AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shudder at the idea that I’ve been enabling this man. Rage licks my core.
“What’s wrong with you? Why do you fucking care who I’m with?Weare not together anymore.”
“Oh, darling Gina, think about your motivations to be with me in the first place. You’re not Mother Teresa in this scenario.”
“I’ll go to the media. I’ll expose what you’ve done. It took me years to realize how you manipulated me, and stupid me, I still trusted you. No more.” My throat is sore with the words.
“You do that, darling, and it will cost you the most important relationship in your life.” He hangs up.
I lower my head against the cold wall, the phone dropping to the floor. How did I let this happen?
I need to stand up for myself, and for Massi. Finally, I have to do that. Sebastien is coming in a week to stay here with me until I sell the house. I had hoped we might look at schools for him here, but I can’t see Massi accepting me, us, anymore.
Still, I need to fix the situation. For him, if not for us.
I take the phone downstairs and say goodbye when my mother leaves with Clarissa. I summon all my willpower to act like a reasonable human, but I’m relieved when they’re finally gone.
I trudge back upstairs and slide under the covers, not even bothering to get undressed. And I stare at the ceiling, drawing an imaginary balance sheet.
Who called the employees and paid them to stay home? Frederick.
Who bought all the fish for an exorbitant sum? Frederick.
Who called all the patrons, explaining unforeseen technical issues and moved the event to his place? Frederick.
Whose fault is it Massi’s big moment was ruined? Mine.
Only mine.
* * *
The sound drills into my brain. What is it? It My mind hovers on the verge of wakefulness, not yet ready to function. But the sound… It keeps up with its short, screaming detonation in my poor aching head.
Oh God, the headache is brutal. My stomach churns as I pry my eyes open.
As the room comes into focus, I finally identify the source of my torture. Someone is at the door. Downstairs. So far away. An unsurmountable distance.
When the banging joins the ringing, I slide my legs over the edge of the bed and push myself to sitting.
I stagger, patting the bedside table to find my glasses. I somehow reach the door of my room, then the landing, then one step after another, progressively making my way to the front door. Before I turn the doorknob, I freeze.
What if it’s Massi? The thought, irrationally, almost makes me laugh. I can’t be sure of many things in my life right now, but I know Massimo Cassinetti never wants to see me again.
I don’t even bother to check before I pull the door open and exhale. Mila, minus her signature smile, stands there with a cup of coffee in one hand and my purse in the other.
I reach for the coffee and turn. The door closes and her heels click, following me to the kitchen. I sag onto the bench at the breakfast nook.
“You look like shit.” Mila puts my purse on the counter and slides into the seat across from me.
“Not half as bad as I feel I’m sure.” I must have fallen asleep just minutes before she arrived and I’m still struggling to climb out of the depth of my slumber, slightly disoriented. As if my mind wanted to protect me from the ordeal, so it refuses to fully wake up.
“Since you didn’t defend yourself last night, I’m going to take a guess and assume Frederick’s involvement is not a coincidence. What were you thinking?” Mila asks the million-dollar question.
I take a sip of my coffee, wishing it was liquor. Or poison.
“How is he?” I blink away the tears. Fuck. My mind is numb, but the stupid tears work overtime.
Mila sighs and I don’t need her to answer, her somber expression and the lack of any emotion on her beautiful face are confirmation enough. Massi either burned the house down or scared everyone away yelling.
