Page 203 of Modern Romance June 2025 1-4

‘Come now, Emilio, there’s no need to be nasty. We had fun.’

The floor fell out beneath Jasmine’s feet.

He was with women before you. You knew this.

But she’d never expected to be faced with the reality of it. Besides, her gut told her there was something wrong here, something more.

‘I’d hoped we run into each other,’ Gia continued.

‘How did you know I was back in Italy?’ Suspicion was clear in Emilio’s tone.

‘Come now, Emilio, you must know that you still get snapped, even when you’re trying to fly under the radar.’ Gia smiled. ‘I thought we might have fun again…’

The audacity of this woman!Jasmine was just about to respond when Emilio’s arm squeezed tightly around her. Maybe it was best just to observe, learn everything she could before she launched into confrontation.

‘Why? Because you want back into the limelight?’ Emilio laughed harshly. ‘You’re a selfish, toxic, greedy woman and I want you nowhere near my family.’

Jasmine saw the sneer that formed on Gia’s face. The daggers in her pretty eyes when she looked at Jasmine’s ring. Clearly this woman was used to getting her way and didn’t take well to being thwarted.

‘Has he mentioned me… Jasmine, was it? Did he tell you how we met?’

‘Gia…’ Emilio warned.

‘Did you steal her from Enzo too?’ she asked mockingly.

Jasmine looked at Emilio to find a thunderous expression on his face. His brown eyes, normally so warm, were like ice. ‘Leave.’ His voice was a low growl. Threatening.

‘Oh, come on, you can’t still be angry about what happened.’

‘If you don’t leave right now, Gia, I will take everything Enzo gave you and then some.’

Jasmine had had just about enough. She had had it with this woman. She’d had it with the secrets that Emilio kept. She’d thought she could live with it but, if this Gia was one of them, she wasn’t sure she could. If Emilio was reacting this badly, Jasmine could only imagine how horrible his secret was—possibly as horrible as this woman. And why would he keep it unless he was afraid that it would affect her…affect their marriage, his plans? Jasmine fought a shiver. A chill ran right through her at the realisation that her trust was being betrayed again.

That chill was followed by the red-hot burn of rage. All of this reminded her so much of Richard and Zara. Her stomach roiled, but she wanted answers. She took a single step towards Gia, forcing her to look up. She didn’t often use her height to intimidate, but right now she didn’t care.

‘Clearly you aren’t wanted here, so I suggest you leave my family alone.’

‘Oh, please!’

‘I said, leave.’ Gia must have seen something in Jasmine’s face because with one last venomous glare, she turned on her heel and left.

Instantly, Jasmine rounded on Emilio. ‘What was that about?’

‘Jasmine…’

‘What did she mean, Emilio?’ she asked through gritted teeth, trying to control the hurt, anger, disappointment, forcing them into a box inside her. She had to be rational and she was fighting hard for that rationality.

Emilio sighed. ‘I’ll explain everything to you later.’

‘No.’ She crossed her arms. ‘I want to know now.’

Emilio cursed under his breath and Jasmine knew whatever he was going to say would be bad.

‘I’d rather have this conversation in private.’

‘Then let’s go.’ She wasn’t going to drop this. She realised if she’d been the old her, the person she’d been with Richard, she would have been so desperate not to make him uncomfortable or look bad, that she would have sucked it up and stayed the rest of the night at the gallery. She had made herself smaller for Richard in so many ways, but she was done doing that for anyone. Done being that person.

She wouldn’t make this easy for Emilio. She would have nothing less than honesty from him. She didn’t care how controlling that made her seem. How difficult he found her.

---