Ilaria had been gone for over twenty four hours. And I had felt every single minute she had been gone like a bad taste in my mouth.
Not a text of where she was, nothing letting me know she was safe, or even an answer from her to let me know she was alive.
After she had answered and told me to leave her alone there had been radio silence from her
And I hated that.
It was close to five in the morning now. I had stayed late at Inferno until 3:30AM, trying to prolong coming back to an empty place.
Ilaria’s stuff was all put away, thanks to my inability to sleep and need to do something.
I had made room in the closet, filling it with her sweet smelling things. Rearranging the bathroom so that all her body washes, shampoos, and potions were in the shower.
A vanity set up for her makeup was organized and her jewels all put away in a locked case.
Even her shoe collection had been organized by color.
I was making space for her, preparing the penthouse for her to walk into and feel at home here. Showing her with my actions that she was what I wanted. This was going to be our home and I had put all the pieces together.
Even her damn car was now given a parking space in the building so she didn’t have to use one of the garages, which I would now have to use.
But Ilaria’s safety and comfort came first.
My phone pinged, causing me to turn as I saw her photo app handle ‘AlwaysIlaria’ pop up on the screen saying there was a new story alert.
My phone was in my hand when a second alert came in.
And a third.
She had posted on social media before texting me back.
That was a slap in the face.
Pulling the app open and I blinked, shocked to see her friends had also started posting about their trip now. This had all been coordinated to keep me away.
Well played, ladies.
My finger touched the story and I saw her, dark hair pulled up in a ponytail, a green dress hugging her body in a sinfully good looking way. Her hand was wrapped around a glass of champagne and she…She wasn’t wearing her engagement ring.
Red.
All I could see was red.
Ilaria knew better.
Taking off her ring after we had an event where we went out as a couple, after each of us has posted about it, after the paper had run a whole spread about it, and after everything was a slap in the face.
The next picture was her and her friends, all posing by a pool. There was a beach in the background, somewhere tropical from the looks of it. All the girls looked so happy to be together that it made me jealous of their friendship. Jealous that they got this side of her that I wouldn’t ever get.
The third picture made me want to smash my phone.
Ilaria had a white bath towel wrapped around her hair, sitting in a bubble bath as she laughed, drinking with a glass of what looked like champagne in her hands.
You couldn’t see anything but she was naked in there, I knew she was naked. Everyone would know that she was naked in the-
I froze, pulling the picture closer and blinking as I saw a poker chip on the counter of the bathroom.
Old City Casino San Juan.
Found you, princess.
I screenshot the picture, debating on calling my tech guy and having him wipe it from the internet but as soon as I saw it she would know that I had seen it and that it bothered me.
No, I wanted Ilaria to feel safe. For her to not know that I was coming for her.
But I texted to see if I could fly out today, annoyed when I was told I would have to wait until almost 9am for a pilot to be available.
I could sleep for a couple hours before heading to the airport and taking the flight down to Puerto Rico to be with her.
I felt dumb; I had known about her fathers house there, he had mentioned it in passing at brunch when Ilaria was in the restroom. Saying it was a good getaway place and we were welcome to it anytime.
Of course Ilaria knew of it and was using it anytime, like she probably always had.
She had said she would be back Wednesday so that meant I needed to pack for a few days so that I could enjoy my time with her.
Though I should drag her back to Boston I knew she was probably still mad at me over Gabriella.
Part of me wanted to think Ilaria lost her right to be mad when she ran away without talking to me about it but her running had been a preservation of her emotions and I didn’t want her to feel like she couldn’t ever be her true self with me. Though running wasn’t something I agreed with if she needed to run she knew now she could.