Silence settles between us. But it doesn’t feel awkward. I don’t break it; this has to be on her terms.
“I found a job,” she says eventually.
“Yeah?” I keep my voice neutral, like it’s news.
She arches her brow. “But you already knew that.” I don’t deny it. “Hannah’s lovely,” she adds. “I like it there.”
“I’m glad,” I say, meaning it.
She draws in a deep breath. “I came here because I wanted to say thank you.”
It catches me off guard, and my surprise is written all over my face.
“I don’t know if it was guilt,” she continues quietly, “or just you trying to fix something. But paying off Mum’s debt… the money you put into her account.” She meets my eyes. “It changed everything for her. For us.”
My throat tightens.
“So… thank you.”
I study her for a minute. “I didn’t do it to fix us,” I say, finally, my voice low. “And I didn’t do it because I thought it would make you forgive me.” She gives a slight nod. “I did it because Isaac was trying to save his family,” I continue, “And he paid for it with his life.”
She inhales sharply, her eyes glazing.
“He wasn’t being greedy,” I add. “He was just desperate, trying to do the right thing, even if the means were wrong. I knew that deep down. I just didn’t stop it fast enough.”
She swipes away a stray tear, nodding but not saying a word. “So, when I saw your mum’s finances,” I add quietly, “when I understood what Isaac was carrying on his shoulders… I knew exactly what I owed.”
“Owed?” she repeats softly.
I nod once. “It’s my responsibility to help fix what he didn’t have a chance to.” I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want it to feel like it was charity, or for you to think I was doing it to win you back.” My gaze doesn’t leave hers. “It’s just something I needed to give that didn’t require anything back. So please don’t thank me, because it’s the very least I owe.”
Her silent tears trail down her cheeks, dripping down onto her arm as it rests on the table.
“My mum thought it was a mistake,” she whispers with a watery smile, “She even rang the bank.”
A faint, humourless laugh escapes me, and she wipes her jaw with the back of her hand. “Because things like that never happen to her.” She sniffles. “She’s sleeping at night. And Jordan’s going back to college. He’s… lighter.”
I close my eyes briefly; just hearing those words makes it worth it. “Then it was the right thing.” I smile sadly, “I only wish I’d done the right thing in the first place.”
The waiter returns. “Are you ready to order?”
I glance at Leoni, who shakes her head. “I’m not hungry,” she mutters.
I turn back to the waiter. “Actually Luca, neither am I. Sorry.” I take out my wallet and place some notes on the table. “For the inconvenience,” I add, standing.
Leoni rises to her feet, and I wait for her to make a move. When she heads for the exit, I follow.
Chapter Twenty-Five
LEONI
I could have said goodbye right then.
He waited, I felt it, like he was giving me the space to end it, to walk away and leave this as a closed chapter. Instead, I headed outside, already expecting the sound of his footsteps behind me.
And he followed.
Talking to him like this, with no audience and no armour, feels different.Softer.We’re both raw, bruised, slightly broken. We aren’t the people we were when this started.
