As if I weren’t the woman who had stood by his side for the last two years. As if I weren’t carrying his child.
My hands instinctively moved to my stomach, and his gaze followed the gesture.
A smile—one I had never seen before—curved his lips. A sneer.
Enrico finally moved.
He stepped closer, closing the distance between us until there was almost none. Then, slowly, he closed his eyes and turned his face away, denying me even that final connection.
“There is something I need to say,” he said coldly, turning to face the guests seated in the cathedral. His expression was completely devoid of emotion.
“I will not marry you, Valentina,” he repeated, and the world disappeared beneath my feet. I blinked, convinced this couldn’t be happening. Not to me. Not with Enrico.
“I will not marry a woman who lied to me. Who cheated on me. And who planned to force me to raise another man’s child.”
The accusations struck me like violent blows.
I staggered. My entire body shook.
“I never—” I tried to defend myself, desperate, but he cut me off.
“There’s no need for more lies. This farce is over. I’ve seen enough. I’ll admit it—you fooled me well for two years. But nothing lasts forever, does it,darling?”
His voice dripped with sarcasm as he finally looked at me again.
Those words hurt more than anything else.
Because once, Enrico had promised me forever.
And I had believed him.
I opened my mouth, trying to breathe, but no air came. My eyes burned, my vision blurred at the edges. Hot, heavy tears pooled in my eyes, but I couldn’t even find the strength to let them fall.
Why?
Everything around me spun. The shocked voices and whispers of the guests faded into distant noise. My gaze begged him for doubt, for affection—anything that told me this nightmare wasn’t real.
But there was nothing in those gray eyes except contempt.
“I don’t know what you think you were told, Enrico, but please—you’re wrong. I—” I reached for him again, desperate.
He jerked away as if I were something repulsive.
“Don’t touch me.”
His voice was low. Dangerous.
“You will never touch me again,” he decreed with a dry laugh.
“You will never look in my direction again. You will never breathe the same air as me, dare to speak my name, or even think it. I am erasing your existence from my life. And for your own good, I suggest you accept this as an act of mercy.”
“I love you,” I said—and even to my own ears, I sounded pathetic. But what choice did I have? I had woken up that morning ready to live my dream. Ready to marry this man.
“I’m carrying your child!”
Enrico’s eyes closed briefly. When they opened again, a new kind of fury burned in them.
He stepped forward, his dominating, threatening posture forcing me to instinctively retreat.
