Chapter 4 - The Price of Coming Home
Enzo stopped speaking.
For three wonderful seconds, the world contained complete silence.
Then he laughed.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Leon set the phone on speaker.
“It means Mara and I were married yesterday.”
“You’re joking.”
“No,” I said.
Something struck a hard surface on Enzo’s end.
“You married my brother?”
“You left.”
“For a few days!”
“At the altar.”
“I was overwhelmed.”
“You took his car and went on a honeymoon with someone else.”
The silence returned, less satisfying this time.
Then Enzo said, “Who told you about Celeste?”
“You did. You just did.”
Leon’s mouth tightened.
I continued before Enzo could recover.
“My attorney will contact you about the loan. Preserve your messages, emails, and financial records.”
“Your attorney?”
“Yes.”
“Mara, listen. We can straighten this out.”
“Then start with the money you borrowed against my building.”
He hung up.
I stared at the dark screen.
Leon pushed my toast closer.
“You haven’t eaten.”
I looked at him incredulously.
“My former fiancé just discovered I married his brother, and your concern is toast?”
“You can handle him better without a headache.”
I laughed.
The sound surprised both of us.
For a moment, we were simply two people at a breakfast table.
Then the gate intercom rang.
Teresa had arrived.
Leon asked whether I wanted her admitted.
“Yes,” I said. “But here. At the table.”
She entered wearing cream silk and the expression of someone arriving to correct a clerical error.
“An annulment,” she announced. “Before this becomes public.”
Leon didn’t stand.
“Good morning, Mother.”
She ignored him.
“Mara, you’ve made an emotional decision.”
“I made several informed decisions. You’ll need to be more specific.”
“You are engaged to Enzo.”
“Your calendar is out of date.”
Color rose in her cheeks.
“I understand you wanted to punish him.”
I set down my cup.
“You don’t understand me at all.”
She turned to Leon.
“And you. Taking advantage of her embarrassment?”
His face went still.
“Mara can speak for herself.”
“Then let her explain this madness.”
I did.
I explained the forged loan documents. The transfer to her company. The photograph. The fact that my attorney had already contacted the lender.
Teresa listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she sighed.
“You have no idea what it costs to keep this family together.”
“I know what you tried to make it cost me.”
Her gaze dropped to my wedding ring.
For the first time, she seemed to understand that I wasn’t waiting for her approval.
She left without touching her coffee.
That afternoon, Enzo returned.
Leon’s car appeared outside the gate with a cracked rear light and sand ground into the seats.
Enzo came up the walk carrying sunglasses and a bouquet.
I met him on the porch.
Leon stayed inside, where I had asked him to remain.
“You look tired,” Enzo said.
“You look expensive.”
He glanced past me.
“Can we talk privately?”
“We are.”
“Mara, come on. We both know you don’t love him.”
I felt the words land exactly where he intended.
Then I let them pass.
“You don’t get to use my feelings as a door anymore.”
He held out the flowers.
“I panicked.”
“You prepared.”
His smile disappeared.
“I saw the honeymoon photograph,” I said. “And the loan application.”
“You wouldn’t understand the pressure.”
“Try me.”
“My mother needed help. Victor was pushing. Celeste had a place where I could think.”
“With my money.”
“It wasn’t supposed to become your problem.”
“You put my name on it.”
Enzo stepped closer.
I stepped back and opened the front door.
Leon was already standing.
He didn’t touch his brother.
He didn’t need to.
“Leave,” he said.
Enzo looked between us, and something ugly replaced his charm.
“You think you won?” he asked me. “Ask your husband why Victor Sloane knows your shop so well.”
Then he dropped the flowers.
After he left, I turned to Leon.
“What does that mean?”
Leon closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them, I knew the answer would hurt.
“Three years ago,” he said, “Victor wanted your building. And I helped him put pressure on the owner before you inherited it.”
“My grandmother?”
Leon nodded.
The house seemed to tilt beneath me.
“You knew her?”
“Yes.”
May you like
I took off my wedding ring.
“Then start talking.”
