My fingers curled into the fabric of the bedspread.
I had grown to love him too deeply for it to end like this.
The thought of walking away didn’t feel like leaving a relationship.
It felt like carving something out of my chest with no anesthesia and walking away while still bleeding.
My phone rang suddenly.
The sound sliced through the silence so sharply I flinched.
My heart jumped immediately, hope and fear colliding so violently I felt nauseous again.
I almost didn’t answer.
But I did.
“Loretta.”
That voice.
Everything in me froze.
My grip tightened around the phone instantly.
“Big brother...” I whispered.
The words came out broken. My throat was already closing again.
Hearing Vincenzo after all this time did something strange to me. Something destabilizing. Like I had been holdingmyself upright with pure willpower and someone had suddenly removed one of the supports.
My voice cracked.
Tears surged again without warning.
A mess of emotions tangled together—relief, guilt, exhaustion, and something dangerously close to comfort.
“Are you safe?” Vincenzo asked immediately.
His tone was sharp, but underneath it I could hear it—the concern he never bothered to hide with me when it mattered. “Answer me properly. Are you fine? Where are you?”
“I’m... I’m fine, big brother,” I lied quickly.
It came out unconvincing even to me.
I sniffled loudly, wiping my face with the back of my hand like it would somehow fix anything.
There was a pause on the line.
Then his voice dropped colder.
“You’re crying,” he said flatly. “You are not fine, Loretta.”
My throat tightened again.
“Send me your address. I’m coming to get you.”
Something in my chest shifted sharply at that.
