Aside from the legalities of our divorce, the other stumbling block was my missing husband. Alessio had dropped all pretence of playing devoted spouse and had started spending all his time in the office or travelling. If he carried on any longer, I would have to phone Brad to enter me into his diary. A divorce serving before his morning briefing, perhaps? That was sure to get his attention,
It was early February when a surprise visitor came to our door. Alessio was still at work, or so I assumed.
"Cesare!" I said, once I got over my surprise. "Hello. How are you?" I leaned over and kissed Alessio's father on each cheek. "I'm afraid Alessio isn't in this evening. He has another late night at the office." I tried to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
He nodded, his face friendly yet serious. "Yes, I've just come from his office. I actually came to see you. We haven't seen much of you since Christmas, and I wanted to catch up."
I reared my head back, stunned. "Oh."
I wasn't opposed to his visit, but Cesare and I didn't have a catch-up kind of relationship. The total extent of my conversations with him was polite small talk in the presence ofAlessio and his family. I couldn't recall ever being alone with him.
"Unless…you are busy? I apologise, I know I have come over unannounced."
"Oh, no! No, I'm not busy at all. I was reviewing my revision notes. Please, come in."
I stepped back and took his coat from him, placing it in our cloakroom. I showed him to our lounge, where I'd set up a study corner and had been poring over textbooks and notes. As awkward as it was to see Cesare, I welcomed the distraction. My mind had been reading the same lines over and over, with nothing sinking in.
"I've just called for some tea. Or do you prefer coffee?"
He sat down opposite me. "No, no. Tea is fine. I've spent so much time in England that I've grown fond of the stuff. Katherine prefers I drink it, although it's the green stuff she tries to force down my throat."
I laughed softly, thanking Rose as she came in, carrying a silver tray with a pot and two teacups.
I dismissed her and poured the tea for both of us before placing the saucer on the side table by his chair. I also gave him a couple of chocolate digestive biscuits that Rose had thoughtfully included.
"I won't tell Katherine if you won't." I winked.
"You're too good to me," he approved with a laugh, patting his flat stomach.
"How is Katherine? And Dante? Did she mention to you that Dante is welcome to visit for the summer here or in Devon? With you and Katherine, of course." I didn't want to mention that I wouldn't likely be in attendance, though it pained me that I might never see his side of the family again.
"Yes. And thank you, I think we'd enjoy a nice English summer."
I nodded my approval and took a sip of my tea in the interim silence. Despite my initial awkwardness, I slowly began to relax in his presence.
Finally, after Cesare had almost finished his tea, he placed his saucer down and gestured to my open textbooks. "How are your studies going? I have asked Alessio, but he has been very tight-lipped about it."
I gave a small snort. "Tight-lipped because he probably doesn't know what I'm studying." The bitter comment came out before I could think, and my startled gaze rose to meet his. Embarrassment spilt onto my cheeks. "I-I mean—"
"It's quite all right, Millie. I know what you mean." His voice was amused and not at all offended. "However, if you think Alessio is ignorant of your achievements, you couldn't be further from the truth," he said. "My son is very proud of you. Yes, he is very stingy when it comes to sharing you, but that is part of our burden to bear."
My brow furrowed, unable to comprehend what he was saying. "I'm sorry? Burden?"
His knowing smile unnerved me. "The burden of possessive men in love. We don't want to share our spouse with anyone. Their thoughts, hobbies and time are closely guarded."
A bubble of laughter came over me before I could silence it. My, Cesare sounded positively romantic. Any notion that the love Katherine felt for him was one-sided couldn't be more false. It was clear as the tip of my nose that he reciprocated her devotion.
Unfortunately, an old fool in love tended to view all relationships through rose-coloured glasses. The last thing Alessio felt for me was possessive love. Oh, he viewed me as a possession, alright. Like a child who jealously guarded their toy. They may get bored and forget about it, but as soon assomeone showed an interest, they suddenly wished to hoard it for themselves.
"Yes…well. That's one way of looking at it," I diplomatically answered. If he wanted to pretend Alessio and I had a solid marriage, then there was no harm in humouring him.
I watched in silence as he picked up a biscuit and took a polite bite. He made a small sound of appreciation before devouring the rest and taking another sip of his tea to wash it down. He caught me looking, and he ducked his head bashfully. "Katherine rarely keeps sweets in the house. Something about managing my blood sugars or cholesterol." He shrugged. "Or some other nonsense. But I don't mind. Happy wife, happy long life, am I right?"
My gaze scoured over Cesare. I took in his relaxed face, his shoulders that weren't tensely held, the deep lines around his eyes and mouth that came from a life full of laughter. An ugly pulse kicked me low in my stomach, and I realised that I was jealous of a middle-aged man and his relationship.
"Marriage in our world is hard, isn't it?" Cesare sat back in his chair, his hands resting on the arms as he eyed me with a knowing look that stripped my vulnerabilities.
I shrugged, my gaze evading his, smoothly sidestepping his question. "We're very privileged. I have no right to complain."
