He rises from my bed and reaches for his weekend bag. I sit on my knees and watch him as he gets dressed, my heart bleeding. Part of me is screaming for me to take my words back, but I can’t stop this spiral, not even when regret sets in instantly.
He turns toward me as he buttons up his shirt. “I thought you were different,” he murmurs. “I’ve never met a woman who wanted me for who I am, but I thought you did, Valentina. I guess I was wrong.” He laughs humorlessly and shakes his head. “I love you,” he says, but his tone is harsh. “I fucking love you with all I’ve got, yet you sit there, making my worst fears come true like I’m fucking nothing to you. The reason you married me is gone, so you’re cutting me loose?”
He looks at me then, helplessness marring his handsome face. “I’m trying my hardest to remind myself that this is just your grief talking, but you’re breaking my fucking heart, baby. What am I supposed to do here? What am I supposed to say?”
His eyes fall closed for a moment, and he takes a deep breath. “Tell me you didn’t mean what you just said. Tell me you love me, and that our marriage wasn’t just a means to an end for you.”
I look down at my hands, my entire body numb. Deep down, I can feel a small part of me pleading for me to speak up, to not let him go, but darkness drowns out that voice. It would only take him a few months to get over me. I’m sure of it.
“Valentina, if this is what you call love, I don’t want it.”
He zips up his bag and turns his back to me. I watch as he walks out of my bedroom, leaving me here alone for the first night since I lost Abuela.
It hurts, but I know it’s for the best.
Chapter Sixty-One
Luca
I stare at my wedding ring as I lean back against my sofa, the house empty and quiet. When did this place start feeling incomplete without Valentina? Just being here hurts, because everything reminds me of her. I can’t even go to the office without thinking of her. She’s infiltrated my life so deeply that I can’t go anywhere without thinking of her.
I sigh as I reach for my pocket watch and stare at the photo of her inside it. She hasn’t contacted me at all, and I have no idea what to do. I can’t tell if it’s just her grief that’s making her act up, or if it’s more. The feelings she had for me, were they truly that superficial, that fleeting?
Part of me wants to go running back to her, but another part of me feels like that would just be harassment. I’ve already asked so much of her, and in the last few weeks, she’s made it quite clear that she doesn’t want me around. How much longer can I force my presence on her? I stayed by her side week after week, even when she barely acknowledged me. Should I have taken the hint sooner?
I should’ve known that even she wouldn’t want me once I’m no longer of use to her. Without her grandmother and the care I provided for her, she no longer needs me. My eyes fall closed as I plead with myself to snap out of it. “This is Valentina,” I whisper to myself. “You know her better than she knows herself right now. This isn’t her.”
I know that it’s true, and that I should go back to her mother’s house and endure the pain, but I’m scared that if I do, I’ll have to admit that things truly are over for us. When I’m here, I’m in limbo, able to pretend everything is fine. If I go there and face her, she might truly break my heart, and I don’t think I’m ready for that.
If I’m honest with myself, part of me genuinely believed that staying away for a couple of days would make her realize what kind of damage she’s doing to us. I thought she’d come back home, but I should’ve known better. Maybe I should believe her words and accept that the woman I love more than life itself… doesn’t love me back.
I sit up when I hear the sound of the front door closing, my heart racing wildly. “Please,” I whisper, barely holding onto my sanity. Please let it be her.
My heart sinks when my grandmother walks into my living room, five bodyguards behind her. I sigh as I sink back into the sofa, feeling lost. I don’t have the energy to wonder what she’s doing here.
“Luca,” Grandma says as she walks up to me.
I raise my face to look at her, but I don’t have it in me to fake it for her. I’m fucking heartbroken, and I miss my wife.
She sighs, and for a moment, I see hesitation in her expression, but then she steels her spine. “It’s come to my attention that Val and you are in breach of your agreement with me,” she says, her tone firm. “Val moved out weeks ago, and you haven’t been with her in over two weeks. The agreement was a maximum of three consecutive days, Luca. I’m sorry, but I’m cutting you off. All of your assets at The Windsor Bank have been frozen, and you’re no longer allowed to set foot on any of the Windsor properties, including this estate. That, of course, includes the houses of all your siblings.”
I stare at my grandmother in disbelief. “You’re kidding me, right? My wife isn’t home because she just lost a family member, and you know it.”
Grandma nods and smiles humorlessly. “I didn’t say she had to be here with you. I said you two have to be together, and you’re not. If she’s grieving at her mother’s house, then that’s where you should’ve been too. I won’t make exceptions for you, Luca. You already went behind my back and married her, and I let it go then. I won’t give you any further chances.”
She nods at one of her bodyguards, and he drops a bag onto my coffee table.
“You have ten minutes to pack your essentials before these men escort you out. I’ll let you take one of your cars, but you’re forbidden from selling it, since it’s Windsor property.”
I stare at her in disbelief. “How could you do this to me, all because I disobeyed one of your ridiculous rules? Is total obedience truly more important to you than my happiness and well-being?” I run a hand through my hair and chuckle humorlessly when she stares at me completely expressionlessly. “You’re making an example of me to ensure my siblings stay in line, huh? Do you truly think Mom and Dad would want this for me? How are you going to live with the knowledge that you’re letting them down in the worst way?”
She sighs. “Eight minutes,” she informs me, completely fucking heartless.
I rise to my feet, fueled by hatred. “I hope something as ridiculous as this is worth losing your grandson over, because I’ll never come back to this damn estate. For the rest of your life, you won’t see me again. I’m done being one of your little puppets.”
“Five minutes,” she replies, a sweet smile on her face. How can she look at me that way, entirely unaffected? Does she even love my siblings and me at all, or are we just tools for her to expand her legacy with?
I sigh as I gather my most precious belongings and a handful of clothes. How did I lose everything in a matter of days? Where did it all go wrong?
Chapter Sixty-Two
Valentina
My bedroom door opens, and hope rushes through me, only for it to vanish the second I see Sierra and Raven. I shouldn’t expect Luca to come back here after the way I pushed him away, but somehow, a small irrational part of me wants him to fight for me even when I make it so hard. It’s unfair, and I don’t want to think or act this way, but it’s like I’m helpless in the face of fear.