“You just found an excuse,” she finished for him, “an excuse to perch perpetually on your moral high horse, to hurt and
control me however you see fit.”
Isabella took a deep breath.
“Vincent.” She glanced at him one last time. “I gave you the best seven years of my life. I didn’t waste them just so you
could throw them to the dogs.”
“There will be no more meetings between us.”
With that, she turned and walked toward the main hall.
Luca was just walking out from inside, and he naturally draped an arm over her shoulder, asking in a low voice. “Tired?”
She shook her head and leaned against his shoulder.
Vincent froze on the spot.
Her last words-“no more meetings“-rang repeatedly in his ears.
Everything felt surreal, like a hazy, half–formed dream. None of it made sense.
How could the woman who used to sob and beg for his attention turn so resolute all of a sudden?
He pulled the silver engagement ring he had proposed to her with out of his pocket.
In the end, he still did not give it back to her.
Because–she didn’t want it anymore.
Twenty–year–old Isabella had sat in the passenger seat of his beat–up ‘old car, wrapped her arms around his waist and
yelled at the top of her lungs, “Vince, we’re gonna stay together forever!”
He had shouted back then, ‘Okay! For a lifetime!”
Later, he got luxury cars, a manor, and countless women.
But he had lost the girl who had been willing to ride in his beat–up car, the girl who had cried tears of joy over a cheap. worthless ring.
The youth she had loved so fiercely would never come back
Three months later, the Vitale Family’s capital chain completely collapsed after all their core investors pulled out their funding, and they failed to secure new investment before their funds ran dry.
Chapter 12
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The family’s businesses filed for bankruptcy and restructuring.
Multiple personal unlimited liability guarantees Vincent had signed years earlier to secure investment all blew up
overnight.
He fell from the top of the world, left with nothing but mountains of debt.
It was drizzling on the day he moved out of the manor.
He carried one suitcase and returned to the Maple Street Low–Rise Apartments, the old building he had rented seven
years prior.
The elderly landlady was sitting at the entrance of the first–floor convenience store, picking through vegetables.
She looked up when she saw him, “Oh… Vincent?”
Vincent tugged at the corner of his mouth in a faint smile, “Mrs. Ricci, do you have any vacant units left?”
The old woman stared at him blankly for a few seconds, “Unit 501 has been empty this whole time. Where’s Isabella? I
haven’t seen her in ages.”
Vincent’s fingers twitched, “…She’s fine.”
That’s good.” The old woman mumbled as she rummaged through a drawer for a key, “One month’s deposit, three
months‘ rent up front.”
Unit 501
It was a 20–square–meter studio, with old posters from seven years ago still plastered on the walls.
He set his suitcase in the corner and walked to the window.
The sounds of children chasing and playing drifted up from downstairs, and a car alarm blared nonstop.
It was noisy, brimming with the mundane warmth of everyday life.
His phone vibrated once, another debt collection message.
He only glanced at it before locking the screen.
The rain picked up outside the window.
Vincent slowly squatted down.
Many years ago, there had been a small sofa right here.
Chapter 12
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Isabella had sat right here, sewing a button back onto his shirt as she said, “Vince, when we get rich, we’re gonna buy a big house, with floor–to–ceiling windows, a garden, and we’ll get a cat too.”
He had wrapped his arms around her from behind then, resting his chin on the top of her head, “Okay, whatever you
want.”
Later, they really did get a big house, with floor–to–ceiling windows and a garden.
There was just no cat.
And no her.
Raindrops tapped against the security screen.
Tap. cap.
It sounded like a countdown–counting down all the good times he had wasted away.
And the rest of his life was long.
Long enough for him to relive this bone–deep, cold clarity over and over again.
Chapter 001 Divorce
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
