I let Nerina play in her room while I took a shower and slipped into fresh clothes, knowing Enzo would arrive in less than an hour. I was wired, full of adrenaline, anger, and frustration.How dare he, after everything? But at the same time, urgh, it was slowly melting the steel cage around my heart. I had to be stronger than this.
After I had Nerina tucked up in bed with the enormous Rainbow Dash teddy, I bent down to turn off the projector.
“No! Please,Papi. I want it on all night. It’s magic.”
I sighed, brushing her hair from her face, then kissed her forehead. “Okay,Stellina.Just tonight because it’s your special day.”
She smiled, snuggling down under the covers.
“Sweet dreams, Sleeping Beauty.”
“Is magic real?” she whispered as I crept towards her door. I paused and glanced back at her.
“Magic is always real. Do you know how I know?” I whispered. She shook her head. “Because you are here. And you’re my magic, Neri.”
“Ti voglio bene,Papi,” she sighed, twisting onto her side and hugging Rainbow Dash’s neck. I melted on the spot, as I always did when I heard those words.
“I love you more than the whole world.”
Closing her door, I nodded at Filo, who took his position on the landing, and made my way downstairs. My head of security told me that Enzo’s car had been parked outside for the past hour. Persistent bastard. God, why had I asked him to come back tonight?
I wasn’t sure I was strong enough for this. Meeting him in the morning would’ve been a different story. I’d be able to sit across from him, switch off my emotions, and hear what he had to say—most likely plans about the Americans. But right now, it felt too... fragile. I felt too much. Anger. Hate. Frustration. Love.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge and watched my gates open on the security feed on the TV as his car crept slowly up the driveway. My heartbeat quickened with every inch he drewcloser to my door. I saw him get out, fix his hair, and straighten his shirt. He was nervous. Good. It was nice to see he was still affected by me and that it wasn’t all one-sided.
My housekeeper, Gloria, opened the door and led him into the kitchen. The sound of his shoes on my tiled floor echoed over the rush of blood in my ears. I still wasn’t sure whether I wanted to punch him, kiss him, or scream at him to fuck off and leave me alone. Because I was doing okay. Before he barged back into my life, everything had been going well.
Now I was back to obsessing over him constantly, tossing and turning at night. Old memories of us curled up under sheets, his hands on my hips, his lips on my collarbone. Conversations we had into the early hours. Laughter. I tried to remind myself of the pain—the feeling of not being enough for him, the betrayal. But it was the good times that kept me awake. The longing, the desire, the intensity of him. Since then, I’d been with other men, trying to find something more meaningful than random hookups, but nothing ever compared. And then I had Nerina. A void was filled, but not entirely—just enough to feel good again, to feel happy. But he’s back, reminding me I’d never truly been free of him.
“Don Aiani,” Gloria announced him and then walked away, leaving us standing alone together on either side of the kitchen island. The silence echoed. The tension thickened as I glared at him and lifted the beer bottle to my lips.
He exhaled, shoving his hands deeper into his trouser pockets. “Did the party go well? I’m sorry again for turning up like that. I didn’t know—”
I slammed my bottle onto the grey cement countertop, the noise snapping off the walls and silencing him. His blue eyes widened. My nostrils flared, and my fist tightened around the glass bottle, tempted to hurl it at his head.
“What are you doing here, Enzo?”
There was no warmth in my voice. Just ice. But he didn’t even flinch, as if he’d been expecting it.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“No, what are you doinghere? In my house. On my daughter’s birthday. Sending her fucking fairytale Narnia. It isn’t appropriate. You agreed to keep this professional.”
He swallowed, shuffling on his feet. “Did she like it?”
I huffed, shaking my head at him as I bit back my fury. “She loved it. She will never forget this birthday. I’ve never seen her so happy.”
He smiled, and I nearly died on the spot. That was the smile he reserved only for me. One side of his lip curved higher than the other, revealing a flash of his perfect white teeth and a single dimple. His ocean eyes sparkled. I hadn’t seen that smile in ten fucking years, and it sucker-punched me right in the gut.
I turned my back on him and walked to the fridge, pulling out another beer to give me something to do. I couldn’t stand still, or he’d see how much I was shaking.
“I’m sorry if it was too much. I found a local woman who made wonderlands for events, and once I started picking things, I couldn’t stop. I’m glad she loved it, though.”
“It was too much. But yeah,” I exhaled, walking back towards him and sliding the beer across the counter. He caught it in his grip and twisted the cap off. “She was so hyper that she went to bed two hours later than she should have.”
His smile dropped. “Merda.I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”
“It’s fine,” I cut in. “It’s her birthday.”
