Semua Bab Nine Times Too Late: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Leticia's POVJames Colombo canceled our wedding again.After he rushed out, the guests looked at me with the kind of pity people reserve for a woman who has become public entertainment. I stood at the entrance of the estate in a wedding gown that had taken three months to stitch by hand, smiling at every guest as they left."It is all right," I said again and again. "Something important came up."No one believed me.The Principessa of the Buono family had been abandoned at the altar by the same man for the ninth time, yet I was still making excuses for him.When the last guest was gone, I sat alone in the empty hall. The train of my gown spread across the marble floor like a flower already beginning to die.This time, I did not cry.I went back to the villa and quietly packed my bags.James came home deep into the night. When he opened the door, his suit still carried the sharp smell of hospital disinfectant.He paused, then hurried toward me. "I swear this is the last time,

Leticia's POVAfter every postponed wedding, James usually disappeared for days to stay with Angelina.I assumed this time would be the same and that I would not see him again before I left.Unexpectedly, he texted me that night.Do not take Angie's words to heart. She is kind underneath it all.I glanced at the message and tossed my phone aside.It rang again.James was calling."Are you still angry, Leticia?" he asked. His voice sounded rough."Do you care?"The days when a few soft words from him could melt me were gone."You are my fiancee. You are the Buono family's daughter. Of course I care.""If you cared, you would be here with me instead of with Angelina, James." The words came out before I could stop them."Leticia..." He said my name gently, the way he used to when he wanted me to forgive him. "This is the last time. I swear. I will make it up to you."Then he added, "Let us go out tomorrow. Just you and me. I want to spend time with you."He hung up before I

James's POVI stood at the altar of the family chapel and straightened the cuffs of my charcoal suit for the tenth time. My eyes kept returning to the heavy oak doors.Noon.The whispers among the family members grew louder. The soft, rhythmic buzzing scraped against my nerves."She is just being dramatic," Angelina murmured as she leaned close to me.She wore a silk dress that clung to her curves, and undisguised satisfaction glittered in her eyes. "You know Leticia. She wants you to beg her to come back because of that photo.""Shut up, Angelina," I said under my breath.My tone made her shrink back.I took out my phone. Still nothing.[I will be waiting at the chapel at ten.]The message sat there alone, read and unanswered.At one in the afternoon, my father came forward, disappointment carved into his face."James. It is time. If your fiancee is not coming, we have to dismiss the guests. This is an embarrassment to the family.""She is coming!" I snapped.Leticia mus

James's POVI did not sleep that night. I lay on Leticia's bed with the wedding ring still clenched in my hand."She could not have disappeared on her own," I rasped, staring at Giacomo, my eyes bloodshot. "A woman controlled by her family cannot bypass all our surveillance. Someone helped her."The door creaked open.A familiar scent entered the room, and for one fractured second my pupils eased. I turned toward the doorway with a rush of hope."Leti..."Then my expression darkened.It was Angelina.She had changed out of the silk dress from the wedding and into a sheer lavender nightgown.It was the one I had bought for Leticia. Her favorite. It still carried traces of her scent.Angelina walked across the rug with a crystal decanter and two glasses, moving as if she belonged there."James, darling," she said, her sweetness so artificial it made my stomach turn. "You have been up all night. The sun is coming. If she wanted to be found, she would already be here."Do not w

Leticia's POVMy wedding to Lucas was held at the family estate.It was not grand. Only core family members and our closest friends attended.I no longer needed a huge ceremony to prove anything.Lucas did not disappoint me.On the morning of the wedding, he stood at the estate gates in a black suit with a white rose pinned over his heart. His hair was neater than usual, his jaw clean-shaven, and a faint sandalwood scent clung to him.He waited for me in the sunlight.For a moment, I remembered another groom who had always left me waiting in that same light.The priest stood beneath the floral arch, and we exchanged vows under the eyes of the family.Lucas held my hand and said, "I will not make you wait. Not even once."I said, "I know."Just as the priest was about to pronounce us husband and wife, the iron garden gates were shoved open."Leticia!"That voice.I had waited for it through too many nights. I recognized it instantly.James Colombo.He stood at the entran