Chapter45
On her last night at the Kaufman’s residence, Grace returned
late. She had met with Keyla at Keyla’s request.
“How did you get my number?”
Keyla smirked.
“Laney gave it to me, of course.”
Grace wasn’t surprised. Those two had always been close.
“Just get to the point. I haven’t got all day.”
Keyla scoffed.
“It’s not like you have anything to do besides babysitting Laney. I
hear Antonio has never touched you in the past three years.
What are you still holding on to?”
Under the table, Grace clenched her fists so hard that her nails
dug into her flesh. The humiliation burned deep. Indeed, Antonio
had never touched her, except that drunken night when he had kept calling out Keyla’s name. The pain in her heart that night had been far worse than the physical pain. Yet somehow, she
had gotten pregnant because of that night.
Chapter45
For a time, the child had made her reconsider leaving. But in the
end, Antonio would never belong to her.
“Let me be honest with you. Everything Laney did to you was my idea. How does that feel? You spent three years taking care of that girl, but she’s sick of you. Antonio is grateful for what
you’ve done for his family, which is why he doesn’t have the
heart to tell you to leave.
“But Grace, do you really want to be with someone who doesn’t
love you? What’s the point of it?”
Grace struggled hard to stay calm as she responded.
“Keyla, you and Laney got what you wanted. I’ll leave.”
Grace stood up. She hadn’t lost to Keyla or Laney, but she had
lost to herself. She’d thought she could win Antonio over as long
as she tried hard enough, but she failed.
When Grace got home, Antonio was waiting at the door.
“Why are you back so late?”
Grace was usually the one waiting at home. This was the first
time that Antonio had waited for her to come home, but it was
also the last.
“I was meeting with a friend.”
Chapter45
“Why was your phone off? Don’t you know my brother is waiting
for you to eat? I’m starving.”
Laney grumbled as she started to gobble up the food that had
been reheated three times.
Grace only then realized her phone had died.
“Sorry, the battery ran out.”
“Come eat.”
Antonio rarely cooked, but when he did, it was always delicious..
Grace had no appetite, but to avoid suspicion, she forced
herself to sit down. This would be her last meal with the
Kaufman family. After dinner, Laney went straight to her room.
Antonio was quiet. He opened his mouth several times but
couldn’t bring himself to break up with Grace. In the end, Grace
broke the silence.
“Antonio, let’s break up.”
It was a breakup, not a divorce. Because they were not legally
married. It had only ever been a one–sided love. The dream had
ended, and it was time to wake up.
Antonio’s hands froze as he cleared the table. The forks and
spoons slipped from his grip, falling to the floor. He crouched
down to pick them up, but for a long time, he didn’t stand.
Chapter45
Grace grabbed a broom and quickly cleaned up the mess. After
tidying the table, she turned back to Antonio. He was just as
handsome as always. His eyelashes were longer than hers, and
when he smiled, there were faint dimples in his cheeks. But he
rarely smiled at her. When he did, there was always a trace of distance in his eyes. And yet, despite everything, she had been.
crazy about him.
“I know you don’t love me, so I’m letting you go.”
She smiled at him, but the smile no longer carried its usual passion. Antonio stared at Grace. He knew this smart girl would have figured it out by now. He had racked his brain to come up with a proper way to break up with her, but she just did it with
ease.
“Grace, I’m sorry.”
Grace waved it off with a smile. Antonio had never promised her anything, so there was nothing to apologize for.
“Actually, I’m grateful for these past three years. It’s not your fault. You just don’t love me.”
Tears welled up in Grace’s eyes, eventually streaming down her face. Still, she kept a smile on her face, telling herself that this
would be the last time she cried for Antonio.
