“You need to stop worrying,” Adelina said.“And I’m not most women.”
“You got that right.”He sighed.“I want to apologize.”
She pulled away, and he rubbed at his eyes.They were red as if he wanted to cry, but the tears hadn’t fallen yet.
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for.”
“When Massimo came to me and told me to make the arrangement to marry you, I was against it.I felt he could do better.Your family are not exactly well-liked.”
She smiled.“I know.”
“I thought you had manipulated him, but I see now that you and he have a friendship ...and love.It is a love that reminds me of my wife and I.Our marriage was arranged, but I loved her the moment I saw her.”
“Massimo doesn’t love me,” she said.
Vincent chuckled.“Oh, trust me, I know my boy, and he loves you.He just has a funny way of showing it.If he didn’t love you, he wouldn’t have married you.He wouldn’t have cared what happened to you.You’d be married to that piece of shit.But I also know you love my son.”
She had already admitted her feelings to him.“I do.”
“Give it time, and you will see the way my boy feels about you.”He took a breath.“I never thought I would be able to come in here.Each time I came to that door, it was like the pressure and pain was too much.I should have been there to take that bullet.I had promised I would always take care of her.”
She put a hand on his arm and tried to stop him.“It’s not your fault.”
“I know, but if I had been there—”
“Stop, I know this is not my place but if your wife was everything you said, then right now, if she could see you, she’d be hurting for you.It was not your fault.You didn’t cause her death.”
Vincent nodded.“It’s strange, but being around you made me realize that not being near her things, not looking at them, I was allowing her to die.I was not being my best self, and that’s not good.Hiding away was never part of who I was.”He sighed.“I want to put some of her work on the wall.I want to remember her.”
Adelina smiled.“What pieces would you like?”
All of them looked stunning.They were beautiful pieces.
For the next hour, Adelina stayed with Vincent as he went through each picture.This was where Isabella found them, and at first she didn’t even step into the room.She stood at the doorway.
“Do you want any help?”Isabella asked.
“Yeah, you can help us choose some of your mother’s artwork.I’m going to get it framed for the walls downstairs.”
Isabella smiled, and Vincent waved his hand for his daughter to enter.
She watched as the two embraced, and she couldn’t help but smile.They were healing.She hadn’t even realized they were broken, but they were finding each other to heal.
Isabella helped find a couple of paintings, and ten were picked in total.She carried them down to Vincent’s office, where he then started to arrange for them to be framed.
Adelina stepped out of the office and saw Isabella, with a hand on the banister, tears falling.She went to her immediately and wrapped her arms around her.
“Are you okay?”Adelina asked.
“I remember when I wanted to go into that room.It wasn’t long after what happened.Dad wouldn’t let me.It was the first time he had really screamed at me to get out of one of the rooms.”She sighed.“I was so afraid to go there again.I used to, when Mom was painting.I loved to watch her.It feels good being there, and that Dad is going to use some of Mom’s artwork.It’s like she’s finally being remembered.Thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You did.”
She hugged her sister-in-law and was just so grateful she could help.
