Page 53 of Isabella

A tear escapes my eye, trailing down my cheek, and I quickly wipe it away. Gazing at him through the screen, I know it didn’t go unnoticed.

Nicco lets out a sigh and runs his hand down the side of his face over the short stubble along his jaw that accentuates the rigid lines. “I want to see you,” he says.

I sniffle and clear my throat, hoping my voice doesn’t crack with emotion when I speak. “You are seeing me,” I say, hoping my sarcasm can break up the gravity of this conversation, even just a little bit. I’m still trying to process everything.

Nicco’s silent for a few moments, staring at me through the phone. His dark gaze pins me in place. “You know what I mean, Isabella. I want to be there. I want to be able to hold you and comfort you. Not be stuck having this conversation through this damn phone.” His voice raises with the latter, showing his frustration. Now it’s my turn to let out a sigh.

“This is a lot for me to take in, Nicco. I really need to sleep on this before we go any further with this conversation, and I need to think. Think about everything.”

He reluctantly nods. “I want to see you in person when we continue this conversation.”

“You know we can’t do that,” I say. Teo would never allow us to talk. He thinks I hate Nicco, which I do—or I did? I’m not quite sure anymore. My feelings are jumbled, and I still don’t have all the answers, but hearing he was never with that girl, immediately flipped to a blank page, adding a chapter to our story I thought was finished.

“I’ll figure out a way, Isabella.” Nicco’s tone is laced with desperation. “Just promise you’ll talk to me.”

I study him while he studies me, and he thinks I’ll say no, but I respond with an answer that surprises us both. “Okay.”

After ending the call, I put my phone on its charging pad. I go to turn off the light, hoping I’ll be able to get some sleep after everything, but then a quiet knock sounds on my door and a muffled voice comes through. “Izzy, are you awake?”

“Lux?” I say, sitting up in bed.

Did she hear my conversation with Nicco?

She cracks the door open and pops her head in with a small smile, one that screams pity. “Is it okay if I come in?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” I say, scooting over and pulling back the comforter so she can climb in.

Ever since Teo and Lux got married, I feel like I’ve gained a sister. There have been several nights we’ve stayed up chatting about who knows what. So late that Teo would come to my wing of the house and take her away because his needy ass apparently can’t sleep without her. I can’t believe how much of a sucker he’s turned into.

Lux snuggles up on her side and faces me, mimicking my position. Her dark hair is plopped in a messy bun on top of her head, and there’s an inquisitive look in her eyes. If I were to guess, I’d say she must’ve been standing outside my door for a hot minute.

“So…” she says, gazing into my eyes, and this time I see the sympathy behind her dark-brown irises.

Yup, she definitely knows.

I let out a sigh. “Did you hear everything?”

“Not everything. Mostly nothing. I came over to see how your date with Massimo went, but then I heard you on the phone. It wasn’t until I heard you say Nicco’s namethat I knew who you were talking to. I walked away to give you your privacy, but I’ve been hanging around nearby, waiting for you to get off. I figured you might need a friend after talking to him.”

I let out a scoff. “Yeah, you could say that.”

Her brows furrow. “Is everything okay, Izzy? Your eyes are red. Have you been crying?”

Instinctively, I wipe my eyes. “Well, you know how Nicco’s been wanting to talk to me about our breakup?”

Lux nods and pulls the covers up, clenching them in her hand.

I let out a breath. “Apparently, he was never with that girl and she was never his fiancée …”

Lux’s eyes widen and her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. “I’m sorry,what?” The confusion in her voice is how I still feel as I recount the conversation with Nicco. By the time I’m done relaying everything to Lux, her mouth has dropped open and she looks just as shocked as I feel.

“Wow,” she says, letting out a breath.

“Tell me about it,” I mumble.

“So what does this mean? How are you feeling right now? What does Nicco expect from all of this?” she asks, shooting out questions I don’t know the answers to.

I shrug. “No idea. We didn’t get to talk about it too much because I told him I needed some time to process everything.” My mind is still heavy from it all.

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