Chapter 10
Vincenzo stayed in the car for almost an hour before he could get out.
Sara’s small house looked exactly the same as always.
The flowers on the porch.
The light curtains in the windows.
The bicycle leaning against the wall near the fence.
Everything looked the same.
But nothing was the same.
Because this time he hadn’t come to hold her.
He hadn’t come to kiss her until he was out of breath.
He hadn’t come to lie beside her and pretend the outside world didn’t exist.
He had come to destroy her.
And to destroy himself along with her.
He squeezed his eyes shut, resting his forehead against the steering wheel. His hands trembled. His chest ached as if someone had driven a knife in and slowly twisted it. He took several deep breaths, trying to find strength that simply wasn’t there.
Even so, he got out of the car.
He walked to the door with heavy steps, as if every meter weighed a ton.
He hesitated before knocking.
His hands were both sweaty and cold at the same time. When he finally touched the wood, the sound seemed far too loud in the silence of the night.
A few seconds later, he heard footsteps running on the other side.
His heart clenched so hard he nearly doubled over.
Because he knew those footsteps.
He knew the happiness that came with them.
The door opened.
And Sara appeared.
Her smile appeared immediately — beautiful, radiant, full of love. Exactly the way it always did when she saw him. She practically ran to hug him, her arms already opening in the air.
But she stopped in the middle of the movement.
Because she finally noticed.
She noticed the red eyes.
The serious face, almost gray.
The empty expression, as if someone had turned off the light inside him.
Her smile faded slowly, like a flame being extinguished by the wind.
“Vincenzo…?” Her voice came out low, frightened. “What happened, my love?”
He felt his chest tear from the inside.
Because she looked so small. So scared.
And she already knew.
Maybe she didn’t know what, but she knew something terrible was about to happen.
He swallowed hard, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. He couldn’t cry. Not in front of her. Not while he was about to do what he had to do.
“We need to talk,” he said, his voice rough, almost unrecognizable.
That was enough.
Her shoulders stiffened. The happiness that remained disappeared completely. Without saying another word, she stepped aside to let him in, her body already tense as if she were bracing herself for a punch.
Vincenzo entered.
He closed the door behind him. The click of the lock sounded like a sentence.
The silence that fell between them was crushing.
“Vincenzo…” she whispered, her hands pressed against her chest. “What happened? You’re scaring me.”
He looked away. He couldn’t face her. Not knowing what he was about to do. Not with the taste of all the promises he had made to her still in his mouth.
“Sara…”
His voice cracked in the middle of her name.
She felt her heart sink all the way to her stomach.
“I have to leave,” he said finally.
Sara shook her head slowly, as if she hadn’t understood.
“Leave… where?”
Vincenzo took a deep breath. Once. Twice. Three times. But there was no easy way to say it.
There never would be.
“I can’t continue…” His voice came out low, but every word was like a blade. “I can’t continue with you.”
Her world collapsed.
Just like that.
Without warning.
Without preparation.
Without explanation.
“What do you mean…?” she whispered, her voice already failing.
“Sara…”
“No.” She took a step forward, her eyes already shining with tears. “Vincenzo, what’s happening? Did I do something wrong? Do I… do I not satisfy you anymore? Is there someone else?”
The tears began to fall.
Thick.
Fast.
“Please… don’t do this.”
He closed his eyes so hard it hurt. He wanted to scream. He wanted to tell her everything — the arranged marriage, the alliance, the danger she would be in if she knew the truth.
But he couldn’t. He knew she loved him desperately. He knew she would be stubborn and risk anything to stay close to him. Imagining this world without her was his own personal hell.
So he stayed silent.
And that silence hurt more than any words.
Sara took another step, almost begging now. Her voice came out broken, desperate:
“My love… if you don’t like me anymore, I understand. I understand… But I love you. I love you, Vincenzo… all I want is to see you happy. But please… don’t take me out of your life. Please, Vincenzo… I’ll do anything. But don’t leave me, Vincenzo… I love you…”
She was crying openly now, her hands shaking.
Vincenzo couldn’t look at her anymore.
Because if he looked, he would collapse.
Because if he looked, he would fall to his knees and beg her to forgive him for being too weak to fight against his own family.
He turned.
Quickly.
Almost running.
He opened the door and left without looking back.
And then he heard it.
He heard her sob explode — loud, desperate, the sound of a heart being shattered live. She called his name one last time, her voice hoarse from crying so hard:
“Vincenzo…!”
He didn’t stop.
He walked to the car as if he were running from himself. He got in, started the engine, and tore away so hard the tires screeched. He drove without direction, without seeing anything, the tears finally falling without control.
First one.
Then another.
Then all of them.
Minutes later he had to pull over onto the shoulder of an empty road in the middle of nowhere. He pressed his forehead hard against the steering wheel, his shoulders shaking.
And finally he broke.
He let out a rough, almost animal sound that came from deep in his chest. Fists clenched, slamming the steering wheel once, twice, until it hurt.
The memories came without mercy: her smile on the porch, the way she ran to hug him, the sound of her laugh when he called her “my passion,” the taste of her lips, the heat of her body against his on the nights when he could pretend he was just an ordinary man.
“I do too…” His voice cracked as he tried to control the sobs, his voice destroyed. “I love you, Sara… Forgive me…”
For the first time in his life he hated the family he had been born into. He hated the blood that ran in his veins. He hated the duty that forced him to destroy the only good thing he had ever had in his life.
Loving someone didn’t always mean staying.
Sometimes it meant leaving.
And that had been the worst departure he had ever lived.
◆◆◆
Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, Sara was still standing in the middle of the living room.
Her entire body trembled. Her throat was so dry it hurt. The sobs came out in gasps that seemed to tear her chest open. She tried to walk to the bedroom, but her legs wouldn’t obey. Her vision started to blur. The world spun.
She held onto the wall, but her strength vanished all at once.
Everything went black.
Her mind processing the last days the two of them had spent together, the last hours, and the last moment she had seen the eyes of the man who had become the love of her life.