She Loved in Silence, Left in Silence Chapter 10

She Loved in Silence, Left in Silence Chapter 10

I stood there. The whole thing felt absurd.

The “family standing” Enzo had paraded around with such pride-it was nothing but a punchline to other people.

The arranged-marriage leverage he’d been so sure he had locked down the woman he’d been “saving himself” for was leaning into another man’s chest, laughing at how unhinged he was.

For six years, he’d doled out his approval like it was a privilege-he’d thought he was condescending to give me a label, while I’d thought I was begging him for recognition. From start to finish, the whole arrangement had been ridiculous.

A pair of warm hands suddenly covered my ears.

“If you don’t like what you’re hearing, don’t listen. Did Oreo get enough exercise today? You’re turning him into a little pig. Want to take him to the park?”

My back was pressed against a broad chest.

It turned out every fall could be caught.

A year later, Dante and I got engaged.

The engagement ceremony was held at his family’s castle.

My mom moved through the crowd in a deep red dress, lifting her champagne glass to anyone who’d toast with her. The corners of her eyes were creased deep with smiling. Her cheeks glowed.

Rosalba sat alone in the shadow of a corner.

She watched me come down off the platform, then bolted upright-her knee cracked into the table leg with a dull thud.

“Vera.” Her gaze flickered, but she still reached out and grasped my hand. “Vera, you look beautiful tonight.”

I answered politely. “Thank you.”

“It’s our Enzo who didn’t deserve his luck. If he hadn’t been such a fool, I might be holding a grandson by now.”

I picked up a small box of party favors and pressed it into her hand. “Mrs. Rosalba. Tonight is my

engagement. Let’s leave the past in the past.”

She froze, mouth half-open, words she didn’t know how to say.

Dante walked over and draped a cashmere wrap around my shoulders. “It’s windy out here. Why don’t you take a break in the lounge?”

I nodded and headed down the corridor.

There was a black box sitting on the lounge’s vanity.

Sofia was leaning against the doorframe. She gestured toward it with her chin. “Same-day delivery. Specifically for you to open.”

I peeled away the wrapping.

A diamond necklace. The center stone was a clean three carats. It lay shining on black satin.

My phone screen lit up at the same time.

A text from an unknown number.

“Vera. Today’s your engagement. I’m sorry I can’t be there.”

It was Enzo.

I scanned through the message.

“This is the design I had my eye on three years ago. I was planning to surprise you with it on our wedding day. You probably won’t believe me, but I imagined you wearing it more times than I can count.”

“I thought I was the only person in your eyes. I thought no matter when I turned around, you’d be there. I thought we’d have years and years left, that we’d hold hands all the way to old age. And somewhere along the line, I lost you.”

“The family transferred me to the Middle East to handle ‘business’ there. It might be years before I can come home. By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be on a plane to Dubai.”

“There’s nothing left I can do for you. So I just want to wish you happiness.”

I finished the message and tapped delete.

In six years, he’d never given me a single expensive gift.

The first one ever turned out to be an engagement present.

I snapped the velvet box closed and tossed it across the room to Sofia. “It’s shiny. Kids love shiny stuff. Give it to my goddaughter as a toy.”

Sofia raised an eyebrow and tucked the box into her coat pocket. “That’s a hefty toy. I’ll thank you on her behalf.”

Dante pushed open the lounge door.

Oreo charged in right behind him, no respect for anyone.

“Oreo, settle down! If you knock over Mom and Dad’s engagement cake, I’m cutting your

I ruffled Oreo’s head, laughing, and slipped my arm through Dante’s.

Enzo, I don’t know how hot the desert in the Middle East gets.

dinner!”

But I’m going to give you exactly what you wished for me. The rest of my life, by the side of the man I love. Happy. At peace.