Chapter 0010
Half an hour agol
"How long has it been?" The blonde male with brown eyes and similar appearance asked Amara as he led her towards a seating area. Holding a chair open, he added. "Three years?"
"Four." Amara corrected as she sat down, whispering a small 'Thank you' towards his gesture. She waited till he had settled down in front of her before asking. "How's life in Italy been treating you, Lorenzo?"
"Wonderful actually. I wouldn't have left if not for the fact that Grandfather wants me to assist you a little since you've come to your senses."
Amara chuckled at his words. Lorenzo, her older brother, always had his ways with words, just like their grandfather. But even at that, she was glad he was here.
"I'm really glad you're here, Lorenzo." She admitted, earning a smile from her older brother. But the smile quickly faded and he said.
"Can I ask a question, Amara?" She nodded. "Why...why did you keep your identity hidden from Tobias for so long?"
"Is that...is that really the first thing you want to discuss in years?" Amara chuckled lightly, hoping that she could ward off the concern evident in Lorenzo's eyes. But it didn't waver and he looked determined in getting an answer.
Sighing, she lowered her head. "Because I was stupid. I thought I could get Tobias to love me for 'me' and not my identity. I thought," She paused, taking a second to think her next words through before saying it. "I thought we could build a family like what mom and dad had."
"And now?" Lorenzo's vague question had her glancing at him. "Don't you want to reveal your identity to him? You can save your marriage if you do so. You can have him begging-"
"No," She interrupted, gently shaking her head. "I don't want that. This marriage, his heart, I don't want any of it. And I sure as hell don't want him loving my title rather than me as a person." Lorenzo signed and his expression became soft. "You're really giving up, huh?"
Amara smiled, genuine and childlike, one that could only ever be shown to those she truly cared about.
"It's not giving up, it's called moving on."
Nodding, Lorenzo mused. "If you say so. That aside," Unlocking the screen of his phone, he went to his gallery, found a picture and handed it over to Amara. "Guess who's engaged now?"
Amara gasped loudly upon seeing the beautiful woman standing beside Lorenzo in the photo. "Shut up," She exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. "You and Maria are engaged? When? Why didn't I hear about this sooner?"
"Two years ago. Grandfather didn't allow us to spread the news, something about wanting to keep it low profile until the right moment. But I managed to sneak the picture out, just for you."
"Congratulations, Lorenzo." Amara smiled, handing his phone back to him.
"Thanks, Sis. But, that isn't the only thing you've missed." Saying this, Lorenzo began to recount all the events and incidents that had happened in their family for the past six years.
Amara, who had been separated from them for just as long, due to her marriage with Tobias and the accident she had encountered with her parents that claimed their life and her memories, which she only just recovered a few years back, intently listened.
At some point, after listening to half of the story Lorenzo had to tell, Amara couldn't help but feel stupid. She had missed and done so many things- given up on her family, a chance to further her education and even freedom, all for a man who had threatened her for a divorce.
Damn. If she had known things were going to turn out like this, she would have listened to her grandfather when he told her to divorce Tobias and return home, but she didn't. For Tobias's sake, she went against her grandfather and chose to stay, and look at her now. She felt like a fool, a very, very, stupid and angry fool.
"Hey," Lorenzo's concerned voice brought her back from her thoughts and she lifted her head, meeting his worried gaze.
She tried to smile to ease his worry away and all the negativity she was feeling along with it, but the latter failed to go away and she sighed.
"It's nothing, really."
"No, it isn't." Lorenzo disagreed when he saw how her eyes had glossed over, reaching out and placing his hand on top of hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Tell me, what's wrong?"