Memories Without Him novel · Chapter 7 of 24

Chapter 7: The Show

Vincent did not tell me what he was thinking in the car.

He said only, "Not a word to Aldo," and I said, "I won't," and that was all until Sunday.

The Orsini house in Staten Island had a ballroom with a painted ceiling and four chandeliers.

By eight o'clock it held two hundred people, and every one of them looked up when we came in.

I wore a black dress that his tailor had sent over in the afternoon.

It had long sleeves, and it hid the shaved patch above my ear where they had taken a sample.

Vincent had his hand at the small of my back.

We had agreed on that in the car, in the stiff language of a contract.

The families expect it, we said. It is part of the show.

It did not feel like part of anything.

Aldo was the first to reach us.

He took my hand in both of his and kissed my cheek.

"You look wonderful," he said. "How is your head, sweetheart? Any more spells?"

"Not since Friday."

"Thank God. I've been lighting candles."

I smiled at him.

It took everything I had, and Vincent's hand pressed once at my back, very lightly, and I knew it was for me.

Old Orsini stood on a small dais at the end of the room with a glass in his hand.

Francesca was beside him in a red dress, and her mouth was set.

"My friends," her father said. "We are here to witness a man's apology."

Vincent let go of me and walked up the length of the ballroom alone.

Nobody spoke while he went.

He stopped at the foot of the dais and said it plainly, loud enough for the back wall.

"I left Francesca at a table in front of her family. That was a discourtesy, and I'm sorry for it. I won't marry her, and the fault is mine and not hers."

← Chapter 6 · All chapters · Chapter 8 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend