“Good,” she says, letting go of my wrist with a little shove. “Remember, Isa, I’m always watching.” She turns and struts away, leaving me alone under the moonlight, feeling the weight of what I’ve just agreed to.
Chapter Sixteen
“Hey! I thought you got lost.”
Valentina stands up from the log and walks toward me. She puts her arms around me in a warm embrace. It feels so good to be held by her, but I know it’s a fleeting feeling. I want to hold on for a moment longer, but I pull away awkwardly.
“Yeah, I found them—it was pretty dark, so I had a tough time.”
“Well, I’m glad you made your way back,” she says, smiling warmly at me.
Every word she says digs and twists into my heart like a sharp knife. I thought I had found my way back, but here I am, getting ready to push it all away. I feel trapped. I know what I want, but they are two different things. I want to be with Valentina, but I can’t lose the restaurant. It would be like losing my father all over again.
“Yeah, well, we should get back to the group,” I reply coldly.
I walk toward the campfire, but Valentina grabs my hand and stops me. I notice Silvana watching as she roasts another marshmallow. I bet she wishes she had supersonic hearing to get the pleasure of listening to me break this off with Valentina. I turn around to face Valentina. Her brows are furrowed. She looks confused.
“Is everything okay?” she asks.
“I just think we need to take some time apart.”
“Wait, what?” She laughs nervously. “I don’t understand. Wejuststarted this. Tonight. Why do we need time?”
I don’t even know how to respond, and I can’t get myself to even look into her eyes, worried I’ll burst into tears and look even more pathetic than I do now following Silvana’s orders.
“That’s the thing. I don’t think we should start anything, Val,” I say in an exhale. “We’re different people. Living different lives.”
“Why are you doing this? I thought things were going great,” she says, her voice rising as her panic grows.
“I won’t need your help with the investigation anymore, either. So you won’t have to worry about seeing me for the rest of the week.”
“Isa, what the fuck? I don’t understand what happened between you leaving to get marshmallows and now, but are you under some sort of spell? This doesn’t make sense, and frankly, I’m hurt.”
I know she won’t stop until she has real answers, but I can’t give them to her without exposing myself as a liar. What’s worse? Breaking up with her because Silvana has blackmailed me, or her breaking up with me because I’ve been lying this entire time about who I am. We’re from different worlds, and she could be with literally anyone else. Someone who is more on her level. Someone who doesn’t carry the baggage of a failing business and an empty bank account.
Valentina has the world at her feet—opportunities, success, the kind of freedom I can barely imagine. I can’t afford to offer her the experiences she deserves, the travel, the adventures, and the luxuries that she could easily find with someone else. I barely scrape by as it is, and I know what it’s like to be with someone who can’t keep up. The long hours, the stress of constantly trying to stay afloat—it’s broken down every relationship I’ve ever been in.
I can already feel the strain it would put on us. She’d end up resenting me, or worse, I’d start resenting myself for not being able to give her what she deserves. By walking away now, I’m giving her the chance to live her life without that weight, free to find someone who can give her the world without compromise. She deserves a love that isn’t burdened by overworked nights and canceled plans. Maybe by letting her go, I can do something right for her.
“Val, I just don’t want to be with you, okay? Just drop it. Go live your best life with a rich girlfriend who can give you whatever you want. Sleep in your luxury condo and have amazing dinners with world-renowned chefs. I can’t do this anymore.”
I notice through my peripheral that the campsite has gone silent. Everyone is looking in our direction. I turn my head and see Silvana grinning. I wish I could slap that smile right off her face. I just need to remind myself of the big picture. Why I really came here.
“I gotta go,” I say, tears filling up around my waterline.
“Isa, please don’t go like this. Can we talk?”
This could be it. The moment I tell her the truth. I want to. I do.
“No. There’s nothing to talk about. Just move on.”
I walk around her and head down toward the lake, past the campfire.
“Isabella!” Maria shouts from her seat.
I start running until I make it to the dock, slowly losing the light from the campfire. I stand on the pier’s edge and gaze at the still and silent lake. It is a chilly late summer night, and the water is probably freezing. I take a deep breath and step off the dock, plunging into the darkness below. A sense of weightlessness washes over me as I sink deeper into the water. The icy water envelops my body, and I feel a sense of freedom and release that I didn’t realize I have been longing for. Trying to keep up this facade to every guest. Securing the investment. Trying to solve my father’s puzzles. Trying not to fall in love with Valentina. The silence of the water is a welcome change from the constant noise of my thoughts and emotions.
As I swim deeper, my eyes adjust to the darkness, and I see the shimmering outlines of fish and plants beneath the water’s surface. The moonlight dances on the ripples above, casting a soft, ethereal glow across the lake. Despite the beauty of my surroundings, my heart is heavy. I broke up with Valentina, and we have only seen each other for a day. We just kissed for the first time a few hours ago. I sink deeper into the water, letting it bring me down.
