Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
LAbrIA
Tuesday came before I knew it. I received a call from the don himself and not one of his minions. Nicco told me the coast was clear. Lord was on a private plane to New York, and he wouldn’t be back until Thursday night.
I had about forty-eight hours to clear my remaining belongings out of the house I thought was a home.
Wrong. That place was a house of lies, a house of horrors.
I picked the place, and I loved it at first, then everything changed.
It was clear I didn’t have a future with Lord.
He was someone else now. Someone I didn’t understand or like anymore.
At work, I cried over him. I couldn’t do it at Maurizio’s.
I didn’t know whether he had security cameras inside the house.
I would never disrespect Zio by bawling over Lord in his presence.
I wished I didn’t love Lord anymore. I literally prayed every day that those intense feelings of love would quickly seep out of my heart.
Feeling this way was the worst. I hated feeling like clawing his blue eyeballs out of his sockets.
I wasn’t above violence. Life was life-ing for me.
I had already killed a man. I blamed Lord.
He put me here, in this state, in this family and in a situation that forced me to take a life.
I worked at a fucking bookstore before I got all wrapped up in him.
I longed for the simplicity of working at the Book Nook.
I missed hanging out and gossiping with Brett.
I missed my sister and her family. I was slacking on my auntie Bria duties.
I could go back to Chicago, but I really couldn’t just escape all the things that happened while I was here in Sin City.
Brett was renting my house now, and there was no way I was going to come back and rain on his independence parade.
My future was too much to think about, and I needed to focus on the here and now.
Which was getting all my shit out of this man’s house and moving on with my life.
There had to be a glow-up waiting right around the corner for me.
Right after work, I changed into some yoga pants, a t-shirt, hoodie and gym shoes and drove over to the house. Nicco claimed he would provide the boxes and whatever else I needed to pack my shit up. I believed him. It’s not like I had caught him in any lies lately.
I stood at the front door of what was once my home, key hovering near the lock as my heart pounded in my chest. Three and a half weeks had passed since I’d walked out, since I’d left Lord and the beautiful prison we’d shared.
The moving boxes and packing tape in my arms felt heavier than they should have.
I hadn’t expected to come back like this— sneaking in while he was across the country, preparing to erase all evidence that I’d ever lived here.
But Nicco had been clear. Lord would be in New York for three days.
This was my window, and I couldn’t afford to waste it standing frozen on the doorstep, drowning in memories.
The key slid into the lock with ease. One turn and I was in, stepping into the foyer that still smelled faintly of the expensive Cécred candles I used to burn.
The house was eerily silent. There was no music playing, no TV on in the background, no whispers of conversations coming from Lord’s office.
There was none of the ambient noise that once made this place feel alive.
Someone Nicco hired had already been inside the house. There were plastic bins and cardboard boxes lined against a wall in the living room. I wondered if Lord had seen them. Did he put them there?
I set my purse down and moved deeper into the house.
Something felt off. The living room looked different.
It was sparse, like someone had selectively removed items. My throat tightened as I realized what was happening.
My things were gone. The decorative pillows I’d chosen, the throw blankets, the art pieces I’d carefully selected. They were all gone.
“What the fuck?” I whispered, turning in a slow circle. I wasn’t going to take the art off the walls. I was only here for my personal stuff.
I hurried to the built-in bookcase. This was where my law books and favorite novels had been arranged by color.
Empty spaces gaped between Lord’s business books and autobiographies.
My collection was gone. Below the bookshelves were huge plastic tubes that I thought were empty.
But no, I pried open the lid of one tub.
My books were carefully wrapped and placed inside the tub.
This motherfucka really wanted me out. Either he packed my things up or hired someone to do it. My heart was hurting so badly. I placed my hand on my chest to try to calm myself. I rushed to the kitchen, yanking open the cabinet where I kept my special tea collection. The shelves were bare.
A cold, distant feeling washed over me. Lord had already removed my things.
He’d systematically erased me from this house while I’d been gone.
I sank onto one of the bar stools, trying to process what this meant.
Was he so eager to remove all traces of me?
Or was this some kind of message? A way of saying he’d moved on before I could?
I pulled out my phone, tempted to call him, and cuss him all the way out. But what good would that do? We were done, done. Finished. He was sending me a message that I was receiving loud and clear, in HD or 4K or whatever was the clearest resolution known to mankind.
With shaking hands, I made my way upstairs to the bedroom.
The bed was made. I opened the closet door, bracing myself for another emptied space, but was surprised to find some of my clothes still hanging there.
Dresses, blouses, pants, things I’d worn less frequently.
The designer pieces Lord had bought me were untouched.
The designer shoes and handbags were still right where I’d left them. What did that mean?
I began taking items off hangers, folding them carefully and placing them in boxes.
Each garment held a memory. The black dress I’d worn to a charity event at the Palladium.
The blue blouse from our romantic weekend in San Francisco.
I worked methodically, trying to disconnect from the emotions threatening to overwhelm me.
My phone rang, startling me so badly I dropped a pair of shoes.
I reached into my sweatpants back pocket and got my cell.
Khia’s name flashed on my screen. I hesitated for just a moment before answering, not sure if I was going to be able to mask my true feelings and have a normal conversation with my sister.
“Hey, Khia,” I said, fighting to keep my voice regular.
“Don’t hey Khia me,” my sister replied immediately. “What the hell is going on with you? I’ve been calling for a hot minute and getting nothing but short texts saying you’re fine and busy with work. I’m worried. What is going on?” Khia said without taking a breath in-between words.
I sat on the edge of the bed, suddenly exhausted. “There is something. I’m not doing great.”
“Duh, clearly if you dodging my calls. Talk to me,” she demanded. “Is it, Lord?” I heard her sigh. “Did that man do something?”
“We broke up two and a half, three weeks ago,” I interrupted, the words rushing out before I could stop them.
“Oh, Bria.” Sympathy rushed out with her words.
“He cheated on me.” I blurted.
The silence on the other end was brief but heavy. When Khia spoke again, her voice was deadly calm. “That piece of shit. Tell me everything.”
So I did. I told her about finding the pictures, the inappropriate texts, and seeing Lord with Lolita.
I explained how I’d left while he was out of town.
I mentioned how I’d been staying with Maurizio.
I left out the part about Maurizio and I sleeping together.
There was only so much my sister could process at once.
I finished by telling her I was at the house now, packing my things while Lord was out of town once again
“And you’re there alone?” Khia’s voice had that edge to it, the one that meant she was already in problem-solving mode.
“Yeah, for now. Nicco is going to have someone come over tomorrow to move the boxes into storage for me.”
“That’s fine, but you shouldn’t be alone or doing this by yourself.”
“I don’t really have much of a choice.”
“It’s been three weeks. You could’ve said something to me.”
“Yeah, but I was trying to process it myself. And I felt stupid and dumb for moving out here for a man. That doesn’t even sound like me, but my dumbass did it.”
“Girl, you was in love. You followed your heart. You took a chance.”
Who was this lady on the other line because it wasn’t my sister? She was being nice to me and not calling me all kinds of idiots for running up behind a man.
“Yeah, I’m just exhausted thinking about it.”
“I understand that. You say he cheated?”
“Yeah, he’s turned into a different person since he started working for his brother. You can go right ahead and tell me that you told me so.”
“I’m not going to do that. I wanted it to work out with you guys.”
“I did too.” I heard keyboard clicking in the background. “What’s that noise?”
“I just booked a flight to Vegas. I’ll be there before midnight.”
“Khia, you don’t need to—”
“Don’t even start with me,” she cut in. “I’ll be there tonight to help you move tomorrow. I already booked the flight. Larry can handle the kids for a few days.”
“What about work?” I asked, knowing it was a futile argument.
“I have vacation days. This is more important.” Her tone softened slightly. “Bria, you shouldn’t have to do this alone. I’m your sister. Let me be there for you. Breakups are hard, and we have already been through so much.”
I knew she meant the unexpected death of our parents.
Losing two parents at the same time was the hardest thing I ever experienced.
Tears welled in my eyes. I hadn’t realized how desperately I needed someone in my corner who was just mine, not connected to Lord or the Bregoli family. “Okay,” I whispered. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. This is what family does.” I could hear her moving around, probably already packing. “I’ll text you when I get through TSA. I’ll call when the plane lands.”
“I need the flight info to pick you up from the airport.”
“I’m going to take a taxi. I’ll be there in a few hours.”
“I love you, Khia.”
“Love you too, sis. And Bria?” She paused. “You’re going to get through this.”
After we hung up, I wiped away the tears that had escaped despite my best efforts.
Khia was coming. My big sister, who had always protected me, who had warned me about moving across the country for a man I’d known for such a short time.
I should have felt embarrassed that she’d been right, but all I felt was relief. I wasn’t alone anymore.