Chapter 3 The House

Evelyn's POV

After Elisa left, I went back inside and kept replaying what she'd said. I couldn't calm down.

I'd actually wondered about that possibility before, so I had to find out whether it was true.

But first, I needed to move out. I wanted to leave this city, to get away from this place that hurt so much.

I started packing. As I looked around the room I'd decorated so carefully and saw all Federico's gifts, I couldn't stop the memories of our time together from coming back.

I still couldn't believe that Federico, who'd been so good to me and made me feel so loved, had been faking all of it.

Those happy moments. Every one of them was a lie.

Our wedding photo hung in the bedroom. I frowned at Federico's face in it.

He looked so perfect, gazing at me with so much love. But it was all a mask.

I got a ladder and took the photo down. Then I carried it out to the stone fire pit behind the house, along with the wedding dress I'd always treasured and the albums full of our memories, and burned them all.

Finally, I looked at the wedding ring on my finger.

I took it off and was about to throw it into the fire pit when Aurora stopped me.

"I know you want to say goodbye to the past, but there's no reason to throw away money," she said. "It's going to be hard living on your own from now on. You should sell everything he gave you and keep the cash."

"I know. That's why I want to sell the house."

Federico had given me this villa before we got married.

I still remembered that day. Federico told me this would be our home, our forever home.

He had no idea how badly I'd wanted a home of my own. And I'd stupidly believed one lie of his after another.

The villa was still beautiful, but it wasn't my home anymore. It was just a cold, empty house that meant nothing.

I no longer had a home.

I left the villa with just two suitcases and moved in with Aurora for a while. That night, I had a long dream.

I dreamed about the day five years ago when Federico confessed his feelings for me in front of everyone at college.

Federico was such a dazzling man, tall and handsome, with a perfect build and mesmerizing blue eyes.

When he got down on one knee and told me he wanted me to be his girlfriend, I could hardly believe my ears.

He pursued me relentlessly. He waited outside my classroom every day, walked me home after class, and brought me gifts on weekends. He was so thoughtful that I stopped doubting he meant it.

In the end, I said yes.

Back then, all my friends were happy for us. Everyone envied us...

"Fede...

"No, don't leave me!"

I jolted awake from the dream, pain throbbing in my chest.

Shaking, I reached for the glass of water on the nightstand. The tears wouldn't stop. The glass slipped out of my hand and shattered on the floor.

"Evelyn, are you okay?!" Aurora heard the glass break and rushed into my room. When she saw my tear-streaked face, she hugged me tight, looking heartbroken for me.

"Honey, I know you must hate him," she said softly in my ear. "I hate him too. I hate him for doing this to you, and I hate his mother even more! But trust me, everything's going to be okay. I know you too well. You survived living with parents like that for so many years. You'll get through this too."

As Aurora talked, she started crying too.

"But I don't think I can. I can't stay in the Gambrelli family anymore," I choked out. "After everything he did to me, I can't face him again."

"Then leave. Quit your job, move, get out of the Gambrelli family for good, and never deal with any of their business again," Aurora said. "We can call Lorenzo. He'll definitely help us."

Lorenzo Vega was a friend of ours from college, and the only one back then who didn't approve of me being with Federico. He lived abroad now, and I'd heard he'd been working for some mysterious family all along.

With his help, I could probably slip away without any trouble.

"Okay, I'll try reaching out to him." I nodded. "But, Aurora, I think I need you to help me look into what Elisa told me today."

Aurora's family was in the pharmaceutical business and had close ties to hospitals and the government. If she helped, I'd definitely find the answers I wanted.

Aurora agreed right away. "Of course. I'll find a way to get to the bottom of it as fast as I can. But if what Elisa said is true, are you going to tell Federico?"

"No." I shook my head. "I'm looking into this for me. My life has nothing to do with Federico anymore."

Early the next morning, I went to the office alone.

I'd decided to leave the Gambrelli family for good, but there was still some business I had to hand off to other people before I left.

I walked into the lobby. While I waited for the elevator, I turned toward the main entrance and saw Federico through the glass, getting out of his car and opening the passenger door.

Bianca stepped out, smiling brightly. She was as beautiful as ever, tall, blond, and graceful.

At seven-thirty in the morning, Bianca and Federico were already together. What does that mean? Are they already sleeping together? If they are, for how long?

That hurt more than I wanted to admit.

Federico and I used to come to the office together like that every morning. But now he was getting out of the car with someone else, so casually, as if all those mornings with me were just a distant memory.