Page 73 of Enzo's Vow
“Like I mentioned before, Bianca is adopted, there’s no relation between you.” Carina’s shoulders slumped. “We all make sacrifices for those we love, Enzo. You just have to ask yourself, is this sacrifice worth it? Is saving your family, the woman you love… worth it?” She patted my shoulder and ascended the stairs, leaving me an absolute mess.
Chapter 27
Gemma
I adjusted my handbag, the worn leather familiar beneath my fingers, and wedged the phone between my shoulder and ear. “I got the job.”
“Oh, honey, that’s great!” Mum exclaimed, the clatter of pots and pans a comforting soundtrack. I pictured her already in the kitchen, preparing my favorite lasagna to celebrate. “When do you start?”
“Tomorrow.” I forced the smile on my lips. These days, even a simple smile felt like a monumental task, but I’d no way let my mother believe it wasn’t genuine. “I’ll be working with another teacher, and we’ll have a class of twenty little preschoolers. Wish me luck!”
A little over a week had passed since I’d crawled back home. Crazy, how just a couple of months ago my sole ambition had been escaping Enzo and his batty mother. Now, the distance was suffocating me. How had I fallen so hard? Why hadn’t I protected my heart? A raw ache pulsed within me, a gaping hole where my heart used to beat.
The first few days of landing in Sydney, I’d been glued to Mum’s lap, too shattered to even explain the wreckage of my life. Call it five stages of grief, or whatever, but by day four, a spark of defiance ignited within me. I wasn’t over Enzo, not by a long shot, but I refused to let him win. I wouldn’t waste awayin Mum’s house, a love-sick ghost as they’d planned. I didn’t want either of them having the satisfaction of hurting me or my mother further. Even if I had to fake my way through this ordeal, I planned on backfiring Carina’s original goal. I hopped online and began job searching. As expected, Alice, my previous manager, wanted nothing to do with me after I’d ghosted her for months. Losing my job forced me to start over. Mum suggested I stay longer, to heal, but Enzo and Carina had stripped so much from me, I craved my independence, my own apartment again. The job hunt became my obsession, a welcome distraction. The preschool I’d applied to years ago had a vacancy, so I dusted off my resume, resent it, and received an interview invitation the very next day. Thank God they hired me. The short five-minute walk from my apartment was a godsend.
Bay Street stretched before me, familiar and yet… different. A couple walked a pair of Rottweilers, and the image slammed into me: Enzo’s estate, Lupo and Fico bounding ahead. The memory, still so sharp, made me stumble. I shook my head, dislodging the images, along with the relentless tugging of my heart.
Further up the street, I stalled.
Matthew.
Of course, he’d be around; his father’s church was practically a landmark in this neighborhood. Seeing him now reopened a wound I’d tried bandaging.
He paused, squinting against the sun, his expression hardening. “Gemma? What are you even doing here? I thought you were living in Italy with your husband.” He spat the last word as if it tasted of poison.
My chest constricted. The familiar ache for Enzo tangled with a new, sharp wave of guilt. Not for the wedding that never happened—Enzo had seen to that—but for the innocent man I’d left behind. Matthewhaddeserved my love, and Enzo had never deserved it at all. All he’d given me in return for my captive heartwas a final, crushing betrayal. I stared at my shoes, the shame a physical weight. How could I ever explain the unexplainable? “We… divorced.”
Matthew snickered, the sound derisive. I risked a peek. He looked away, toward the direction of his father’s church, then back at me. His blue eyes were glacial. “Right. Excuse me.” The sarcasm, so unlike him, stung. I’d changed him, changed the beautiful man he used to be. He skirted around me, his steps quick, almost panicked, as if I were contagious.
I opened my mouth, then hesitated. “Matt?” his name burst out.
He stopped, his back to me, shoulders rigid. The wind ruffled his blonde hair, revealing the white patch of hair on the back of his head, a birthmark he’d always been self-conscious about.
“I’m sorry,” I choked out, the words inadequate, hollow. How could he ever understand? “I… I hope you find someone who truly deserves you.”
Instead of a response, he stormed off, his retreating figure radiating fury and hurt.
I swallowed hard, scanning the street. Thank goodness no church members had witnessed this trainwreck. Bad enough, the whispers and judging looks followed me everywhere. The job wasn’t the only fresh start needed. A new church. A new Bible study group. No way could I return to the same church as Matthew and his family.
I hurried up the street, fumbling for my keys. When I first returned home, I’d imagined a different scenario, rehearsing my defense, revealing my innocence. But not anymore. Opening up about my time in Italy meant dragging Mum’s past into it, and I wouldn’t do that to her. What would that achieve, anyway? Other than upsetting Matthew. He’d bombard me with questions, and right now, I couldn’t bear to even say Enzo’s name. Telling the truth wouldn’t quieten the gossip either. Imight be stigmatized as a divorcee, but I’d take that any day over people learning and whispering about my mother’s mistakes. Jesus forgives, however, church folk… not so much.
I pulled out my keys and forced a steady breath. I had seen the hazard signs, but I still dove head-first into the fire. At least this mess taught me one thing; I never should’ve accepted Matthew’s proposal. He deserved a woman crazy in love with him. If I’d married Matthew, I’d have robbed him of his chance to find a woman devoted to his happiness.
Music blasted from a sports car across the street, hitting me like a punch to the gut. I bit my bottom lip. The same song at my father’s birthday party where I’d practically forced Enzo to join the group in singing along.
A small Italian flag dangled from the visor. The man sped up the road; the song fading. My house keys rattled in my trembling hand. I bolted inside the complex, ran up the stairs to my apartment, and slammed the door behind me.
I leaned against the cool wood, the song’s taunting melody still echoing in my ears. My heart, once soaring with the false promise of that night, now hammered a frantic, broken rhythm against my ribs, each beat a cruel reminder of Enzo’s betrayal. The lyrics, once a shared joy, a drunken serenade, now felt like shards of glass slicing through the memory of his smile, his kiss.
I sank to the floor, drawing my knees to my chest, trying to make myself smaller, to disappear, as if I could somehow erase the feeling of his words carving their way into my soul. Tears streamed down my face, stinging,burning, each one a testament to my own gullibility, my own desperate yearning to be his. The sob that tore from my throat was raw and ragged, a primal scream of grief and humiliation. Finally, in the suffocating privacy of my home, plagued by the ghosts of our laughter in my mind, of our shared moments, I allowed myself to break. I allowedhimto win.
Chapter 28
Enzo
An unsightly groom stared back from the mirror. Days of stubble shadowed my face, unkempt hair screaming for a trim. I hadn’t done much besides wallow in bed since dropping Gemma at the airport.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I pushed aside the sharp sting of her memory. On our wedding day, she’d refused to style her hair or apply makeup. Heck, she refused to wear her dress. Now her turmoil made complete sense all those months ago, and here I stood, mirroring her rebellion.
