Mimi’s heart ached for him as she followed him to their bedroom. And then her gaze fell on the damned envelope again.
“Open it,” he said with that arrogant tilt of his head that she had come to recognize as a tell of his uncertainty.
She almost protested, but the last thing she wanted to spend her energy on was a silly fight.
Mimi opened the envelope and quickly skimmed the documents. It was a lot of legalese, but she understood enough to feel as if she had been burned. She dropped them onto the bed, anger sparking and lighting up her flashpoint.
“What the hell? Why are you settling this much money on me?” She scoffed at her incapability to do mental math. “I can’t even convert that number into pounds. I didn’t ask you for any of this.”
“You’re overreacting.”
Mimi was so angry at this statement that she simply sputtered at him.
“You know I set up trust funds for Chiara’s children, for Massimo. I did one for Luca, and this is for you.”
“Why? Are you planning to divorce me soon? Are you worried that I might ask for too much?”
“Of course not. You are the one who made up the one-year plan, not me.”
Mimi folded her hands and glared at him. “Did no one tell you that the last thing you should say to your wife is that she’s overreacting?”
“You do overreact when it comes to me buying you anything. We’ve been through this, Mimi. I am a rich man. I like to buy my wife certain things. One would think you’d learn to accept them with grace.”
“Not when it feels like you’re buying me out for some reason, Renzo. I told you when you proposed this whole arrangement—” she still couldn’t bring herself to saythis marriage“—that I don’t want anything from you. Except your support in raising Luca when we separate.”
He remained stubbornly mute.
“So, are we separating? Is that what you want? All these new residences you have been buying me in different cities, these overnight trips you take, the way you’re never here to—”
“I never what? You’re telling me I’m failing in my duty as a husband and a father?”
Duty…there was that word again.
She had never hated a word in the language so much as she did then. And it also gave her the answer for the questions that plagued her day and night like vultures pecking at her tender flesh.
She would always be another responsibility to him, nothing more. Another burden he had taken on. And maybe because she was a novelty to him right now, or because she provided easy, convenient, hassle-free relief in the form of sex, he gave her and demanded physical intimacy.
But how long would that last if he saw her as another item on his to-do list? How long would it last if they had nothing else outside it?
As hard as she fought, a tear slipped down her cheek. Because she didn’t understand how to get back what they had once had. She didn’t even know if it had been anything more than a mirage of a connection brought on by their shared grief for their lost siblings and love for the innocent life they were bringing into the world.
“I want to go to London for Christmas and take Luca with me,” she blurted out, having reached the end of her tether.
His head jerked up as if someone had punched him. And he continued to stare at her for several long moments without a question or a statement.
Mimi wrapped her arms around herself and looked out the large window. The world outside seemed to be going on at its usual rhythms while hers…was tilting upside down. “One of the documentaries I made when I was pregnant—about prenatal healthcare for women from lower economic backgrounds—got nominated for an award. The banquet is a few days before Christmas, in London. I want to—I have to attend. And I want to bring Luca with me. There’s a bunch of friends who want to see him, and I…need a break.”
“A break from what?” Renzo finally said.
“From being cooped up here,” she said, meeting his eyes.
Please, ask me not to leave, her foolish heart murmured.Ask me to stay. Tell me you’ll fix whatever’s gone wrong between us.
The lines of strain around his mouth deepened as he regarded her. “How long are you talking about?”
“I don’t know. I think you have a lot to deal with right now, with that new resort being built. And I need to go back to my life for a little while.” She bit her lip, arresting the bitterness that wanted to spew forth. “Luca’s the most important thing in my life now, and…there are things I need to sort out with my mother too. I’ve been running away from my own home for too long.”
“And you’re not now?” he demanded, his question sharp as a knife. But he didn’t give her a chance to respond. “Whatever you want,bella. Just do me the favor of staying at the London flat I bought you recently.” His mouth twisted wryly. “Seems like I have foresight.”
