Home / He Traded Our Marriage for Port Rights, so I Left Sicily / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of He Traded Our Marriage for Port Rights, so I Left Sicily: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

On the way back to the estate, I didn't say a word.It wasn't until the car passed the last checkpoint that I turned to look at Sterling."You can still back out."Sterling was reading the contract he'd just signed. He looked up when he heard me."Ophelia.""Ilona wants more than just a month." I clenched my hands into fists. "She wants you. Everyone can see it. If you give her this today, tomorrow she'll push for more."Sterling closed the file and reached over to wipe away my tears."Her feelings for me are her problem. You know you're the one I love."I pulled away from his hand."Then why did you agree?""Three years of priority shipping rights at the port." His voice dropped. "It's just business. Nothing more.""So our marriage is only worth three years of port rights?"Sterling's brow furrowed. "Don't say it like that. After a month, everything goes back to normal."The car stopped in front of the estate. He got out first and held out his hand for me, like always.I looked at it

Chapter 2

The next afternoon, I got a text from Sterling. It read, "The original port contract is still in the study. Bring it to the club tonight."A few minutes later, another text came in. "We can have dinner while you're here."After a little thought, I brought him the contract anyway.The moment I opened the door to the private room, I knew I shouldn't have come.Almost everyone involved in the port deal from both families was there. The table was crowded with open bottles of champagne, and a cake celebrating the signing stood against the wall.Ilona was sitting next to Sterling. When she saw me, she smiled and waved a phone at me.She'd sent those texts from Sterling's phone.Sterling had obviously figured that out too, and his face darkened. "Ophelia..."I set the contract on the table, stone-faced. "Here it is." Then I turned to go."Wait." Ilona signaled for someone to wheel in an easel she'd prepared. "I hear you used to study oil painting."She stood up and moved to Sterling's side."

Chapter 3

Sterling didn't come after me. As I walked out, I heard someone kick over a chair behind me. It hit the floor with a crash.Phil Caruso, Sterling's right-hand man, spoke up quietly. "Don, should someone go check on the Donna?""Let her go."Sterling's voice was so cold it was frightening. Even Ilona didn't dare say anything for a moment.Someone hesitated, then spoke. "But this time, the Donna looked...""Where else could she go?" Sterling cut him off. "She's barely traveled outside Sicily alone in years. Give her a few days to cool off. She'll come back on her own."I stood around the corner in the hallway, my fingers tightening around the soaked watch. I heard every word.If you're so sure I'll come back, then I won't.Back at the estate, I got a towel and carefully laid the photo flat on the table.The wine had soaked through the photo paper, blurring my mother's once-clear face. I dabbed it twice with a cotton swab, but the colors spread even farther. I didn't dare touch it again.

Chapter 4

Before the jet took off, I'd opened my chat with Sterling one last time.The last message, sent the night before, read, "Don't keep this up too long."I stared at Sterling's profile picture for a moment. Then I blocked his number and deleted our private chat too.When Orlando came back from the front cabin, he had a blanket and a hot drink. "Your eyes are all swollen. Why aren't you asleep yet?"I took the blanket, and he set a few art books on my lap."Something to look at if you get bored."The one on top was a collection of works featured in several North American art exhibitions over the past few years.I flipped through a couple of pages and looked up at him. "How did you know I like this kind of thing?""You told me once." That was all Orlando said before he moved to a seat across the aisle to go through some files.It had just snowed when we landed in Quebec. Orlando had come to negotiate a deal on some machinery, so he'd be busy for the next few days. He put me in a separate su

Chapter 5

There was a loud crash.Sterling had swept everything off his desk."She had the nerve to run off with another man?"Phil was too scared to say anything.Sterling's expression was thunderous. He repeated Orlando's name through gritted teeth.Ophelia was his wife. How dare she get on another man's private jet and stay gone for seven days?But once the rage passed, he calmed down quickly.It wasn't possible.Ophelia had loved him for so many years. Just having Ilona around had been enough to hurt her that badly. There was no way she'd turn around and fall for someone else.Who was Orlando, anyway?She was probably so angry that she'd found someone to leave with on purpose, just to make him jealous.At the thought, Sterling let out a scornful laugh."Leave it. Once she's done throwing her fit, she'll come back on her own."But that night, he still rounded up a group of men and went to the club to drink.He drank one glass after another, but his irritation wouldn't fade.The private room w

Chapter 6

When I made the first stroke, my hand felt a little stiff.It had been too long. The line came out badly crooked. I frowned, erased it, and started over.Orlando knew better than to hover. He set up my supplies and went off to work, but not before calling back, "I'll be back at noon to check your homework."I snorted. "Who said you get to check?""Your sponsor." He didn't even turn around. "I paid for the supplies."I grabbed an eraser and threw it at him, and he caught it, laughing.Once the door closed, the suite went quiet.I sat by the window and slowly sketched the rooftops across the street.At first I kept stopping, but then I went faster and faster. By the time Orlando came back for lunch, I didn't even hear the door open.I didn't look up until he set a hot cup of coffee down by my hand."What time is it?""Two."I blinked.Orlando looked down at the sketchboard."Not bad.""Don't flatter me.""Really, it's good." He turned the board around and studied it for a while. "Way bet

Chapter 7

On my eighth morning in Quebec, I was painting the snow in a park.When my phone rang, I thought it was Orlando. I answered without looking, but the voice on the other end was one I knew too well."Ophelia."My brush stopped.I had no idea whose phone Sterling was calling from."What do you want?"The line went quiet for a few seconds. Maybe my voice was too calm. He seemed at a loss for words.Finally he asked, "Where are you?""That's none of your business.""Send me the address."I frowned. "Why?""I'm coming to get you."He said it so casually, as if I'd only left home for a week to clear my head.I looked down and kept mixing my colors. "I'm not coming back."Sterling's voice turned hard. "Haven't you made enough of a scene? Running off that far, and on Orlando's plane, no less. Ophelia, do you know what people are saying?"I laughed. "Since when have you cared what people say?""I care who you're with."His tone sharpened. "What gives Orlando the right to take you away? Since whe

Chapter 8

Over the next few days, I went out to paint almost every day.The Old Town, the river, the woods.One day I got caught in a heavy snowstorm and ducked into a used bookstore with my sketchboard. While I waited it out, I sketched an old woman reading by the window.The owner stood beside me, completely absorbed. As I was leaving, he suddenly asked, "Is this one for sale?"I was startled. "You want to buy it?""My wife used to love sitting in that very spot." The old man smiled. "The woman in your painting reminds me of her."In the end, the painting sold for 200 Canadian dollars. It wasn't much, but I held those two bills up against the sky and stared at them for a long time.When Orlando came back that night, I slapped the money down in front of him."Dinner's on me."He raised an eyebrow. "Win the lottery?""I earned it."He sat up straight. "You sold a painting?"I nodded excitedly, and Orlando immediately held out his hand, palm up. "Then I want the most expensive thing on the menu!"

Chapter 9

The day Sterling arrived in Quebec, I'd just come out of a gallery.Orlando had been called away to meet a client, so I was walking back to the hotel alone with two freshly framed paintings in my arms.I'd just crossed the street when a black car pulled up in front of me.The door opened and Sterling got out. I stopped in my tracks.He looked a lot more tired than he had two weeks earlier. There was dark stubble on his jaw, and his eyes were bloodshot.But the first thing out of his mouth was the same as always. "Haven't you made enough of a scene?"I was so angry I almost laughed.Sterling walked up to me, his eyes on the frames."You really did start painting again?""Is that so surprising?"He was quiet for a moment, then reached to take them."Give them to me."I stepped out of reach, and his hand froze in midair. "Ophelia.""I can carry my own things."Sterling's jaw tightened, but he kept his temper in check."Go back to the hotel and pack. The jet's at the airport. You're coming

Chapter 10

Sterling didn't go back to Sicily right away. The next day, he checked into my hotel.When I went down for breakfast, he was already sitting by the window in the restaurant, and the coffee and breakfast I used to love were waiting on the table."Come here."I ignored him and took a seat at another table.A few minutes later, he brought everything over anyway."Your stomach's sensitive. Don't drink coffee before you've eaten."I looked up at him. "Did you come all the way here just to watch me eat?""I came to take you home.""I told you, I'm not going back."Sterling's face stiffened.Just then, Orlando walked in carrying a big paper bag."Morning."He saw Sterling but didn't break stride. He just sat down right next to me.Sterling's expression soured instantly. "What are you doing here?"Orlando glanced at him."I'm staying at this hotel.""I mean, what are you doing at this table?"Orlando smiled. "Having breakfast with Ophelia."Sterling's fingers tightened around his cup.I frowne

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