relationship. She has an hourglass body shape that made me jealous as I know Lucca preferred that type compared to my straight body shape. I sighed inwardly before clearing my throat.

"I don't think he is cheating on you. Have you noticed anything different lately, like how he react at your jokes or how he compliments you?" I asked.

"Not that I am aware of, no. We just same old, same old," she said. Then it struck me. Perhaps they need little spice things up.

"Why don't you do this tonight, Amelia," I said with a wicked smile.

"I don't think I like where this is going," she said warily.

"Trust me, it's worth a try," I said and began to describe the immoral things to her that made her gasped at my plan but also put a wicked smile on her face.

"I am sure to try it tonight," she said before I excused myself from her office as it is time for my class.

"Don't forget to tell me the result," I said before taking my books for today's lecture and went to my classroom.

After 3 classes that I have been teaching for 3 hours, I went out with Stella to grab lunch. We went to the nearest restaurant that was located in Verona near the campus.

"So, I saw you with Mrs. Debaux this morning. What's cooking?" Stella said as she was wiggling her eyebrows at me.

"Nothing much, some stuff about an artifact that they just recently discovered in Denmark. I maybe go there to check for myself and also it may relate to my work in Albania," I said as I was eating my chicken saltimbocca with red wine. It was cooked to perfection. I wish to learn how to cook this on my own someday. Or for someone... My evil brain thoughts making me choke on my food.

"Are you okay?" Stella said with concerned as she handed me a glass of water.

"Yeah, it just too good," I said as I was gradually drinking the water that was offered. I pushed that thought at the back of my head but I knew someday that thought might be true when I found that certain someone that was so special, but I was certain it was not Lucca Giovanni. Not in this lifetime.

"So, tell me honestly, Laura. Do you have any relationship with mister nice, hot guy the other night that we met?" she asked me, making me choke again.

"What do you mean?" I said, trying to conceal the fact that I was chuckling nervously.

"Like that stone was sticking out on your left hand?" she said as she raised an eyebrow at me. I instantly looked at my left finger and there it was, the princess cut sapphire stone ring that was glistening proudly in its display. I sighed as I hid my hand under the table. I looked at Stella and she was making a face that said 'You better tell or else' look. I sighed as I looked outside the window as people were passing through to go to their destination.

"He proposed and I kind of said yes to him," I said awkwardly. Stella was about to explode before I interrupted her.

"But not because I like or love him. It's more like a service that I need from him," I said before I realized how the sentence had a double meaning to it.

"Was he that good?" Stella asked.

"What? No, no, no, no. Not like that. We don't sleep together. God, Stella, who you think I am?" I said to her as I can feel my face was burning. I looked away from her as I ate my meal and took a sip of my red wine. We just ate as I don't want Stella to keep pestering me with her questions about the stone that was glistening so proudly on my hand. I keep fidgeting it as it was weight more than it should be.

After we finished our meals, we headed back to campus until it was late in the evening. I was so immersed in the reading that I had on Vikings immigration and their contributions to the modern world. I also had it to relate to my primary research in Albania and emphasize my reading related to it. I have been spacing out when someone cleared their throat behind me. I was too preoccupied to notice who was it until I took a whiff of his signature cologne.

"My, my. My wife-to-be does sure like her work too much then her husband-to-be. Maybe I should be an artifact to get your attention," Lucca said as he leaned back on my desk as I was closing up my computer and laptop.

"Do you always have free time to bother me at school?" I said boringly as I was packing up my stuff. When he's here, that's means I need to go. But wait, why do I have to go with him? Oh yeah, because he will keep bothering me until I came home with him.

"I need you to clear your schedule tomorrow," he said as he sits onto my chair as I was putting my report into one of the cupboards in the room. I need to reach out at the top when he took my files and settled it onto the table near it.

"Thanks," I said as I was rummaging through the files to put it in the correct order. I can feel his stare on my face. I cannot control my blush when I know he was smirking at me. I stopped and sighed before looking at him with one hand at my hips.

"What?" I asked him.

"What?" he said before he was smirking at me.

"What do you want?" I said before glaring at him. He was smirking before taking my chin for me to look into his slate orbs.

"Can you clear your schedule tomorrow?" he asked, looking too deeply into my eyes that made me shuffled in my seat.

"I see what I can do," I said, trying to calm my heart.

"Not good enough. I want you to clear it. No excuse," he said before dragging me to my computer. He switched it on. Damn it, I just shut it down. But when Duke Giovanni said to do it, I need to oblige. I almost want to salute at him.

"Here, do it. Now," he said before putting me in front of the computer.

"What was so important that I need to clear my schedule immediately?" I asked as my hands were typing into canceling the class, appointments and other stuff. My students would be happy to hear this news tonight.

"Tomorrow, we will be visiting my family. Ah, but you already know them, didn't you?" he said smugly before I glared at him. All the flashbacks of spending at his house during our childhood did stir something in my stomach but I ignored it.

"Okay, done. Can we go now?" I asked as I looked at him. He smiled at me before he gestured me to take my handbag and get the hell out of my office as he was dragging me down the hall, into the parking lot before he instructed me to get into his car and he sped off from the campus parking.