Page 76 of Stealing His Christmas Present

Chapter 30

I WIPED AWAY MY TEARSwith the sleeve of my shirt as I stared at the screen. One of my favorite Christmas romantic comedies was playing, and the hero and the heroine had just professed their undying love to each other.

I’d been binge-watching movies for days now, but instead of making me feel better like they always did, now I was even more depressed.

That still didn’t stop me from watching them.

No matter how much it hurt, it was still wonderful to see love win in the end.

Even if it wasn’t real.

“Hey, are you okay?” Stella asked as she sat down on the sofa next to me. “Sofia and Gianni are finally sleeping.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just... Look at them.” I pointed at the screen. “Why isn’t this real?”

“It can be. Okay, maybe we won’t get snow for Christmas out of nowhere here, but love... Believe me, it’s real. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t feel what you’re feeling right now.”

“I just... I don’t understand. Why did he leave? Why didn’t he tell me? He could’ve at least dropped off a letter or something.”

“A letter?” Stella arched an eyebrow at me.

“He doesn’t have my number, but he clearly knows where I live. If he doesn’t want to tell me everything to my face, then he could’ve at least given me some kind of explanation.”

“Oh, Claudia.” She snaked her arm around me. “He’s an idiot for doing this to you. But you’ll find someone worthy of you. You’ll see.”

“But I don’t want anyone else! That’s the problem. I only want him.”

“You think that now, but things can change. When you meet someone new—”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel about someone the way I feel about him.”

“You’re hurting right now. You need time.”

“If it was Dante we were talking about instead, do you really think you would’ve moved on?”

She averted her gaze. “How about I get you a cup of hot cocoa? It’ll make you feel better.”

“Sure,” I said, even though I didn’t think there was anything that could make me feel better right now.

A part of me was missing.

It was as if someone had torn it out and now there was a gaping hole in my heart.

Why, Pablo?

Why?

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