Chapter 78: The room where it happened ( Tom’s POV )
"What did you say?"
"They used a legal trick to arrange your arrest under an absurd amount of caution."
"Oh."
Luther switched his eyes to Emiliano.
His eyes gleamed—caught somewhere between hope and fear, bright with the fragile weight of both. But then they shifted, flicking away in a quiet collapse as the truth settled. The betrayal had landed. And in that single glance downward, he let the light drain from his gaze without a word.
Emiliano smiled reassuringly.
"I already paid for it."
Lu let out a long breath, shoulders sinking as the tension drained from his body. The exhale was quiet, almost shaky, like he’d been holding it in for far too long. For the first time, his face softened—relief settling into every line. The peace didn’t last long.
"We have another problem aside from Emiliano’s ten billion-dollar receipt."
Lu stared at him, stunned—like the world had just tilted slightly sideways and no one else had noticed. His mouth opened, then closed again, unable to decide if this moment needed words or if words would only cheapen it. His brow furrowed, eyes locked on the man with the glasses as if trying to confirm what he’d just heard.
Ex-blondie lounged there with that unbearable calm, one leg crossed over the other, long hair falling perfectly in place like it always did. He lifted his coffee cup with the same smug, unbothered elegance he applied to everything else. No urgency. No guilt. Just that slow, deliberate sip, like the entire room existed for his morning ritual.
He looked up—right into those stunned eyes across the room—and smiled. Not a smirk this time. No mockery. Just something warm. Soft. Infuriatingly gentle, like he’d just wrapped the poor idiot in a silk ribbon and handed him his own heart.