Page 404 of Valentino

I throw on my dress and shoes and rattle through my handbag for a pair of sunglasses. I put them on and walk back out.

His eyes hold mine, “Gracie….” he whispers as he reaches for me.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” I whisper, I march to the elevator and push the button.

He stands quietly behind me, unsure if I’m about to take a swing at him.

The elevator doors open, and we ride to the basement in silence.

With my dark glasses on he can’t see my tears, but the lump in my throat hurts so bad as I try to hold them in.

Once in the basement parking lot, he strides in front, and I follow him as pieces of my heart drop onto the concrete like confetti.

He gets to a fancy black car and the lights flash twice as he pushes the button. I don’t even know what kind of car it is, only that it’s cold.

Like him.

We drive to my place in silence, and I pray to God that he’s going to change his mind once we get there.

How could he not, we are meant to be together.

He pulls the car to the curb outside my building, and we sit in silence. “Gracie….” he whispers. “Don’t hate me.”

I close my eyes, verging on a full meltdown. “Goodbye, Gabriel.”

“Goodbye,” he whispers.

I can’t even see him through the tears, but I know I need to get the hell out of this car before I start to beg for his love.

I would give anything……..

I get out and slam the door and as I walk up the steps, I hear his sportscar roar up the road, he didn’t even wait until I got inside.

I sob my way through the foyer and into the elevator. After the best night of my life, came the worst day in history.

He’s gone.

The removalist loads the last box onto the truck and pulls the door down, “That’s the last of it.”

“Thanks.” I smile.

“I’ll see you in Greenville tomorrow?” he says.

“Aha.” I step back from the truck, “Drive safe.”

“I will.” I watch on as the truck pulls out into the traffic, and I look up the road.

He’s not coming.

It’s been seven days since Gabriel dropped me home and for some reason, I thought he’d come back. In the back of my mind, I hoped that it was going to be a fairy tale romance, where the hero comes back at the last second to declare his love.

But he’s not.

He’s in Italy, he flew out the night after we were together.

I know this because I checked his email which confirmed the flight. The next day he changed the passwords to everything, pushing the finality of our situation home.

I get a vision of him in Italy with all of those beautiful Italian women and my heart twists, he’s probably looking for his future wife right now…. that’s if he doesn’t already know who it is.