All Chapters of The Florence Promise: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

I had spent the last few years feeling smaller and smaller beside him."I've seen Rafael a few times," I said at last.Matteo nodded."I noticed."I frowned."You noticed?""You called him last week."He smiled."And afterward you came home...""...and spent two whole hours talking about something other than work."I couldn't help laughing."Is it really that unusual?""For you?"Matteo raised an eyebrow."Yes."I took a sip of wine and sat quietly for a moment.Then I realized something strange.With Rafael, I didn't have to be anyone.I didn't have to be the co-founder of Ponte Tre.I didn't have to be a future wife.I didn't have to be perfect.I only had to be myself.Violet.That simple fact was surprisingly liberating.A few days later, I ran into Rafael again.This time by accident.Or at least partly by accident.We met outside the university.The old one.The place where everything had begun."This isn't a coincidence.""Of course it is," Rafael replied."You come here regula

After the gallery, we were in no hurry to go anywhere.We simply wandered through the city.Along streets we had once known by heart.Past places where we had left pieces of our youth behind.Florence was still the same.Only we were different.Or at least, that was what we believed.Eventually, we ended up on the steps by the river.The place where we used to go as students.Once.A lifetime ago.We sat beside each other.Only a few inches of space between us.And ten years of unspoken words.The sun was slowly disappearing behind the rooftops.The water below reflected the last traces of light.It was quiet.Not uncomfortable.Just full of memories.“Do you remember that evening?” Rafael asked.I didn’t have to guess which one.I knew exactly what he meant.The last evening before he left.The one I had spent years trying not to think about.“Yes,” I whispered.Rafael nodded.For a long time, he looked out at the river.“So do I.”I lowered my gaze.Because suddenly, I felt as nervo

“Don’t stay too late.”“All right.”“And go home.”“I will.”I heard footsteps and quickly moved farther down the hallway.A few seconds later, Matteo came out.He didn’t notice me.He couldn’t have.His thoughts were already somewhere else.His phone was pressed to his ear.Another meeting.Another client.Another responsibility.When he disappeared around the corner, I remained where I was, staring at the half-open office door.Inside, Violet sat alone.In front of her computer.Surrounded by work.Exactly where Matteo had left her.Exactly where she had spent most of the past ten years.And in that moment, I finally understood.The problem wasn’t that Matteo didn’t love Violet.He did.I had no doubt about that.The problem was that he had stopped seeing her.Not deliberately.Not out of cruelty.Gradually.Year after year.For so long that she had become a certainty.The person who could handle everything.The person who would never leave.The person who would always be standing b

Without another question, he changed the deadline.The meeting continued.But I no longer experienced it the way I used to.For the first time, I realized that all these years I had been focused on making sure everything worked. I had never stopped to think about who was actually holding all the threads together.And I was beginning to like the answer less and less.The meeting ended a little later than usual.People slowly stood up from the table, gathered their notes, and returned to their offices.I stayed behind for a moment, adding a few remarks to the project schedule.Matteo was already heading toward the door.“I have to go,” he said.“I have a meeting with investors at noon.”I nodded.“All right.”He had barely taken a few steps when Luca from the construction team appeared in the doorway.“Mr. Bellini?”Matteo turned around.“Yes?”“We need to decide whether to order the light or the dark stone for the reception desk.”Matteo glanced at his watch.“I don't have time for tha

Because some illusions don’t begin to collapse when you learn the truth.They begin to collapse the moment you allow yourself to believe there might be a truth at all.I didn’t sleep that night.Or not really.I lay beside Matteo, listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing, trying to convince myself that nothing had happened.Because technically, nothing had.I hadn’t seen a kiss.I hadn’t seen an embrace.I hadn’t seen infidelity.Only a conversation.Two people in an office.Nothing more.And still, the same sentence kept echoing in my head.Then tell her.It isn’t fair.What was he supposed to tell me?And why wasn’t it fair?I turned in bed.Again.And again.And every time, I arrived at the same conclusion.There had to be a reasonable explanation.There had to be.You don’t destroy a ten-year relationship over a few sentences overheard through a half-open door.By morning, I was more exhausted than when I had gone to bed.Matteo was already gone.A note lay on the table.Me