Flashback Still...
I'm dancing on the table with Amber and a bottle of tequila in my hand as people cheer us on.
We've been at this party for about three hours now and I'm having the best time ever.
No stress about school or SATs or college acceptances.
None of it.
Just pure, teenage fun and drinking.
Well, I'm not so sure about pure.
Molly taps my leg to come down and she looks nervous.
I narrow my eyes and jump off the table.
I'm about to fall, but Justin catches me and I thank him.
"Save me a dance later." He winks before walking off.
I roll my eyes before Molly pulls me outside, " Your parents have been calling me nonstop! My parents too . We're in shit, you need to sober up."
I groan and pull out my phone.
34 missed calls from mom and 56 missed calls from dad.
Fuck.
My phone rings again.
It's my mom.
I answer the call, "Okay, so you're probably pissed-"
"Are you safe?" She says in a panic.
"Wha-"
"Aurora, are you safe?!" She hisses.
"Yes. Mom, I'm okay."
She lets out a relieved sigh as I walk further away from the noise, "Who are you with there? Have you seen any strange characters there? Anybody who looks to old to be at a high school party" she asks each question hurriedly, not even letting me answer.
"No, mom, just kids from school. What's going on?" Her tone worries me, wiping away away any buzz I had.
"Just stay there, don't leave the crowd. We're on our way."
"Mom, what's-"
"Mija please do what I say!" She yells.
She lets out a frustrated sigh, "Just wait for us okay? I love you." She says before hanging up.
I look at my phone I confusion and turn back to head into the party again.
I find Molly flirting with some guy before she notice and she rushes to me, "How much trouble are we in?" She asks.
My eyebrows furrow, "Something's wrong Mols, I don't know what, but something's seriously wrong."
End of Flashback....
——————————————————————————
And I was right, something was terribly wrong.
Because my parents never made it to the party.
"It's my fault." I whisper into Lorenzo's chest, "It was all my fault."
He pulls back.
His one hand continues to stroke my back and the other wipes the tears from my face.
I probably look like such a mess and that alone makes me bury my head back on his chest.
"Talk to me bambina." (Baby) he whispers, "what can I do?"
"Bring them back Lorenzo, bring my parents back to me." I say before letting out another floodgate.
I much preferred it when I couldn't cry.
Because it seems to be all I can do.
I feel my feet lifting off the ground as Lorenzo carries me up the stairs.
He takes me to his room and locks the door behind him before placing me on the bed.
He takes my shoes off for me before taking his own off.
After taking off his jacket, he gets on the bed to hold me in his arms again.
I cried myself to sleep that day. I don't know how long I'd been crying, but all I know is that he never left my side.
He ignored his phone ringing a hundred times, he ignored the pings of messages.
He ignored it all, just to hold me until I fell asleep.
————————————————————————————
I wake up and groan. My eyes feel incredibly heavy and I feel pounding in my head.
I'm wrapped up in Lorenzo's arms with my back pressed against his chest.
I turn around to look up at his beautifully crafted face.
His chest is bare, hair messy and he's sleeping so peacefully.
I let out a sigh.
Life couldn't possibly deal me a worse hand.
It's one thing to deal with an angry and dangerous Lorenzo, because hating him is easier then.
But this Lorenzo? This beautiful, soft and caring Lorenzo? He tears me apart because he tears down my walls and makes me feel like I could trust him again.
Only for the other Lorenzo to eventually show up.
I brush a fallen strand of hair from his face back and his golden eyes open to meet my hazel green ones.
"It's rude to stare." He says, his morning voice deeper than usual.
I put both my hand under my head and just watch him, silently.
He watches me too.
"Are you ever going to tell me what happened?" He asks softly.
I sigh, "I'll let your mom fill you in on those details."
He looks at me for another second before getting up.
He leaves the room without another word, but I'm too defeated to even care.
I turn on my back and look up at the ceiling.
Does the loss of your parents ever go away?
Not when it's your fault...
I shut my eyes in anguish from the retort of my inner voice.
It's must be morning because it's bright outside.
Can't even understand how I slept for so long.
I hear my phone ringing at a distance and I groan.
Everything in me wanted to ignore it but I got up anyways to see a call from the last person I ever expected, "Hello?" I say.
"Viper, hey, it's Nicole. Can we talk ?"
"Uh, yeah, what's up?" I ask her.
"Not over the phone. Can we meet up for coffee or something tomorrow morning?"
"Yeah, sure, send me the details"
"Okay cool, see you then." She says before hanging.
I throw the phone on the bed before going to the bathroom.
I look at my reflection in the mirror and the sight absolutely mortifies me.
Hair messy, eyes puffy and red, I actually look like my problems.
Hopping into the shower, I turn on the water to the coldest temperature I can take, just to wake me up.
I release slight screams for the first few minutes until I got used to the cold.
Then I just engulfed myself in the water, as if I were washing my problems away.
After a few minutes, I come out of the shower and head back to the room on nothing but a towel. My hair dripping on the floor.
Lorenzo comes in at the same time with a tray of food in hand, "You must be hungry." He says before placing the tried on the dressing table.
I look at the tray filled with different delicacies and back at him, "thank you."
"Eat up." He says before disappearing into the bathroom behind me.
I find a T- shirt of Lorenzo's the reaches below my bum and a pair of my own sweatpants.
I know he's probably going to work and I honestly just didn't want to separate from his scent.
Not right now.
I hope he won't mind.
He comes out as I finish off the last waffle on the plate, narrowing his eyes at me.
I think he's about to tell me off about wearing his clothes and I prepare for the backlash, "You finished the whole thing? Do you want more?"
I release a breath I didn't even know i was holding and shake my head 'no'.
He disappears in his walk-in closet and comes out dressed in a dark green suit, with a black shirt and tie.
The green brings out his tan skin and i ignore the tingle I feel as I watch him fix his VVS cuff links.
I clear my throat, at an attempt to steer my thoughts away from where they were going, "so, you heading to work already?" I ask.
"No, i pushed back a few meetings. I want us to go somewhere first."
"Us?" I ask.
He nods, "yes, you and I."
I groan, "I don't have to change do I?"
You're in his t shirt, sweatpants and your hair is still damp, even if you've put it in a messy bun. Your eyes are still puffy because you haven't covered up with makeup.
You need to do a lot more than change.
Okay, I get it inner voice.
"No, you look beautiful." He says.
I smile, biting back a laugh, knowing he's lying.
I put on my sneakers and he holds my hand in his as we walk down the stairs.
The world must be on my side for once because we never bumped into his mother.
After an hour of driving, we finally arrive at a... cemetery?
"Why are we here?" I ask, confused.
This is the same cemetery my parents are buried in.
" I want to show you something." He says as he get out of the car, comes around and opens my door for me.
I hesitantly get out and follow his lead as he takes my hand in his.
We walk in the complete opposite direction of where my parents are buried, so I finally release a breath and exhale.
We stop at a specific grave plot.
There were fresh flowers there and Lorenzo scoffed, "she was already here." He whisper more to himself.
"Lorenzo, what are we-" my voice gets caught in my throat when I read the name on the tombstone.
Alessio Romano
That has to be his brother.
He takes a step forward and crouches down, "My mother told me what happened."
He scoffs, "I knew your mother too." He looks up at my confused and surprised face, " zia Celeste" (aunt)
"She was my mother's best friend. They spent every day together whenever we came during summer. They were inseparable, I don't know how you never met her."
"I spent most of my summers with my abuela in Cuba, well up until she died when I was 17."(Grandmother) I say softly
He nods in understanding.
I swallow, "Lorenzo, why am I here?"
He looks back to his brother's tombstone, " It had only been a week since I'd arrived for the summer. My mother, my father & brother arrived a week before."
"It was about 2 weeks before your parents' death." He says this part hesitantly.
He scoffs, "That's when my brother was beaten to death right in front of us, and we couldn't do anything about it."
My breath hitches at this revelation. I immediately went on my knees next to him to be able to see his facial expressions.
I thought I'd see him crying or sad or at least upset, but nothing.
His face was cold, void of any emotion, "my mother couldn't come to your mother's funeral because she'd just buried her last born son, Aurora."
He finally looks away from the stone and looks at me, "That's the last time I saw your mother. At the funeral. She planned everything because my mother was too dejected and distraught to do it and I was too busy making sure my family's empire remained in the family."
He looks me in my eyes, "Your mother helped us out a lot then."
He says this and I remember my mom disappeared for whatever business at the time that she never cared to share and I didn't care to know either.
Only to find out she was right here all along.
"If I'd known who you were, I wouldn't have.... I-" he stops himself.
"You wouldn't have what, Lorenzo?" I ask him my brows narrowed.
He ignores my question though, "When the news of your parents' death arrived, it sent my mom completely over the edge. It was her last straw and she lost it."
He looks to the ground, "It took 16 months of therapy and meds to bring her back."
He clears his throat, "So no, she couldn't have been able to help with the funeral because she wasn't here either. She was lost too and for the longest time, I feared I wouldn't get her back."
Lorenzo's words cut me.
Not only because of the mention of my mom, but also because of how much he's also suffered in life.
Here I am thinking life hated me the most and then you get him.
The first person who I've met that has been dealt a worser hand by the universe and he remains to be the strongest and deadliest person I know.
His need to please his mother makes sense now.
It makes sense why he just agreed when she wanted him to get married.
It makes sense why her approval of me meant so much to him.
It made sense why he decided on marrying Santana even though he didn't care for her, it's because his mom approved of her.
And his mom was all he had left.
He almost lost her once to grief, so keeping her happy would naturally be his biggest goal.
"I-I'm sorry." I say, putting a hand on his shoulder.
He takes the hand on his shoulder off and holds it in both of his, "Your mother didn't want this life for you Aurora."
I narrow my brows, "I kn-"
"Your mother would've hated to see you with me."
He sighs, "with everything I've told you I'm sure you understand why I'm about to say what I'm about to say."
I'm unable to say anything because I'm too busy biting back the tears that are threatening to come out.
"My mother owes your mother so much. I owe your mother so much Aurora."
He sighs, "And so I will do everything in my power to ensure you and our baby are taken care of. You can live at the hotel, I'll get you booked into the presidential suite and you will never lack anything for as long as I live."
I scoff standing up and turning around so he doesn't see the tears roll down my cheek,
"But I'm going forward with the wedding to Santana, because you deserve better than me."
The tears stream down my face, but he doesn't see because my back is towards him.
"I promise to be there for you and our child, always. But you both shouldn't be part of this life. You can't. I won't let you."
I turn around angrily to find him standing right in front of me.
I hit his chest hard, but he stands absolutely rigid and I take a step back.
He sighs, "Isn't this what you wanted too?"
"What I wanted was for you to fight! I wanted you to fight for me! For us! I have been here Lorenzo. I've taken your insults, I've taken your dumbass girlfriend, I've even taken your crazy jealous outbursts where you kill the people I love!"
I scoff, "But you? You leave, every time."
I brush back strand of hair and wipe away the tears on my face , "You've made me compete with Santana, but I can't compete with your mother.."
I sigh and nod slowly as the realisation hits me, "This is really it, isn't it?" I ask looking at him.
He looks off at a distance and there stands Cameron, " Cameron will take you to the Hotel and I'll have your things sent over as soon as Maria finishes packing."
I swallow, "Tell me this is it." I repeat.
" I wish it wasn't, but you'd hate me so much more than you already do if.." he sighs, "This is it."
I turn to storm of, but then change my mind and knee him in the groin instead, "go to hell." I spit out bitterly as bends over from the pain.
With that, I walk away from Lorenzo Romano.
Hopefully for the last time.
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Thanks for reading <3
We're almost at the end of the book.🫠
Besides my recent writers block, I actually enjoyed writing this book and just seeing all my ideas written down.
Ngl, I know they end things every other chapter, but this break up made me sad a bit.😫