Below us, Clara’s laughter floated up from the garden.
“Yes,” I said, and it came out without hesitation. “More than you can imagine.” I exhaled. “I don’t think I lost anything. I gained.” Then, quieter: “I’m trying to get back what I missed.”
“You have a niece,” I added.
“I heard,” Matteo admitted. I let out a short, dry laugh.
“André has a big mouth.”
“Yeah,” Matteo said. “That’s why I never tell him anything about my life.”
I chuckled despite myself.
“How are you?” I asked—real curiosity behind it, something I couldn’t remember offering him in a long time.
“I’m… going,” Matteo said.
“Going where?” I frowned.
He exhaled like he was shrugging.
“When you don’t know where you’re headed, anywhere works.”
“Maybe you should figure it out.”
“I’m trying,” he said. “Have been for a while.” Then a long, thoughtful silence. “But I didn’t call to talk about me.” His voice shifted. “I want to know about you. When you’re not with… your family… what do you do now that you’re not the powerful CEO?”
Two words lit something inside me with a strange, uncontrollable satisfaction.
My family.
“Good question,” I said, clearing my throat when I realized I’d been silent too long. “I’m trying to figure that out.” I watched the garden again. “So far my time has been spent trying to undo the damage I did to Valentina and Clara.” My voice turned honest, stripped. “I don’t know who I am outside of that yet.”
The silence that followed was long—but not uncomfortable.
For the first time, it felt like real understanding existed between us.
“You know,” Matteo said finally, “when I walked away from Eloá… I didn’t know who I was for a while either.” A soft exhale. “But I can tell you this—it gets better. Slowly you find out who you are without her shadow over you.” He paused. “I still may not know where I’m going. But I know exactly where I refuse to go back to.”
Emotion tightened my throat. I swallowed before answering.
“Thank you,” I said quietly. “That actually means a lot coming from you.”
Matteo took a breath, still awkward in the way he always was, but he didn’t retreat.
“Don’t make this too sentimental,” he muttered. “I just wanted to say… I’m here. If you need to talk or whatever. I know what you’re dealing with.”
A small smile formed at the corner of my mouth—relief I didn’t expect.
“Thanks, Matteo. I’ll remember that.”
He hesitated, then let his tone lighten slightly.
“Better late than never, Enrico. Talk to you later.”
The call ended before I could reply.
But his last words stayed with me for hours.
