보관함
검색
홈 / Mafia / Leaving the Family, Leaving You / Chapter 5

공유

Chapter 5

작가: J.X cross
At exactly nine o’clock the next morning, Adrian’s call comes in.

I glance at the screen and do not answer.

Soon, messages begin appearing one after another.

I’m downstairs.

Vivian, stop making a scene. Be good and come down.

Since you insist on acting like this, all of our future plans are canceled.

I turn off my phone and continue sealing the last set of East District accounts into a document envelope.

At exactly ten, I hand the ledgers, the access keys, and the Bellini family badge over to the Council.

The advisor in charge of the handover looks at me, as if he wants to say something.

In the end, he only sighs.

“Miss Vivian, once the purge order takes effect, there is no going back.”

I nod.

“Goodbye.”

At noon, I board a flight to Chicago.

By the time I land, the sunlight is perfect.

I have barely arrived at my apartment when Leo sends me an Instagram link.

Look at this.

I tap it open.

It is a photo Celine has just posted.

The North District estate. The riding grounds.

In the photo, she is dressed in white riding clothes, standing beside a snow-white horse.

Adrian stands behind her, his head lowered as he fixes her gloves.

The caption reads:

First time riding. Someone said he’d protect me.

Plenty of Bellini people have already liked it.

The comments are lively enough to hurt the eyes.

Miss Celine looks beautiful today.

Mr. Adrian is teaching her himself? That’s not ordinary treatment.

They look so good together.

Leo sends another string of furious messages.

She definitely posted that for you to see.

Adrian is unbelievable. Yesterday he said he was going to pick you up, and today he went there with her instead.

Are you okay?

I look at the photo, but my heart is unexpectedly calm.

There is no anger.

No nausea.

I only think that the weather in Chicago is actually very nice today.

The wind is clean as it passes through the plane trees beneath my apartment building.

I close Instagram and reply to Leo.

I’m fine.

A few days later, I receive a call from my mother.

Her voice is very low, as if she is afraid someone might hear her.

“Vivian, Adrian is here.”

My hand pauses slightly around my coffee cup.

It is noisy on the other end of the line.

Vaguely, I can hear Adrian’s voice, pressed tight with anger.

“Madam, please ask her to come out.”

“We’re supposed to get the family engagement notarized today. The appointment was difficult to arrange. We can’t be late.”

My mother sounds troubled.

“Adrian, Vivian really isn’t in New York. She left several days ago.”

For a moment, the other end of the line goes silent.

When Adrian speaks again, his voice has clearly changed.

“She left? Where did she go?”

My mother sounds even more confused.

“You don’t know?”

“Didn’t the Bellini family already purge her? She went to Chicago.”

At that moment, there is no sound from Adrian at all.

Only the sudden weight of his breathing remains on the line.
이 작품을 무료로 읽으실 수 있습니다
QR 코드를 스캔하여 앱을 다운로드하세요
이전 챕터 다음 챕터

최신 챕터

  • Leaving the Family, Leaving You   Chapter 11

    Recently, Moretti has taken on a new cross-border shipping route.Our partner is an old family with unforgiving standards, and the route proposal is revised again and again.My team and I work past midnight every night for two straight weeks.Matteo stays just as late without complaining once.At two in the morning, I finish the final revision and step out of the meeting room.He is still in his study."Why haven't you left?"He tips his chin toward the table."The kitchen kept dinner warm for you."I look down.A bowl of seafood congee is still steaming on the table."Thank you.""You're welcome."I take one spoonful, then look at him."Matteo, before you keep doing things like this, have you considered that I may never give you what you want?"He stills."I don't want to get married. I may not want another relationship for a very long time."I tighten my fingers around the spoon."Is waiting for me worth it?"Matteo is silent for a moment."Vivian, I am not treating my concern for yo

  • Leaving the Family, Leaving You   Chapter 10

    Life continues.Moretti's business grows busier, and more harbor routes and shipping lines come under my control.Matteo begins taking me to negotiations with the Five Families, introducing me to the powers in Chicago and along the East Coast.At one meeting, I encounter a family representative from New York.After a few polite words, he asks, "Weren't you with Bellini before?""I was.""Then you know Adrian Bellini. I saw him a few days ago. He's lost a great deal of weight. I heard his health has suffered too."I give him a faint smile."I know him. But we have had nothing to do with each other for a long time."He seems ready to say more, but one look at my face changes his mind.After the meeting, I sit outside the conference room with a cup of coffee.My phone lights up with a message from Leo.Vivian, Celine was thrown out of Bellini's inner circle. Apparently she lost an entire shipment and tried to blame someone else. She deserved it!I reply with one word.Okay.That's it? Jus

  • Leaving the Family, Leaving You   Chapter 9

    After Adrian leaves, I sit alone in the council chamber for a long time.Matteo knocks and enters with a file in his hand."I've finished my notes on next quarter's East Harbor distribution plan. Take a look.""All right."He sets it on the table and studies me for a moment."Are you all right?""I'm fine."Matteo does not press me.He turns and leaves.I force myself through two pages, but not a single word stays in my mind.At last, I set the file down and walk to the window.The wether in Chicago is nothing like spring in New York.New York is always damp and gray, as if the entire city is trapped beneath a layer of cold fog.Just like my relationship with Adrian.Everyone believed we were unbreakable. Only I knew how little could still be seen beneath the surface.Before I came to Chicago, Leo asked me one question."Can you really let Adrian go?"I told him that even if I could not, I still had to.The truth is, Adrian had disappointed me too many times long before I left.Each on

  • Leaving the Family, Leaving You   Chapter 8

    I am in the council chamber when a guard enters and says a visitor from New York is asking for me.I assume it is one of Moretti's business partners and tell him to let the visitor in.The door opens.Adrian walks through it.He has lost weight.His cheeks are slightly hollow, and dark shadows sit beneath his eyes. His white shirt is badly creased, as if he came here directly from the airport."Who gave you this address?" I ask."I used the computer in your old office. I found a way into your email."My brows draw together.The old account will have to be shut down. I will have Moretti's technical team reinforce the new one as well."Why are you here?""Give me a little time. Let me talk to you.""There is nothing I need to hear.""Vivian."He takes one step closer."Do you have to treat me like this? At least give me a chance to explain."I look at him, and all at once, I am tired.I check the time."Ten minutes. You leave before my meeting begins."Adrian freezes, as if he did not ex

  • Leaving the Family, Leaving You   Chapter 7

    During my first week with Moretti, I give nearly every waking hour to the family.I am the first person in the council chamber each morning and the last to leave at night.On Friday afternoon, I am presenting my findings on the East Harbor accounts when my phone vibrates.It is a message from my mother.Vivian, Adrian is here again. He has been standing downstairs for two hours. Should I let him up?I frown and type back.Don't. I'll call him.I step out of the meeting room and dial Adrian's number."What exactly are you trying to do?""I only want to see you." His voice is low. "You cut off every trail and blocked every way I had to contact you. I don't know where else to look."I take a slow breath."Ending the engagement was not an empty threat. Adrian, we are over."He says nothing.After several seconds, I continue."Leave. And do not go to my mother again.""And if I refuse?""Do not force me to stand against you, Adrian."A long sigh passes through the receiver."What do I have

  • Leaving the Family, Leaving You   Chapter 6

    I do not listen any longer.I end the call.The screen goes dark, but I remain seated in my Chicago apartment for a long time.Afternoon light cuts through the blinds, falling across the unopened suitcases and the bare wooden floor.By the time the room begins to dim, I finally get up and unpack.I have just folded the last of my clothes into the wardrobe when my phone rings.Adrian's name flashes across the screen.I stare at it for a long time before answering."Vivian."His voice is raw, as if he has not slept all night."I checked the airport footage. You really left New York.""Yes."Silence stretches between us."Send me your address. I'll come get you.""No.""Vivian!"His voice rises sharply.I listen without anger and without the ache I once would have felt.There is only a faint, bone-deep exhaustion."Adrian," I say, "our engagement is over. I thought you understood that."The line goes quiet.After a long moment, he forces out the words."I never agreed to that.""It takes

더보기

다른 추천

좋은 소설을 무료로 찾아 읽어보세요
GoodNovel 앱에서 수많은 인기 소설을 무료로 즐기세요! 마음에 드는 작품을 다운로드하고, 언제 어디서나 편하게 읽을 수 있습니다
앱에서 작품을 무료로 읽어보세요
앱에서 읽으려면 QR 코드를 스캔하세요.
DMCA.com Protection Status