I’m tired of playing second fiddle to his father. I’m tired of always having to accept his apology and that this is my life if I’m going to be with him. He doesn’t know how to balance a relationship and being a Puglisi. And I realize he’s got to want it as much as I do.
I lie back, staring at the ceiling as the ache settles in my chest. I love him. But loving him means knowing he’ll always leavewhen he calls. It means having to swallow my disappointment and pretend it’s not him abandoning me for them.
This is our reality. I have to accept it or walk away.
After a few moments, the bathroom door opens, and he steps out, his shoulders tense. He snatches his clothes from the floor and begins dressing. “I have to go.”
I don’t respond, just continue to stare at the ceiling as my vision blurs. I close my eyes at his deep sigh.
“I meant what I said, Sera. You’re the most important person in my life.”
“I can’t do this anymore,” I say before I can stop the words from coming out of my mouth.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
He slides his shoes on, then shoves his arms into his blazer.
“I’m done, Sergio.” He stills. “I love you, but this is too much.”
He walks toward the bed as anger blankets his face. “You don’t get to walk away from me, Seraphina. This,” he motions between us, “is forever.”
Before I can respond his phone rings again, and I laugh but there isn’t any humor in it. I raise my brow, daring him not toanswer. Daring him to choose me. He glares at me as the phone continues to ring.
“Answer it, Sergio. That’s what’s important, not this. Not us.”
I turn over, giving him my back. Do I expect him to answer it? Yes. Do I expect the slam of the door followed by the deafening silence? I do. And he proves me right when he walks out without another word, just the sharp slam of the door. The sound reverberates through the room, through my chest, through everything I’ve been trying not to admit. This will never work between us.
I lay here in the silence he leaves behind with my heart splintering into a million pieces. I wanted him to stay. I wanted him to fight for this. For me. But he didn’t. And that tells me everything I need to know.
It hurts. But I can’t keep waiting for him to choose me when I already know what he’ll choose instead.
So, this time, I choose me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sergio
I slowly opened the door, careful not to wake her, and closed it behind me, a soft click echoing in the quiet space. The room was still cloaked in early morning darkness. No sun yet, just the hush of the early morning hours and a dim light filtering through the sheer curtains.
I couldn’t wait to see her. It was a need that clawed at my chest. It felt like it had been years since I’d laid eyes on her, even though it had only been a few weeks.
The ache of separation, the weight of missing her, it all loosened the moment I saw her curled beneath the blankets, her breath steady, and her face softened in sleep. When I inhaled her scent of jasmine and vanilla, it felt like I was home.
I sank into the chair by the window, my eyes never leaving her. Maybe it was creepy as hell to be sitting in her room, in the dark, watching her sleep but I didn’t give a fuck. I just needed to be near her. I’d love nothing more than to climb into the bed next to her warm, soft body and slide between her thighs, but I didn’t think that would go over too well with her. At least not yet.
Her fingers twitched and her brow furrowed as she stirred. I guess she could feel me watching her. Her eyes blinked open, slow, and dazed, adjusting to the darkness of the room. Confusion crossed her face, then she saw me cloaked in the shadows, causing her to jump and scramble toward the headboard.
“It’s me,” I said before she started screaming bloody murder and my brothers and guards came rushing in with guns raised.
“Jesus Christ, you scared the shit out of me, Sergio. What the hell!”
I chuckled. “I’m sorry.”
The silence stretched between us as she relaxed. But there wasn’t anything I wanted to say to her. I just needed to see her and be in her presence.
“You’re here,” she whispered, her voice cracking with sleep and disbelief.
“I am.”
