What would I have to live for if I didn’t have Isla and my daughter?
30
ISLA
Stupidly I’d expectedto hear from Ciro today. I was curious about what his family said about Pippa… and me. I didn’t want them to hate me, but I couldn’t blame them if they did.
Ciro’s family was incredible when we were together. They’d made me feel welcome and special, like they had expected Ciro would marry me.
I could’ve reached out to the family or called Rosa at the very least. We’d become close but I was afraid she’d confront Ciro and make matters worse.
Then God only knew what Luca might have done. He had cared about me more than he should have when I belonged to Ciro.
The two brothers had fallen for me at the same time, but it was Ciro who’d captured my heart and I’d told Luca not to pursue me. Out of respect for me and his brother, he’d backed off. But something told me if Luca had known I was pregnant after Ciro had tossed me out like yesterday’s trash, he would’ve stepped up to help me.
None of that would’ve mattered if I hadn’t seen Ciro with the redhead. Things might have turned out differently. Alas, that wasn’t the case. I had left Pasadena to protect myself and my daughter.
Yesterday, remorse plagued me as I watched Ciro with our baby girl. He had been so damn sweet with her. Loving and tender. We’d acted like a family, just like the many dreams I’d had since my positive pregnancy test.
But today? My workday was over, and I hadn’t received so much as a text from him. To say I was disappointed didn’t scrape the surface of how I felt.
In twenty-four hours, Ciro seemed to have forgotten about his daughter.
And what about me? We’d been intimate. I had given myself to him. Now if felt like he had ghosted me after getting what he wanted.
A cocktail of anger, sadness, and confusion rushed through my veins, going straight into my heart.
Having Ciro with us had been glorious. Nothing had ever felt more right, especially after we’d had sex. The wounds in my soul had started to heal. His attention had overwhelmed me, but nothing had prepared me for the way he stared at Pippa and me in the hotel lobby, as if leaving us was sheer agony. Our emotional good-bye had made hope flicker in my heart.
Hope that we might find our way back to each other. Hope that we might be a real family.
I’m so stupid.
I guessed sending a brief text was too much to expect.
Who was I kidding? This was Ciro Remotti. If he wanted to talk to me, he would’ve called. He would’ve sent me a text and inquired about his child.
Falina hip-bumped me playfully as I clocked out on the computer. “Why don’t you just text him? You know you want to.”
“Because I don’t want to bother him. He’s obviously busy and—” Why was I protecting him? Ciro didn’t have ten freaking seconds in his day to shoot me a text?
“And nothing. If Mr. Billionaire wants to start over with you, he will be available. He needs to make an effort. Don’t let him fall back into his old ways.”
I admired her take-no-shit attitude, but… “I shouldn’t have to keep him in check. If Pippa and I matter to him, he should want to do better than last time.” I wasn’t going to chase after Ciro and beg for his attention. I had already been down that begging road before. Begging him to love me, begging him to let me stay the night with him.
I’d be damned if I went back to being the pathetic woman I used to be, after only a couple days with him and a quickie under the sheets.
“True. But sometimes old habits die hard,” she said, popping up her shoulders.
“Screw old habits,” I hissed, walking away.
Falina followed me through the kitchen. “What are you going to do?”
I opened my locker and grabbed my purse. “I don’t know. He’s Pippa’s father. She’ll be well taken care of.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?” I scrunched up my face. “None of this is about me.”
