“Don’t.” I hold up a hand.
Her brows knit together. “You look upset?”
I laugh.
Yep. An ugly laugh rips from my mouth.
I sound unhinged.
And truthfully, I might be right now. “Upset. Yes, you can say I’m upset . . . Mother.”
I step farther into the room, every inch of me buzzing with anger. “Did you know I spent four years believing I was unlovable?” I cross my arms at my chest. “Four years thinking the man I loved just never came back for me.”
Her shoulders stiffen. She knows where this is going. Good.
“I did what I thought was necessary.”
“You make me sick,” I snap.
She stands, smoothing her sweater. “Victoria, you were young. He was dangerous. His world—”
“Was never your decision.” I cut in. “And you knew that. You knew I would never leave him willingly, so you stole my voice instead.”
If I thought she had any remorse over her actions, the way she glares at me is all the confirmation I need that she doesn’t have any.
“You let him believe I wrote that letter,” I hiss. “You watched him walk away thinking I didn’t love him.”
“I was protecting you.”
“No,” I say coldly. “You were protecting yourself. Your image. God forbid your daughter loved someone beneath you.”
I take a step closer. My hands are shaking now, but I don’t hide them.
“You didn’t trust me to choose my own future,” I continue. “You chose it for me.” She opens her mouth, but I don’t let her speak. “I loved him,” I say. “I love him. And I will not waste another second of my life letting you mess with Lorenzo or me anymore.”
Her face pales. “You don’t mean that.”
“I absolutely do.” My voice doesn’t waver. “We’re done. I’m out of your life for good. I’m choosing Lorenzo,” I add. “And I’m choosing the life we were robbed of. You don’t get to touch it.”
I step back. “Don’t ever reach out to me again. You won’t like what happens,” I warn.
I turn and walk out before she can say anything.
Nico stands by the car when I finally make my way outside. He opens the door for me with the same careful politeness he always uses, like he’s afraid Lorenzo will kill him if he steps out of line and upsets me.
I climb in without comment and buckle my seat belt. A second later, the door shuts, and we pull away.
I watch the ocean disappear behind the trees and think about my family and how much they’ve hurt me over the years.
There is no coming back from what they did to us.
I must be lost in thought because when I look back outside, nothing looks familiar.
My pulse spikes. “Nico?”
He doesn’t answer.
“Where are we going?”
