Page 29 of Wrestling With Love

Luca’s eyes snapped open.

A man stood there, older, stiff-backed, wearing a doctor's coat. The ID hanging from his neck read, Dr. Javier Perez.

Luca frowned.

Perez? Were they related?

Diamond was already awake, and the second she saw him, her entire body went rigid.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said, voice like ice.

The man scoffed, stepping closer. “And yet, here you are. Laid out in a hospital bed like a broken doll.” His gaze flicked to Luca briefly before landing back on her. “This is what wrestling got you, Diamond. I warned you. Told you it would come to this.”

Luca stood instantly, muscles coiled with tension. But Diamond beat him to it.

“You warned me?” she spat, eyes blazing. “No. You dismissed me. You pretended I didn’t exist because I wouldn’t be the daughter you wanted. And now you show up just to say I told you so?”

Lucas' eyes widened with the revelation of their relationship.

Her father crossed his arms. “I’m here because you embarrassed yourself. Dragging our name through the mud with this ridiculous career—”

“That career is mine! I built this myself, without you!”

Her voice rose to a furious pitch, raw and unrestrained, and then suddenly, the machines started beeping erratically.

The door burst open, and the doctor rushed in. “She needs rest,” he warned, giving Luca a pointed look before checking her vitals. “No more stress.”

Luca didn’t wait for another word. He grabbed her father by the arm and yanked him out of the room.

The hallway was empty.

Luca’s grip tightened. “I thought some bastard had hurt her,” he said, his voice dangerously low. “But now I see the real damage was done a long time ago. And it was you! Her own father! Now I get why she told me her parents were dead.”

Diamond’s father yanked his arm free, glaring. “You don’t know anything.”

Luca stepped closer, his rage barely contained. “I know enough. And if you ever come near her again, you’ll have a hell of a lot more to regret than just losing your daughter.”

“You’re wasting your time with her.” Diamond’s father glared at him, straightening his coat. “She’s a disgrace. A rebel who threw away everything for this… this pathetic excuse of a life.” He sneered. “She could’ve had security, a family. Instead, she ended up in a hospital bed, beaten down like some street brawler. That’s all she’ll ever be.”

Luca’s fists curled. His entire body burned with the need to break something—someone. But he didn’t. Instead, he stepped forward, voice dangerously low.

“You think she’s a disgrace?” He let out a slow, humorless laugh. “No. She’s a fighter. She built something out of nothing, with no help from you. And she’s stronger than you’ll ever be.” His eyes darkened. “But you know what? She won’t have to fight alone anymore.”

Diamond’s father scoffed. “And what will happen then? You think you can fix her?”

Luca’s jaw tightened. “She’s not broken. But I will heal her. I’ll give her every damn thing you never did. And one day, when she’s standing at the top, living the life she fought for, she won’t regret leaving your house behind. She’ll only regret wasting years trying to be your daughter.”

He didn’t wait for a response. Didn’t care to hear whatever poison the man had left to spit. Luca turned, stepping back into Diamond’s room, shutting the door behind him and locking it.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Diamond had spent the next full day in the hospital, and Luca had been there the entire time. He hadn’t left her side, not even once, pacing the room when the doctors checked on her, his jaw set in a permanent clench. She had stitches on her forehead but no concussion, a bruised rib that made every movement painful, a wound on her arm and her knuckles were raw from the fight.

She shifted on the bed, wincing at the dull ache in her ribs, when she heard Luca’s voice just outside the door.

"She’s not keeping well. She’s not working for the security company anymore."

Her body tensed.

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