Page 7 of Rome for the Holidays
Vincenzo shook his head, “I refuse. I will not bend on this. Not now, and not in ten years when you try wed me to another girl. I will not do it. Please father, listen to me.”
His father shook his head, “I cannot allow this Vin.”
Vincenzo stood, “If you won’t hear me, then there is nothing further to discuss,” and he went to walk away, but his father grabbed his arm, “You don’t walk away from me.”
Vincenzo glared at him, “You want to decide my future for me when I am telling you I will not allow it. I wanted my choice of woman. The only thing I have ever wanted. And you are telling me I cannot. I refuse father. I refuse to continue this conversation.”
“Vincenzo,” but Vincenzo ripped his arm out of his father’s hand and walked out of the room.
He wouldn’t do it. Wouldn’t give in. No matter what.
—-
When Vincenzo turned eighteen, his father tried once more to press the issue of his upcoming wedding and Vincenzo refused to listen.
He knew that after all these years of writing to Harper that she was his.
Meant for him alone. He didn’t date in school, even though a lot of the girls thought he was insane.
One girl got angry with him for turning her down, and he just lifted his eyebrow at her, waiting for her rant to end.
He looked down at her, “Francesca, you can have your pick of any boy in this school, but I am not one of them. Ask again, and you will not like the consequences.”
Francesca huffed, throwing her hair over her shoulder, and walking away with her nose in the air.
Vincenzo shook his head, rolling his eyes. He knew most of the boys he went to school with would jump at dating Francesca, but he never even looked twice at her.
His heart was set on Harper. She was his. And she knew that. She also knew he was hers.
She didn’t want to believe it at first, but in one of the last letters he sent, he flat out told her that she was his girl.
That no one had turned his head. He knew she worried about that. That some other girl would have him, since they lived so far from each other, but Vincenzo had assured her that he hadn’t wanted anyone but the girl who stole his heart long ago.
He needed to figure out how to get her to Italy now.
He was saving up money to buy her a ticket and could only pray that his father wouldn’t ruin it for him.
TWO
HARPER PAYNE
Harper looked downat the bruise her mom had given her this morning.
It was slowly turning purple, but the long sleeves she wore would cover it and no one would know.
She blinked back tears, hating that she hadn’t been fast enough to keep away from her mom, and that she had earned her wrath in the first place.
All she was doing was trying to make a sandwich for lunch, but she had dropped the jam on the floor by accident, causing the glass jar to break and the rest of the jam to fly all over the kitchen and her.
Harper had immediately started cleaning, trying to not bother her mom who was getting ready for work in the other room.
But, her mom, Lola Payne heard the crash, and came running out of the bathroom, “What the fuck is going on out here?”
She saw the remnants of the jam on the floor, the glass shards spread all over, and her eyes met Harper’s.
Lola’s eyes narrowed, “You little bitch. You did that on purpose. Wasting good food.”
Harper shook her head violently, “I--I-I’m s-s-s-orry. I-I-I d-d-didn’t m-m-mean t-to.”
