She was ten and her dad was yelling at her for receiving a D on a geography test. “You couldn’t even manage to gethalfof the US states labeled correctly? You’re such a disappointment.”
Sabrina was fifteen. Her parents were explaining to her and Maggie that they could no longer stand to be around one another. They were divorcing. The teenage Sabrina couldn’t understand why. Her mother’s voice said, “You disappoint me, Sabrina. It should be obvious to even someone like you why.Thatman has been bewitched by another woman.”
Sabrina was eighteen and was in the last few months of her senior year of high school. She had her dad on the phone and her mother sitting at the kitchen table. She picked up a thin white envelope from Baylor University in Waco, ripped it open, and skimmed the contents of the admissions letter. “Wait-listed.”
Her mother’s face fell, and her father groaned. They spoke over one another, saying how disappointed they were in her for not applying herself more in school and in extracurricular activities. Sabrina sank onto a chair at the kitchen table, burying her face in her hands.
Finally, Sabrina was sitting alone in her car crying, the irate voice of her mother letting it be known how angry, embarrassed, and disappointed she was in her for losing her job.
Lorenzo is just going to toss me aside as if I never mattered. I was naive to start looking ahead to the future and think that I might be able to trust a man. I thought there really was something special beginning to grow and develop between us. Now I can see he is just like Mom and Dad, and that in his eyes, I’ll never amount to anything. I’ll always be a disappointment.
Nora glared in her brother’s direction. “That is the dumbest set of reasoning I have ever heard.” Her friend’s eyelids twitched. “You’re hurting Sabrina just as much as you’re hurting yourself. Being a prince is a part of who you are. You have to learn to move on from the past, Lorenzo, or you’ll never be able to move forward.”
A tangle of conflicting emotions began to swirl with increasing speed until it was as if there was a hurricane under Sabrina’s skin, waiting to be unleashed. She wasn’t merely angry, she was infuriated.
“It was never, ever about the money. I would’ve asked my sister if I was truly that desperate. How dare you.” Sabrina lifted her chin. “I’ve learned to grow a thick skin after being treated like crap by my family, my exes, and my boss, but this one hurts. Perhaps it’s for the best if our friendship, or whatever you want to call it, ends.” Her body shook. “I deserve a little respect. I deserve to be treated as my own person, separate from Maggie! You never even gave me that chance, and now we’ll never know what might have been.”
Lorenzo rubbed his eyes. His mouth was open, his expression dazed. “Maggie?”
“This is goodbye.” With a heavy heart, she reached down to pick up her backpack, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Giulia, thank you for your hospitality. Nora, I’ll be outside. I need some air.”
Giulia hugged Sabrina tightly, then darted over to the refrigerator to retrieve a container and placed it into her hands. “Some fresh tiramisu for the road. Chocolate can instantly make any situation better.”
Giulia spoke to Nora in Italian.
“My pearl, wait!” Lorenzo called out in desperation, clearly under the influence of the wine.
Sabrina hesitated but kept her back to him. Nora pushed her forward. “I’ll meet you in a moment.”
She started speaking to her brother in rapid Italian.
Sabrina slowly bumbled her way up the pathway, putting distance between herself and Castillo Roccia. She rested her hand against a rough brick wall for support.
Don’t look back. There is no changing the past. Only the future.
Twelve
A Fresh Start in Florence
Two hours had passed since the incident. All of the restless energy from earlier had disappeared. Internally, Sabrina was emotionally drained and mentally exhausted. Her attempts to cat nap had been in vain. Her eyes twitched. A dull throb radiated through her prefrontal cortex.
She settled instead for resting her head against the cool glass of the train’s window. Passing through the tunnel, the lighting went from pitch black to bright flashes of orange. She rubbed her temples.
“Do you still have a headache?” Nora sat across from her, typing away on her laptop computer. She peeked at Sabrina from over her screen. “I can walk down to the dining car and ask for some hot chocolate or maybe some wine. We have to get your body to somehow relax.”
Sabrina shook her head. “Thanks, but no. I’m fine. I just need a hot bath and a quality night’s sleep.”
Nora has been itching to talk about what happened. If we’re going to talk about it, let’s get this over with. All I want to do when we arrive in Florence is to forget all about Mom, Dad, and Lorenzo. A fresh start in a new city.
“Are you really fine? Or are you just saying that to appease me?” Nora pinched her lips together. “Growing up with two younger siblings, I’m nearly fluent in reading body language.”
“The latter of the two,” Sabina said flatly.
Nora huffed. “I’ve never been more ashamed to be related to Lorenzo. He may be an adult, but he still has the emotional capacity of a young boy. I’m ashamed of his ignorance.”
“NiceNorthanger Abbeyreference, and I won’t disagree with you on that count.” Sabrina sat up straight, the muscles in her neck stiff from being in the same position for too long.
“You don’t have to answer this, but if you don’t mind, who’s Maggie?”
