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My last hold on my control snaps and I yell, “I will not marry him.” I push my seat back, the screeching against the wooden floor makes my father angrier before I swiftly walk away, heading to my room.
“Sophia. Get back here right now,” my father yells, making me pick up the pace as I hurry to get to the safety of my room where I can lock my door at least.
Once in my room, I slam my door and click the lock into place. Not feeling safe enough, I carry on through to my ensuite and lock that door for good measure too. Leaning against the vanity, I face myself in the mirror. I can’t stand the sight of tamed hair, so I vigorously start yanking out the pins holding it in place, throwing them down haphazardly.
My fiery wild hair surrounds me reflecting my mood. Taking forceful breaths I exhale loudly, to lower my heart rate. I can’t believe they expect me to marry him and to be happy with him cheating on me for that matter. My head sags forward as I close my eyes until my breaths have slowed.
The white folded paper from before my shower catches my interest when I peel my eyes open. I stand up straight, snatching it up and unfolding it. The paper is filled with scratchy handwriting but still readable. As I read the words over, a glimpse of a memory from last night pushes through. Lorenzoand I seated at the kitchen bench in his apartment taking tequila shots. It becomes a bit hazy after that, but I do remember him writing in a notebook.
A pact to marry when we are thirty if we are both still single? And from my signature I clearly agreed to this. I slap my hand against my forehead because I’ve gone from no marriage prospects to two in a matter of minutes. The first is not an option I would consider for all the money in the world, but the thought of Lorenzo has me pausing.
Did I only agree last night because of the alcohol or was it for another reason? Try as I might, the memories remain fuzzy, and I can’t for the life of me remember anything else. It clearly states on this little piece of paper that cheating would be grounds for divorce. I wonder if I told him about what Mitch did to me.
Reading over the pact again, I can’t help but think thirty is a hell of a long time away. Eight years. A lot can change in that time. And with the way Lorenzo looks, I doubt he will stay single for long. Underneath all his bravado it’s his tender and caring nature that would have any woman falling head over heels for him. He has shown me nothing but genuine kindness which is sadly something lacking in my world. Who am I kidding, he will get snapped up in no time. Anyone who got him would be crazy to let him go. With a realisation and an exhale, I take one final look at the tiny shred of hope I hold in my fingers before folding the notebook paper back up. I walk defeated into my room and on tiptoes I push the folded piece of hope to the back of my closet along with any defiance I felt burning.
Chapter Eleven
8 YEARS LATER / PRESENT DAY
Lorenzo
“Renz, I say this as your friend and not your employee but what the heck has crawled up your ass lately? You turned thirty a few months ago and you were the happiest I’ve ever seen you. Then come this week, you’re snapping at everyone within a ten-kilometre radius of you,” Niko, my best friend says.
I’m currently busy on a backboard working on the underside of a car so he can’t see my face. He’s right, I have been short with a few people lately but the weight of the date happening in two days has gotten to me. It’s Sophia’s thirtiethbirthday. It’s make or break time. I’ve never told anyone about the pact I made with Sophia. I guess if we did go through with it, I didn’t want people knowing how we started off. Plus, I like sharing a secret with only her.
With a huff I slide myself out from under the car. Niko holds out his hand for me to grab so he can help me up. I pull the dirty rag from my back pocket and wipe the black grease from my hands.
“Got a lot on my mind,” I tell him, after spending way too long staring at my fingers.
“You want to talk about it?” he offers.
“Nah, I’ll be sweet,” I say, shaking my head.
“Well, I’m here if you ever wanna unload. Stop biting everyone’s heads off and we’ll be fine,” he tells me, as he punches my shoulder chuckling to himself.
“I haven’t been that bad, have I?”
“Well, I’m not sure if Mrs. Carrigan will be back. You yelled so loudly about her dog yapping, she hightailed it out of here, dragging the poor mutt behind her. The poor sausage dog was choking on his lead with how fast she took off,” he informs me, before bursting out with laughter.
I laugh along with him at the thought of Chester dragging behind her. I’m sorry to have missed it. Thankfully losing Mrs. Carrigan’s business won’t be too much of a loss as I couldn’t stand having the town busybody talking about everyone constantly.
In need of a drink, I walk over to our small work fridge and pull the door open forcefully. There’s a lot of grime in the seals so it gets stuck from time to time. Grabbing two bottles of water, I throw one to Niko who catches it effortlessly. The seal of the lid breaks as I unscrew the cap and tip the bottle to my lips, letting the cold liquid cool my throat as it runs down it. Before turning to Niko, I screw the cap back on and place the halfempty bottle on my work desk. The work desk that is currently covered in overflowing stacks of papers. I need to sort out a new receptionist.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You know you can ask me anything,” Niko replies, widening his stance.
“Have you ever done something crazy in the name of love?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.
He laughs lightly before saying, “So it is a girl making you bite everyone’s head off. Who is she?”
I should have known if I mentioned something to Niko, he would see right through me.
I let out a sigh shaking my head, “Forget it.”
“Hey come on Renz. It’s me. You know I’m just pulling your chain.”
Dropping my head to my chest I say, “You’re gonna think I’m crazy.”
