The days following Luca's jealous outburst were a whirlwind of confusion for Elena. Every time she tried to see Aaron or make plans, Luca found a way to intervene. It started with little things—rescheduling meetings at the last minute, adding last-minute tasks to her workload, or calling her in for discussions that seemed to last far longer than necessary.

Elena wasn't blind. She knew what Luca was doing. The possessiveness that had been simmering beneath the surface was now glaringly obvious. It wasn't just jealousy—it was control. He wanted to make sure that her time, her thoughts, her entire world revolved around him.

As much as she hated to admit it, it was working.

Every time she thought she'd be able to catch up with Aaron, something would come up. Luca's calculated moves were subtle, but they were effective. It frustrated her to no end. She wasn't his property. She wasn't someone he could control just because they had a complicated history. But, even as she told herself that, a part of her was undeniably drawn to him.

That part of her—the part that still remembered the fire between them—was growing louder with every passing day.

One particularly rainy afternoon, Elena was determined to meet Aaron for lunch. They had been planning it for days, and she wasn't going to let Luca ruin it. She checked her phone as she wrapped up the last of her work, texting Aaron that she would be there in ten minutes.

Just as she grabbed her coat, Luca's voice came from the doorway.

"Elena, I need you in the conference room for a moment," he said, his tone casual, but the look in his eyes betrayed something else.

Elena clenched her jaw, her patience wearing thin. "Luca, I'm done for the day. Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

His eyes darkened, and he stepped closer, his presence almost overwhelming in the small office space. "It's important. We need to discuss the logistics for next week's client meeting. If we don't get it right, it could cost us the deal."

Elena sighed, knowing full well that Luca could have handled this himself. "Fine," she muttered, pulling off her coat and setting it aside.

As she followed him into the conference room, the tension between them was palpable. Luca walked with a slow, measured pace, and when they reached the large glass-walled room, he closed the door behind them. The sound of the rain beating against the windows was the only noise as they sat down at the table.

Luca leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table, his gaze locking onto hers with an intensity that made her pulse quicken. "I saw you text him."

Elena blinked, startled by the sudden shift. "What?"

"Aaron. I saw you texting him just now," Luca said, his voice low, almost accusatory. "Are you meeting him again?"

Elena's heart skipped a beat, a mixture of anger and confusion washing over her. "Are you seriously asking me that right now?"

"I'm just curious," Luca replied, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossing over his chest. "Every time I turn around, you're with him."

She scoffed, feeling the frustration bubble up inside her. "He's my friend, Luca. And you're the one who keeps getting in the way."

His jaw clenched, and his eyes flashed with something primal, something raw. "Maybe I have a reason."

Elena stared at him, the tension in the air thickening between them. "This isn't about business, is it? You've been finding excuses all week to keep me here, to stop me from seeing Aaron."

Luca stood abruptly, pushing his chair back as he walked toward the window. His back was to her, his hands shoved deep in his pockets as he stared out at the rain-soaked city below.

"You don't get it, Elena," he said, his voice rough, filled with a kind of desperation she hadn't heard before. "Seeing you with him—it drives me crazy. I can't stand it."

Elena rose from her seat, her heart pounding in her chest as she took a step toward him. "You don't have the right to feel that way anymore, Luca. You left. You walked away from everything we had."

He turned to face her, his expression tortured, conflicted. "I know I did. And I've regretted it every day since."

His words hung heavy in the air, the weight of their shared past pressing down on them both. Elena felt her resolve faltering, the walls she had built up around her heart starting to crack. The look in his eyes—the longing, the guilt, the raw emotion—was pulling her back in, piece by piece.

"I'm not that girl anymore," she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "I'm not the girl who waited around for you, hoping you'd come back."

Luca closed the distance between them in a few strides, his hands reaching out to gently cup her face. His touch was warm, familiar, and it sent a shiver down her spine. He stared into her eyes, his thumb brushing lightly against her cheek.

"I know you're not," he said, his voice soft but filled with an intensity that made her knees weak. "You've become this incredible woman, and I hate that I wasn't there to see it."

Elena's breath hitched in her throat, her heart racing as she stood frozen in his hold. His nearness, his scent, the feel of his skin against hers—it was intoxicating. She had spent so long trying to forget him, trying to move on, but being this close to him again was bringing it all back.

Luca leaned in, his forehead resting against hers, his breath warm against her lips. "But I'm here now, and I can't let you slip away again."

Her eyes fluttered shut, the tension between them electric. His hands slid down to her waist, pulling her closer, and before she could think, before she could stop herself, her hands found their way to his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart beneath her fingertips.

"Luca..." she whispered, her voice barely audible.

He tilted her chin up, his lips hovering just a breath away from hers. "Tell me you don't feel it, Elena. Tell me you don't feel the same pull I do."

Her mind screamed at her to walk away, to push him back, to remind him that they were over. But her heart—her traitorous heart—wasn't listening. The truth was, she did feel it. She had always felt it. The connection between them was undeniable, no matter how much she tried to suppress it.

Instead of answering, Elena closed the gap between them, her lips brushing softly against his. The kiss was tentative at first, filled with the weight of years of unresolved feelings. But as Luca deepened the kiss, his hands tightening around her waist, the hesitation melted away, replaced by a flood of passion and longing.

It was like no time had passed at all. The fire between them roared back to life, burning brighter and hotter than ever before.

Luca broke the kiss, his breathing ragged as he rested his forehead against hers once more. "I don't want to lose you again," he whispered, his voice raw, vulnerable. "I can't."

Elena opened her eyes, looking up at him, her heart torn between the life she had built and the love she had never truly let go of. "You hurt me, Luca," she said softly. "You left me without a word. How am I supposed to trust you again?"

"I'll spend every day proving to you that I'm not going anywhere," he promised, his grip on her tightening as if he were afraid she might slip away.

For a moment, they stood there, wrapped in each other's arms, the world outside forgotten. But deep down, Elena knew this was far from over. Luca's jealousy, his possessiveness—it was only the beginning. And while her heart might be leading her back to him, her mind was warning her of the storm that was still to come.

Because love, no matter how powerful, didn't erase the scars of the past.

And Luca's jealousy was a beast that wasn't going to be easily tamed.