AllFreeNovel
Share Us
How would she react to my veiled confession? With anger? Shock? Disappointment?
Regardless of her feelings toward her father right now, I couldn’t imagine she’d be okay with me tampering with her family’s company.
But to my surprise, Vivian didn’t betray any visible emotion beyond a tightening of her features.
“I’m sorry for what my father did,” she said. “But why are you telling me this now? You were fine with keeping me in the dark until now.”
My hands fisted again. “I wanted to clear the air,” I said stiffly. “Before…”You left.“We parted ways.”
If you don’t care, then why haven’t you broken the engagement yet?
Francis’s question haunted me. I could’ve told her any time over the past week, but I’d stalled. Made excuses. Told myself I was preparing her for our break by pulling away when, in reality, I simply hadn’t been ready to let her go.
But time was up. I chose vengeance over Vivian, and these were the consequences.
No more stalling.
“I’m sorry you got caught in the middle of this. You were never at fault. But I had to protect my family, and this is…” The words lodged like a knife in my throat before I forced them out. “This is just business.”
The taste of pennies returned, but I kept my expression detached even when every instinct screamed at me to cross the room, hold her, kiss her, and never let her go.
I’d let emotion rule for too long. It was time for logic to rule again.
Even if she forgave me for what I did to her family, we couldn’t move forward when her father and I hated each other’s guts. And if I stayed with her, her father would still win. He’d know Vivian was a weakness I couldn’t afford to have, and he’d use it to exploit the situation any way he could.
For both our sakes, it was better for us to split up.
No matter how much it hurt.
Vivian stared at me. A gallery of emotions flickered through her eyes before a shutter slammed down.
“Right,” she said softly. She closed her suitcase and hauled it off the bed. She stopped in front of me, twisted her engagement ring off her finger, and placed it in my hand. “Just business.”
She brushed past me, leaving the faint scent of apples and a horrible ache in my chest behind.
I closed my fist around the ring. It was cold and lifeless against my palm.
My throat worked with a hard swallow.
Vivian hadn’t packed all her things. Most of her clothes still hung in the closet. Her perfume bottles were on the dresser, a vase of her favorite flowers next to them.
Yet the room had never felt emptier.
CHAPTER35
Vivian & Dante
VIVIAN
Instead of seeking out my father or checking into a hotel after leaving Dante’s house, I wandered around Central Park with my suitcase like a tourist fresh off the train at Penn Station.
I’d hoped the spring air would clear my head, but all it did was remind me of my engagement photoshoot with Dante.
Bow Bridge. Bethesda Terrace. Even the bench where we ate breakfast after the shoot.
Idid what I had to do. No one threatens a Russo.
I had to protect my family…this is just business.
