He Said It Was A Prank

It felt like someone had stabbed me in the heart.

I had never imagined that Enzo would mock me with words like that.

Who did he think he was? Who did he think I was?

Also, what did he mean by saying that? Was he breaking up with me?

I stared at him without moving.

He grew uneasy under my gaze and looked away first.

I knew he was recalling all these years we had shared.

We had been together so long and always supported each other. We had never hurt each other.

Something fundamental had changed.

He clearly cared about Lucrezia more than me.

“Lucrezia is reasonable. She wouldn’t take it to heart. Just apologize to her, and we can put this behind us.”

A single sentence had shown me that six years of trust, love, and promises were all gone.

I shook my head. My voice came out soft. “I’d never.”

Enzo’s tone turned cold and sharp. “Amelia, is this really how you want to play it?”

How else was I playing it?

Every word out of his mouth felt more absurd than the last.

Suddenly, I did not want to fight for any of it anymore.

“I’ve always been like this, Enzo. You didn’t meet me yesterday.”

I pushed them out and slammed the door.

I sat back down in the chair and stared at the transfer notice again.

Less than an hour remained.

The transfer would go into effect in the next hour.

I would have to leave this city I had lived in for eleven years and go to Bellarosa for the first time in my life. I did not know a single thing about that place.

Yet I still did not press cancel.

I simply sat there and watched the countdown tick away.

The display eventually switched to “Confirmed.”

I exhaled slowly.

It turned out that leaving Enzo was not that difficult, after all.

In fact, it felt as though something deep inside me had finally let go.

My phone lit up.

Texts from my best friend Layla Pedro came pounding in like bullets.

[Amelia, I just ran into your fiance at the bar!

[Enzo and Lucrezia are here! Your family is all assembled there too!

[They’re insane. They’re cheering him on to do a mouth-to-mouth shot with her! My goodness, that woman is practically glued to him!]

Then, she sent me a video.

The camera shook violently. The lights were low and red.

Enzo was surrounded in a booth, his suit undone and his tie crooked. He had a broad grin on his face.

Lucrezia pressed up next to him with her face against his shoulder. She blushed as the crowd cheered.

Someone shouted, “Don Vitelli, rules are rules! You lost. You have to either do a mouth-to-mouth shot with a lady here, or you call your fiancée Amelia to come get you! Pick one!”

“Yes, yes, call her! Let’s see if Amelia will do you the favor and show up!”

The energy surged to a fever pitch.

Everyone knew we were fighting. They delighted in the drama, egging it on even more.

Lucrezia looked at him with eyes full of hope.

Enzo furrowed his brow, clearly irritated by the noise.

After a few seconds of silence, he pulled out his phone.

Lucrezia’s face went pale instantly.

The call connected.

Enzo’s voice was flat. “Amelia, I got carried away earlier, but I’m calm now. Come over and apologize to Lucrezia in person. We’ll forget what happened before.”

I said nothing.

Enzo’s patience burned out fast. “Say something! Is it that hard for you to swallow your pride and say you’re sorry?”

“Yes, Enzo. I did nothing wrong. You want me to apologize? Over my dead body.”

“Fine! Amelia, you have some nerve!”

He roared with anger, “In that case, listen from the other end while I kiss her in front of everyone!”

I immediately hung up.

Layla’s video came through again.

The footage was chaotic. Enzo had smashed a glass. Liquor was spilled all over the table.

Lucrezia’s voice trembled. There were tears in her eyes. “Don Vitelli, let’s stop the game. Please don’t be mad.”

“Who says we’re stopping?”

Enzo suddenly looked up and stared straight at the camera.

He had known Layla was recording the whole time.

“Don’t bother hiding. Keep filming! Let your best friend watch who I’m kissing right now!”

He grabbed the back of Lucrezia’s neck.

Amid the crowd’s gasps, he kissed her fiercely.

In spite of myself, my heart still ached at the sight of that.

However, the sting came fast and faded just as quickly.

I turned off the video and went back to clearing my things off the desk.