Marco's POV
I genuinely wanted to hug my mother and thank her. I never asked her to suggest taking Lara on a date, but the idea slipped out of her mouth so naturally that even I was caught off guard. Still, I was grateful. Very grateful. My mother had unknowingly handed me the perfect excuse to be alone with my wife again.
I saw the way Lara stiffened, the way hesitation flickered across her eyes before she masked it behind polite silence. She could not refuse my parents. The contract bound her, and though it served me well in that moment, the truth left a bitter taste in my chest. I hated it. I hated that her silence came from obligation instead of desire. I did not want to force her to spend time with me.
