Page 103 of Secret Seduction

I turn my cheap wedding band around on my ring finger.

Lorenzo never brought up getting the annulment, and I didn’t either.

I probably should’ve since it would’ve been better to cut all ties, but I couldn’t do it. That last string binding us is all I have left of our time together.

My phone goes off with a text, and I scramble to see if it’s Lorenzo.

He called me after I arrived to make sure I got home okay. Then again that first night so I could say good night to Leo, but I had to hang up, not wanting to cry on the phone with them. Seeing Leo over the phone and not being able to hold him was too hard. And I’ve been avoiding his calls ever since.

I feel like I’m in limbo—my body is in Seattle, but my heart is in Harbor Point.

Kora

Change of plans. We’re leaving in the morning. Driver will pick you up at five a.m.

I sigh in relief, thankful for the distraction.

Vanessa

See you tomorrow.

As I’m hitting Send, my phone rings with a video call from Lorenzo, and I consider ignoring it, but then I look at the time and see it’s nine o’clock here, which means it’s midnight where he is, and he’s probably calling to wish me a happy New Year.

So, I take several calming breaths, fix my hair quickly so I look a little less of a mess, plaster a fake smile on my face, and then click Accept.

“Happy New Year!” I exclaim, internally cringing at how fake I sound.

“Hey,” Lorenzo says. “Happy New Year.”

I was expecting him to be at a party of some sort, but the room is dark, and I can make out his headboard behind his head.

He’s home. Just like me.

And from the look on his face, he’s not doing much better than I am.

“It’s going to get easier, right?” I blurt out, tears blurring my vision. “Because this fucking sucks. My heart … it hurts, Lorenzo.”

I tried to hold it in, but seeing him crumbles the wall I’ve been trying to build by not answering his calls.

“I don’t know,” he admits, always honest with me. “I’ve never experienced this before.”

“How’s Leo?”

“He’s good. Sleeping. He tried to make it to midnight, but”—he shrugs—“he’s not much of a partier.”

I choke out a laugh. “Like father, like son.”

“I was thinking,” he says at the same time I say, “I’m leaving for LA in the morning.”

“Oh, you are?” he asks. “I thought that wasn’t for a couple more days?”

“Kora needs to leave early. What were you going to say?”

“What?”

“You said you were thinking …”

“Oh, nothing.” He shakes his head. “I hope you have a good time in LA. Are you ready for your classes?”