Chapter 27
Emilia
My heart broke for him when I said ‘no.’
I could see the corners of his mouth twitching, like he was trying so hard to keep up a brave front.
“…okay,” he said in a kind, quiet voice. “Well, you gave me a chance, and I appreciate it. As promised, I won’t bother you anymore. It was a pleasure, Emilia. I wish you the very best.”
I stared at him in shock.
He actually DID mean what he said two weeks ago!
“Giorgio – ” I began.
But he interrupted me.
“It’s better this way,” he said in a kind voice.
I knew exactly what he meant:
If you’re going to break my heart, then I need to not see you again.
And that hurt all the more.
He laid a five-euro note on the counter like always, gave me one last smile, then turned and walked away.
I knew that his tips were just a way to cover his gifts to me.
I pulled aside the money –
And stared.
There was a gorgeous gold necklace, so fine and delicate that it looked like something out of a fairytale.
It was beautiful.
I held it up. It weighed almost nothing as it hung from my fingers.
“Giorgio!” I cried out.
He turned around, and his face was so hopeful.
In that moment, I wanted to say, It’s beautiful.
I wanted to say, Don’t go.
I wanted to say, Yes, I’ll go out with you!
But instead, the old fears came back –
Dark memories of what had happened in Milan.
My voice trembled as I said, “I… I can’t accept this.”
He smiled one last time – but this time, he didn’t hide his pain.
“I’d like you to keep it,” he said quietly. “Something nice to remember me by if you ever go back to Milan. Not just a keychain.”
Little did he know that I had all of his gifts on my bedroom windowsill.
The keychain…
The troll doll…
The charms…
The tiny bits of origami.
They were the first thing I saw when I woke up…
And the last thing I saw when I closed my eyes at night.
And every single one of them had become precious to me.
As he turned around and walked away, I wanted to call out for him to come back –
But fear strangled my throat and choked back my words.
However, there was another voice that fought against the fear.
It kept ringing insistently in my head:
You fool – he’s NOTHING like Maurizio!
Suddenly, I was terrified that I’d made the wrong decision –
But he was already gone.
My eyes blurred with tears, and I raced for the bathroom.
I hurried inside and locked the door –
And then burst into tears.
Part of me still believed that I had dodged a bullet by turning him away.
But another part of me, a bigger part, was terrified that I had shut out someone who could have loved me… and someone I could have loved.
My heart had broken for him back in the café…
But now, alone by myself, my heart broke for me…
And everything I might have lost because I was afraid.