AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The front door closed behind her before he could think. Gone. Just like that. No chance to explain, no chance to try and keep her. Just a ‘goodbye, I don’t need you, screw you asshole’ exit.
“Shit.” He picked up a vase, threw it at the wall, watched as it shattered in hundreds of pieces, bits of glass raining all over the bare floor. He thought it would give him a hint of satisfaction at the very least, throwing that useless thing and watching it break, but instead he felt empty.
Alone.
Chapter Fifteen
Two weeks later
The warm, fragrant breeze that blew off the Mediterranean Sea soothed Stasia’s frazzled nerves, eased her overactive mind. She tilted her head back and let the air sweep over her face. She sat out on the villa patio that overlooked the ocean, giant sunglasses covering her swollen, red-rimmed eyes, not wanting anyone to notice. Renzo had fretted over her since she arrived and she didn’t want to worry him further.
She’d received the call not even an hour ago. The DNA results were in—she was a Worth. There was absolutely no doubt. The long, sometimes lonely, mostly infuriating fight she’d gone through since the death of Giorgio Renaldi had resulted exactly how she thought it would. She should feel victorious.
Instead, she’d hung up and promptly burst into tears. After weeping in her bedroom for a solid fifteen minutes, she’d finally composed herself and came outside, hoping the pleasant weather would ease the ache in her heart.
It hadn’t. She was beginning to think nothing could—with the exception of a certain man she’d walked away from without a backward glance.
“Stasia, are you all right?”
A sigh escaped her. She’d hoped for a reprieve for a little longer but it appeared her time was up. “I’m fine, Mama. Where did you go?” Opening her eyes, she studied her mother as Claudia came toward her and sat at the glass and iron table across from Stasia.
Her mama looked much better than the last time they were together. She’d gained some weight, though she was still thin, and those telling dark circles under her eyes weren’t as prominent as they once were.
“I went down to the beach and took a walk. I would’ve asked you to come with me but I—wanted some time alone.” Claudia took a deep breath, exhaling loudly as if she needed to gather courage. “You look so sad, my darling. Tell me what’s bothering you. And don’t say ‘nothing’. I won’t believe you.”
Stasia pressed her lips together, decided it was best not to beat around the bush. “I received the DNA results.”
The look of shock on her mother’s face was unmistakable. Her eyes going wide, she gaped at Stasia for a long, silent moment until she finally asked, “And you’re upset? Don’t—don’t tell me they came back negative. Because that would be a lie and I swear to you…”
“They came back positive,” Stasia interrupted, not wanting to upset her further. “It’s confirmed. Michael Worth was my father.”
Her mother fell back against her chair as if
she’d been pushed, her shoulders sagging, her relief palpable. “Then why do you seem so down?”
Stasia shrugged, confusion filling her. “I don’t know.” She knew, just didn’t want to admit it, especially to her mother.
She missed Gavin. She missed New York. How she wished she were back there, that they could share in this bit of positive news together. He would help her create a plan so they could go to the Worths and eventually work it all out. He knew how to make everything easier. Took some of that burden she carried on her shoulders and shared it with her. She hadn’t realized it until now, but he’d been her partner.
And she’d turned him away. No, she’d run away, just as he’d accused.
So instead she was in Italy with her mama, unsure of what to do next. Scared she’d made the biggest mistake of her life and let Gavin slip away from her completely.
“You miss Gavin,” her mother said simply, as if she were a mind reader.
“No, I don’t.” Stasia shook her head, angry that she denied her true feelings so quickly. She’d confessed all to her mother upon her return to Italy. Telling Claudia that Gavin had been her attorney, not her boyfriend, though she’d also admitted they’d crossed the line into a personal relationship. And that she’d left him to come back here and figure out what she needed to do next.
Her mother hadn’t judged, hadn’t told her what to do. Had merely sat there and listened, offered comfort when Stasia had started to cry. She’d needed that from her. Comfort. Reassurance. They’d become so distant since her father’s death.
“Really?” The doubt in her mother’s voice was heavy.
Since Stasia had returned to Italy, they’d somewhat reconciled, though emotions were still fragile between them. “Fine, I do miss him,” Stasia confessed morosely.
Claudia smiled. “Of course, you do. It’s written all over your pretty face. You’re lovesick.”
“I am most definitely not lovesick. I don’t love him. I…” Did she love Gavin? She wasn’t sure. “This isn’t about Gavin. I need to focus on what I must do next.”
“Why do you need to do anything? You’ve been validated as a Worth. Now they have to accept you.”
