Chapter 2

Back at my Tribeca penthouse, I pulled two brown leather cases from the storage room. I didn’t need much: my passport, several changes of clothes, the watch my grandmother had left me, and the old seal my father had placed in my hand before he died.

I left the wedding guest list, the sample place settings, and the leather-bound book of vows where they were.

It was after one when the lock finally clicked.

Adrian walked in alone.

He stopped the second he saw the suitcases.

For the first time that night, the confidence slipped from his face.

“Where are you going?”

I zipped the second case. “Milan.”

“Elena.”

There was something different in his voice now. Not irritation. Fear.

His grip loosened, and his other hand came up to my face.

“Don’t do this.”

For one dangerous second, he looked almost like the Adrian I had loved—the man who used to pull me against him after every fight because he couldn’t stand going to sleep with distance between us.

He bent his head toward me.

I turned my face away.

He froze.

I had never done that before.

His eyes searched mine. “You’re serious.”

“Yes.”

A flash of panic crossed his face.

Then, almost as quickly, pride covered it.

“You’re angry. Fine. Be angry.” His thumb brushed my wrist before he let me go. “But you’re not ending three years over what happened tonight.”

“I’m not ending it over tonight.”

His jaw tightened.

“I’m ending it because tonight finally made me understand the other three years.”

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he gave a short, disbelieving laugh.

“You trusted me yesterday. You were in my bed last night. Now you’re standing here pretending everything between us suddenly means nothing?”

“It means enough that what you did hurts.”

“You don’t get to humiliate me and then use the fact that I loved you as proof I have to stay.”

Before he could answer, the front door opened again.

Luca walked in carrying champagne. Sabrina followed with a large seafood platter balanced in both hands.

“There you are.” Sabrina smiled too brightly. “We figured everyone needed to calm down.”

Luca took one look at Adrian’s face, then at my luggage.

“Oh, come on.”

Sabrina set everything on the kitchen island. “We came to salvage the night. Eat something, have a drink, and by tomorrow no one will even remember.”

Lobster and oysters filled the center of the platter.

I had a severe shellfish allergy.

Beside it sat a neat package of gluten-free crackers because Sabrina had recently decided wheat made her feel bloated.

Adrian had remembered a preference she’d mentioned once.

He had forgotten I’d carried an epinephrine injector for four years.

“Help yourselves.”

I reached for my suitcase.

Luca laughed. “Here we go again. You used to threaten to run back to Italy every time we fought. You always came home the next day.”

“This time’s different.”

Adrian’s eyes stayed on me.

“She says she’s canceling the wedding.”

For once, Luca stopped smiling.

Sabrina blinked. “Over the cake?”

“It’s not about the cake.”

“Then it’s the bet,” Adrian said. He dragged a hand over his jaw. “I know it didn’t start well, but the last three years were real. You don’t get to rewrite our whole relationship because you were embarrassed tonight.”

“Because the last three years were real, you don’t get to dismiss tonight as a joke.”

For once, he had nothing ready to throw back at me.

Luca poured himself champagne and leaned against the island. “You’re exhausted. The wedding’s close. You’re taking everything personally.”

“And you’re punishing Adrian for one bad call,” Sabrina added softly. “Just apologize for what you said to me at the party, and we can all move on.”

I looked from one face to the next.

“You came into my home, brought food that could put me in an emergency room, and somehow I’m still the person who owes an apology.”

Adrian’s gaze dropped to the seafood platter.

For half a second, shame crossed his face.

Luca gave a dismissive snort.“No one is asking you to eat it,Stop turning every mistake into proof that we don’t care about you.”

It was the same trick in a different suit.

If I named the pattern, I was twisting things.

If I stayed quiet, they called it proof nothing was wrong.

Sabrina’s eyes immediately filled.

“This is my fault. I shouldn’t have mentioned the bet or let everyone egg him on. If it matters that much to you, I’m sorry.”

She reached for the insulated container she had brought with the food.

“I brought soup too. At least have something warm before you go.”

“I’m not hungry.”

I bent to close my suitcase.

Sabrina stepped closer. The container slipped from her hands, and scalding broth spilled across the side of my blouse.

I cried out and stumbled back. Heat burned across my waist almost immediately.

“Oh my God.” Sabrina covered her mouth. “Elena, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Adrian grabbed a towel while Luca pulled Sabrina away from the spill.

“It was an accident,” Luca said. “Don’t start another fight over this.”

Sabrina looked at me with wet eyes.

“I was only trying to take care of you.”