Page 290 of Modern Romance January 2025 5-8

It certainly hadn’t been the best way to remain hidden, but when she thought of Enzo’s touch, his affection, she couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ENZOSATAThis desk staring unseeingly at the screen in front of him. It had been a week since Charlotte had stridden out of his office and out of his life, leaving him a shell of the man he once was.

It had been seven days of constantwhat-ifs. Of anger that she’d rejected all he had to offer, which was everything he could give. Of anger at himself for letting her leave at all. Shame at his parting words, knowing they’d found their mark and hurt her as much as he was hurting.

Seven days of being merely a shadow of the leader his company needed. Getting barely any sleep because Charlotte’s warm body wasn’t moulded to his. Rolling over onto cool sheets and jerking awake in panic at her absence, before reliving the hell of watching her leave.

He couldn’t bring himself to work out. Something that should have got his blood pumping, given him the energy to tackle the day, seemed like a waste of time. His discipline had faded, his routine smashed to pieces.

He had heard back from the lawyers. The issue with Emilio had been settled. Apparently, his brother wasn’t happy, but there was nothing Emilio could do. Even that brought Enzo no joy.

What a difference seven days made.

After hearing from the lawyers, he could think only of the things Charlotte had said in Ravello. They didn’t stop replaying over and over in his head.

‘I have chosen something different for myself, and you can do the same... You control your path.’

His obsession with the vineyards had deafened him to her then, but now that he had what he’d thought he wanted, Enzo had found himself finally understanding what she had been telling him. And it made the itch he felt about his father’s lie turn into a wound he couldn’t ignore.

The truth of his childhood was unveiling itself. All his life he’d wanted to make his father proud. Without complaint, he had picked up every challenge his father had laid down. It had turned him into the leader De Luca and Co. needed, into the conte Perlano deserved, but at no point had his father shown an interest in who Enzo was. In what he might have wanted. He was only ever given a goal to aim for and was encouraged to make that his whole life. Well, now he’d accomplished everything his father wanted of him, and instead of basking in his pride, Enzo was alone in his lofty office with no brother to talk to and a tainted memory of his mother.

‘He lied, Enzo.’

His fatherhadlied to his mother for years, and instead of dealing with that, with the truth of who his father was, Enzo had defended his actions. God! He was a hypocrite. How could he hate lies so much and yet still accept it just because it came from his father? Just because it won him the vineyards? His mother had been betrayed. But Enzo had been so angry at her for trying to give the vineyards to Emilio. His brother who had spent so much time with their mother.

He’d thought Emilio was jealous, but now he saw it was so much more than that. His brother hadn’t received the slightest bit of attention from his father or any affection at all. No wonder their mother doted on Emilio. Favoured him. It didn’t excuse what she’d done, but maybe in her place Enzo would have tried to even the scales for Emilio too.

‘You didn’t receive any affection either.’

Enzo hadn’t received aWell done!He hadn’t received praise. Just acknowledgement that he had done what was expected.

He thought his father hadn’t failed him, when in truth his father had been so singularly focussed on his duty he’d failed his whole family. Enzo had wanted to secure the vineyards to honour his memory, the love his parents had shared. Now that he had his victory and no one to share it with, he realised how hollow it all was. His parents hadn’t shared anything at all.

He knew what it was to share a life now. He’d had a taste of it with Charlotte.

Her affection had been a wondrous thing. Her boldness. Her sass. He’d lost himself in it for a little while. She didn’t just dull the hurts he tried to bury deep within, she made them disappear. Pulling him from his anger. Saving him from his angst. Trying to show him the truth of his childhood. She’d wanted him to choose a better life for himself. Charlotte was in his corner. Until she wasn’t.

And that was his own fault.

Enzo looked beyond the door at her empty desk. A taunting reminder of what he’d lost.

HR had sent him options for a temporary replacement. As much as he needed someone, he didn’twantanyone. He didn’t want to see another person in that chair. He didn’t want to spend his days with a stranger who would pale in comparison to Charlotte. And hewouldcompare them to her.

Without him realising it, Charlotte had become the benchmark against which all others in his life would be measured, and he knew he was ruined. For as long as he lived, he would crave one person for ever.

He missed her.

He missed her bright smile every morning. When he’d thought she was Celeste, he had considered her plain. When he thought back now, she was anything but. He couldn’t recall the drab clothes she wore. He remembered how her greeting formed such an integral part of his morning routine. Put him in the right headspace to lead. They had been a team. And he’d loved working with her. How her opinions lined up with his. How, whenever they didn’t, she challenged him in her own unobtrusive way. How she would try to pass off her own ideas as his. He had let her get away with that. He’d always been thinking along similar lines anyway.

A white empty espresso cup sat on his table. Enzo glanced at it. He had made his own coffee this week. Exactly as he had taught her. There was not the slightest difference in process, and yet he preferred it when she made it. He preferred everything she did. Charlotte had made his world better by just being in it. And he’d been blind to it.

Enzo cursed. How could a cup make him want to rip his heart out of his chest?

He pushed away from the desk and stood at the window. Pressing his palm to the glass, he looked at the city below. It didn’t take his mind off Charlotte because he’d noticed how she used to look out at the view every day and try to hide her smile. She’d loved it, even though she’d never allowed herself to be a real part of this city.

There was a lot he’d pretended not to notice.