Page 304 of Alessio

Corrado dragged a hand down his jaw, shaking his head at the same time. “So yes, there is someone else. And I love them, but I haven’t been good to them, either. They deserve far better than what I gave—I need to give that to them, now.” Corrado didn’t look away from her as he said, “I’m sorry.”

All the air in Ginevra’s lungs came out in a painful exhale. She felt his hold loosen on her, but he didn’t step back. Not yet.

It was the buzz of a phone in his pocket that made him put distance between the two of them. It wasn’t much, just a couple of inches, but he wasn’t holding her anymore, and she could stare up at the black, inky Canadian sky dotted with the brightest stars.

For the moment, she was grateful.

She needed that space.

Corrado made a noise, and she looked his way. He was still staring down at his phone, but she caught the name on the contact and what the message said before he turned the device off entirely.

Les, the contact said. And simply, I’m in the city—we need to talk, now.

Who was that?

Corrado’s head snapped up, his gaze landing on her. “I think … would it be okay if I had Chris take you back to the penthouse? I have something to handle right now.”

Ginevra nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

What else could she say?

Chris was quick to help Ginevra out of the silver Mercedes, and into the building while the rain continued to pour down from the dark sky overhead. At some point during the drive back to the city, the sky had opened, and began to cry.

It felt appropriate.

The sky was breaking open.

Ginevra, too.

Despite how fast Chris moved to get them inside the safety of the building, it didn’t matter. Her loose waves were soaked, and so was the silk dress. Likely ruined, now.

Yeah, so appropriate.

Like her in that moment.

“I can walk you upstairs, if you’d like,” Chris said, making sure to keep his gaze on only Ginevra’s face, and not the dress that would have to now be peeled from her body. “My job was to get you back safely, after all.”

She shook her head.

No.

Right now, all she wanted was to be alone. She highly doubted Chris would understand why, as he wasn’t privy to the things that happened between her and Corrado. She really didn’t want to explain, either.

Why humiliate herself further?

“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to take the elevator up alone.” Ginevra flipped her hand over, showing the keys in her palm. “He gave me the keys, so I can get in.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks, Chris.”

He flashed her a kind smile. “Don’t mention it, Ginevra.”

“Well, I’ll …” She nodded at the bank of elevators across the brightly lit lobby decorated in soft, neutral tones. “… get going, then. I didn’t get to see your mom or dad before we left, but you’ll tell them I loved meeting them, won’t you? They were great.”

And considering that she now knew there was someone else in Corrado’s life, that his parents and the rest of his family probably knew about, she was only now realizing just how welcoming they had been, all things considered.

More kind than they needed to be, honestly.