Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Adele looked at Enzo as she held her hand up. “Is that really in the letter?”
“I’m not ad-libbing. This is everything.”
She pressed her lips together and swiped at her eyes.
This also means there’s a chance you will get pregnant. What I’m about to say to you, or you’re about to read, may seem completely nuts, but I want you to listen. I want you to forgive Isabella Bianchi. I’m your mother and I know you’re angry, you want to hurt her, for hurting me. As you look at your Enzo, I want you to imagine another woman stealing his heart. Someone else making him smile.
Adele didn’t like this.
I was that other woman, Adele. I was the woman who stole his heart. I didn’t know he was married, and I don’t want you to keep making excuses. Life throws us lemons, and we all make mistakes. I can’t be there for you, but Isabella can. You don’t know this, but I made peace with Isabella. When I went to see Hank, I sat with Isabella. I think in another lifetime, we could have been friends. I don’t expect you to trust her now, or next week, or next month, but I want you to know that I forgive her. All I want is for you to have someone. We were our own little family, and I don’t want to leave you with nothing. I want you to have a family, Adele. I want you to have love, and I want you to be happy. I love you, my darling, sweetest girl. Being your mother was a gift. Watching you grow was the greatest gift of all. For that, I will die a happy woman, with the only regret that I won’t be there to see you become a wife, a mother, but I know you. You’re going to be fantastic at both. I love you. Your mother, Carla.
Enzo put the letter down and Adele looked away. She felt the tightness in her chest start to ease. At first, she didn’t move, and then she took a step closer, then another one, and she picked up the letter. She knew her mother did write it.
“I was the one that was taking care of her,” she said. “My mom shouldn’t have had to do this.”
“Adele?” Enzo asked.
“Yes.”
“I love you,” he said.
She dropped the letter onto the table and looked at him, taken aback. “What?”
Had she heard right? No, it couldn’t be, could it? Did he just say he loved her? No, that couldn’t be right, but yet, the words spilled from his lips.
He looked at the letter and then at her. “She was right, so was Hank. None of the other women ever appealed to me. They were boring. When Hank asked me for this favor, I didn’t want to do it. I had no desire to marry his kid.”
Adele frowned and he took hold of her hands, locking them together.
“Then I walked into that bar, and you poured me a drink, and you were nothing like I expected. You knew exactly who I was, what I was capable of, and you rejected me. I had to blackmail you to get what I wanted. You have not made my life easier.”
“I don’t understand how you can love me right now?” Adele asked, confused.
“Because each morning that I wake up, I see you. If you’re not in my bed, then I come looking for you, because I need to see you first thing in the morning.” He stroked her cheek. “During the day, I think about you. I wonder what you’re doing, if you’re happy. I’ve never cared about anyone the way I care about you. I have no interest in other women. I want you, only you. I’m willing to risk everything for you.”
“Why are you saying these things?” Adele asked.
“Because I don’t want to end up like your parents. I don’t want you to doubt who I am. I certainly don’t want you to feel like Isabella Bianchi. I know you don’t love me. I know this has all been forced—”
“Shut up,” Adele said. She sighed and tilted her head to the side. “Not everything is about you. Have you ever thought, for a split-second, that I might … want you?” she asked. “That even as I hated you threatening my friends, a part of me wanted to be with you. For you to take the decision out of my hands, because even though I didn’t want to give in to you, a part of me wanted to. You have gone out of your way to make my life happy. I know that. I can see it. Do you think I’ve not noticed the little things? Like you making sure my favorite chocolate milk is in the fridge, or the toothpaste I prefer? You took the time to give me a whole room to myself, so I can enjoy my hobby. Even if you weren’t available to go shopping with me, you got one of your men to.” She had started to notice all these little things about Enzo. It had made her realize he wasn’t cruel at all.