Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 79670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“It’s fine,” she said, and my heart broke for her. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Gabriella, please,” I pleaded, my voice broken, but what could I fucking say. There was nothing to say. None of the words in the dictionary could justify what I did.
“Romeo,” she said my name and I felt the tears run down my face, “I’ve got to go. Take care.” She hung up, not giving me any more of her time. I didn’t deserve it anyway. I didn’t deserve anything. I took the phone in my hand and threw it against the wall. It shattered and fell to the floor.
I closed my eyes and went back to my bedroom and waited. Every single day I expected to open my computer or for my parents to call me and ask what happened. One day turned into two days and I stayed inside my house. A new phone was delivered a week later, and I went on my Instagram. The first picture that popped up was hers, which shocked me. It was a picture of the sun with a caption that said, “Shine like the sun.”
So many things went through my head. One, how did she not block me on social media? It was what everyone did. I expected to be blocked, but then I remembered this was Gabriella, and she didn’t play those games. She never once played the game with me when we were together. Never once made me chase her for fun. Never once avoided taking my phone calls because she was angry. She was everything I wished for in a person, and I threw her away.
Two was that no comments were made on any of my posts. There was no “cheating bastard asshole,” and believe me, I was the biggest piece of shit out there. No attention was brought to anything. It was like it was business as usual.
Days turned into weeks and still nothing came up. No one knew anything, and it was after the third week that I knew what a class act she was. It was also then I realized what she meant to me. I let the woman of my dreams slip away from me for nothing.
I blink as the memory fades and the pain in my chest picks up. Just like so many nights after that, I sit awake as I think about Gabriella. The way her eyes shone bright when she smiled. The way she moved her head to the side so I could kiss her neck because I loved to. The way whatever I shared with her was just for her. But now with those memories, I see the pain I put in her eyes. I knew I hurt her, knew it was there. Knew we had to talk about it, but knowing and then seeing it is two different things. I don’t know how I can make it up to her. I don’t know what I can do to make her realize I was an idiot. I don’t even know if she can ever look at me again without that pain in her eyes. I don’t know what any of this will do, but I do know one thing. I love her. I love her with every single beat of my heart. I love her with every single breath that I take. I love her with every single fiber of my being. I just hope I can make her fall in love with me for a second time because this time, it’s forever.
THIRTEEN
GABRIELLA
“Okay, I think it’s going to be this one,” I declare as I walk out of the dressing room, going to the middle of the room to stand on the podium. My aunt Zara is zipping up Vivienne as they both turn around and look at me. The girls have assembled in this shop to try on outfits for the gala. It’s a huge deal, so big that everyone, and I mean everyone, in the family is coming down. Even my father, who has a game the night before, is coming down for the night and then flying out that very night. The Max Horton Foundation is branching out to Dallas. He has a huge foundation in New York, where it started, and he works with the oncology department. A couple of years ago, he started bringing it to Dallas, where he wanted to help children in the system. He even hired Julia, who runs it now, but it’s not just the two of them anymore. They have grown and so many people have reached out in order to help support in any way they can. Now they have their own office here and the work they are doing is amazing. They are doing this gala in order to raise more funds, and everyone who is anyone is showing up. From what I heard, there are more than a thousand people coming, so it’s going to be a big deal.