I Slapped the Villain and Claimed I Was His Future Wife Chapter 08

I Slapped the Villain and Claimed I Was His Future Wife Chapter 08

I secretly smiled.

He took the bait.

Luca’s tutoring was brutal. He kept insulting my intelligence.

At first, I clenched my jaw so hard it ached.

Then I figured out how to handle him.

“It’s okay. Our future kids can just take after you.”

“I’m working so hard because I want to go to the same college as you. If that doesn’t work, at least one close to yours.”

“Luca, you’re so smart and amazing. No wonder you’re the future husband I chose.”

Whenever I said things like that, his sharp comments disappeared.

His cold, proud face would show a mix of awkwardness and shyness.

“I’m not tutoring you so you can use these tricks to chase me.”

“Don’t talk.”

“Don’t look at me.”

“Don’t…”

“Don’t what?” I asked curiously.

He stared at my lips as I unconsciously chewed on my pen cap. His throat bobbed.

He reached out, pinched the back of my neck, and turned my face away.

“Don’t seduce me.”

I think he might have misunderstood what seduction meant.

Thanks to Luca’s help, my grades really improved.

After two rounds of practice exams, I moved into the top hundred students in my grade.

I kept subtly guiding him toward choosing an East Coast college.

Every time I tested the waters, he avoided giving a straight answer.

“We’ll see after the college decisions come out.”

But when the decisions finally arrived, he said, “I’m going to Palermo.”

I grabbed his hand desperately when we met up. “Why?”

“What am I supposed to do when I miss you after you leave for Palermo?”

He pulled his hand away, his fingers curling awkwardly.

His tone was calm. “It’s an order from Don Vescari.”

I was completely stunned.

If he followed the original plot, he would still cross paths with the female lead and the male lead and disrupt her redemption mission. That meant I would be trapped in the senior year nightmare again.

“Can you please not go?”

I looked at Luca. Just thinking about repeating senior year made tears well up.

No one understood.

My luck was absolute garbage.

Luca stared into my eyes and suddenly asked, “Why do you like me?”

I froze.

My mind went blank.

I searched every rom-com I had watched and romance novel I had read for an answer.

Then I pieced together an answer. “There’s no reason. I just like you. The moment I saw you, I was drawn to you. I think about you every day. Seeing you makes me happy. I want to be with you forever.”

I thought this heartfelt confession would move him.

But his gaze darkened.

His dark eyes stayed fixed on me.

A strange sense of unease crept over me.

I replayed what I’d just said.

I hadn’t said anything wrong.

“You like me. Forever.”

Luca smiled. “How can you be sure you’ll love someone forever and never change?”

I met the pressure in his eyes. “Because we get married in the future.”

“Fickle people will always stray. Loyal people remain loyal. I know myself. Once I choose you, I will always be on your side.”

“Fickle people will always stray. Loyal people remain loyal.” Luca repeated my words.

“I remember that when you first hit me, you said I would die in the future, by suicide.”

“I know myself. I would never do something as weak as suicide. I destroy whoever or whatever betrays me or makes me unhappy.”

“Ivy, you keep telling me how great the future is. So why would someone like me commit suicide?”

My breathing hitched.

I tried hard to keep my face neutral.

Why?

How was I supposed to answer that?

From the very beginning, those words weren’t meant for him.

One lie always requires more lies to keep it alive.

The midsummer wind was oppressively hot.

Standing under the tree in the park, I was sweating.

But my back felt cold.

Luca stepped closer. I instinctively stepped back.

He kept advancing. I kept retreating.

Until my back hit the tree trunk behind me.

Luca looked down at me, caging me in his arms.

“Speak.”