Cara’s POV
“Wait, back up!” I repositioned myself to be sure I was comfortable. Hearing the wrong thing was possible when in discomfort.
Believe me, caring for Adonis, I have experienced a lot.
There was a time I ran out of the bathroom with lather all over my body thinking I heard him call my name-that is beside the point anyway.
I looked up at a disturbed Cecelia.
“What did you just say?”
“I said Luca is-
“Not that! I heard you clearly the first time; I just find it hard to believe. You mean Luca. Luca Romano?”
The same Luca that had encouraged me to get together with Adonis when I barely knew him?
Impossible.
Cecelia wiped her face again, staring at me with a ‘Is my life now a joke to you?’ look.
I held up my hand in surrender.
“You can’t blame me. I wouldn’t believe this if it wasn’t coming from you. You know how much he loves love. You know what?” My face hardened. It may seem unbelievable, but the look in Cecelia’s eyes told me it was a delicate situation.
“Him asking to call off the engagement is a shocker, but cheating is another case entirely. What exactly happened?”
It was like she had been eagerly waiting to hear those words from my mouth-the moment they flew out, she dove into her story.
“You know how he’d been acting so indifferent and nonchalant since the night we got Adonis back?
I nodded.
“I’d been putting up with it all, but he didn’t care. He hardly acknowledged me, given the fact that I took a leave to be with him. Luca had always been that way; I only wanted to be there for him, yet he didn’t see the effort I put into it. We were living like roommates, and I finally had enough and told him my mind”
“Oh.” I sighed dramatically, already knowing where her story was going.
“He said some hurtful things, Cara.” Cecelia sobbed. “I told him to speak his mind if he doesn’t want to be with me anymore. We’ve been engaged for over a year and together for more. Isn’t it time we got married?” She told me, bristling at the curiosity I’d always had about their relationship.
I handed her the tissue box on the centre table, and she received it with a quiet thank you before blowing her nose.
“Where does cheating come in?”
Her voice became smaller.
“You know how you told me he hadn’t been to the mansion in two weeks?-
“Yeah…
“Well, he leaves home at least twice a week saying he’s going over.”
A judgmental expression graced my face.
“But I never see him.”
“I thought the same and followed him once. I couldn’t wait until the end in fear of being caught, but he pulled up at an expensive Italian restaurant.”
One of my brows shot up at her words.
“And you’re sure he’s cheating?”
“Yeah. I’ve seen how he behaves at home. He’s definitely seeing someone else.”
I threw Cecelia a careful look, wondering how she would take my next question.
“It’s not in my place,” I started, threading lightly. “But why haven’t you guys sealed the deal yet? Isn’t being engaged for a year too long?”
She sighed heavily, pulling her lips in a sad pout.
“Honestly, it was the major cause of our fight. Let me say it has been the major cause of our fights for a while now. I think this fight was just an explosion of the ones we’ve been avoiding. I want to get married. I love Luca so much, and getting his marriage proposal was one of the best things that could’ve ever happened to me.” She started. “But Luca seems to be stuck in the present. I love the trips I take, the people I meet; it makes me feel alive.” Her voice rose with each word, and the intense gestures she added only proved how much those words meant to her. “But I’m ready to give it all up, Cara. Within a blink of an eye for him. He doesn’t want that. I think he’s scared of things changing between us when we get married. He wants to keep living this way. It’s not for me, and I gave him an ultimatum: do you want to get married, or should we go our separate ways?”
The tears returned once again.
“He didn’t even bat an eyelid before choosing the later Cara. Was that all I was to him? The years we’ve spent together have been wasted?”
I didn’t know what to say in reply to Cecelia’s questions, and even if I did, I doubt it’d be comforting.
Right now, talking to Luca would be best, but he had been avoiding me too. There was only one thing I could do for her at the moment.
I glanced towards our room; I still hadn’t checked on Adonis since I got back, so rising to my feet, I said.
“Give me a minute.”
Thirty minutes later, Adonis was checked and in the best condition a man in a coma could be, and I returned in a black yoga pant, a big black hoodie to cover up my pregnant belly, and a black cap.
“You changed?” she asked, surprised.
“Yeah. Just like you’d be doing now. I think most of my clothes should fit.”
She was taller, but I was bigger now, so that should make up for the height.
“You know what? Why don’t you just stay at the mansion till this issue is resolved? Feel free to use my closet.”
“Okay.”
I eyed her.
“Starting from now. I did say you were going to change.”
Cecelia blew her nose, peering up at me like a child whose mother had abandoned her.
“Are we going somewhere? I don’t feel like it.”
I waved a finger in disagreement.
“You have no choice. Where do you think Luca would be at this time?”
“Today’s Thursday; he should be here, so probably with whoever she is?”
I gave her a big mischievous grin.
“Don’t you think we should pay them a sneaky visit then?