Married To Moretti

Ch 3 - Broken

He stepped closer and grabbed me tightly. “Baby girl—” My heart did skip a beat but I recovered. “I’m f*****g serious, Damon,” I snapped. “Let. Me. Go.”

He released me with an irritated sigh and walked away towards the bed.

“Fine. Get out.”

I stared at his back. We argued before. Plenty of times. And I had always been the one who forgave him. But this time? To hell with that.

I slammed the door behind me as I left his house.

Outside, I stood there. Maybe for a minute… or five. He didn’t come after me. Didn’t call. Didn’t even check if I was still outside.

My eyes burned as tears threatened to fall. I glanced at my phone. 12:02 a.m. I dialed Sofia’s number. She picked up on the second ring.

Later, after catching a cab, I finally arrived at her place. Truthfully, I had waited outside Damon’s house for fifteen minutes before leaving. Part of me had hoped he would come after me.

He didn’t.

Sofia opened the door and immediately pulled me inside. “What did that dumb motherfucker do this time?” she asked.

The tears finally fell. “I saw naked pictures of him and some girl on his phone,” I said shakily. “And a text… from Lydia.”

“Wait. Lydia?” Her voice shot high. “The Lydia we know? The one who did surgery on her butt and acts like she’s competing with ghosts?”

I nodded.

“Damn,” Sofia muttered, gently stroking my hair. “She’s a b***h… but I’ve been warning you about Damon.”

“I know,” I said, my voice trembling, my body shaking. “But I love him…”

Sofia looked at me, her expression hard. “Call it anything you want,” she said. “But that ain’t love.”

Her words hit deep. But it wasn’t always like this with him… once, he was different. I broke down again, tears slipping down my face before I could stop them. Then my phone buzzed. I quickly wiped my eyes and grabbed it, my heart racing. Please let it be him…

It was. Damon.

Where are you?

My fingers hovered over the screen.

“Don’t even think about it,” Sofia snapped, glaring at me before snatching the phone from my hand. “I’m turning it off.”

Before she could, the phone started vibrating again. He was calling. She declined it. It rang again.

This time, Sofia picked up and put it on loud-speaker. “Yes?” she said harshly. “What do you want?”

A pause.

Then Damon’s voice came through, irritated. “This isn’t Maya. Give the phone to my girl.”

Sofia scoffed. “If you don’t say what you want, I’m ending this call.”

“You b***h, give the damn phone to—”

A loud knock echoed from his side. Once. Twice. Then the line suddenly went dead.

I stared at the phone, “what was that?” I asked, my voice low with worry.

Sofia didn’t look concerned. She simply powered off my phone and tossed it aside. “Nothing that concerns us,” she said firmly. “And honestly? I’m glad we’re done with that.”

I wasn’t so sure.

We cuddled up on her bed as she stroked my hair to sleep.

It was 6:00 a.m., and I was still at Sofia’s place. But I had to leave early, which is my usual routine when I stay at her place, so I could see my dad before he headed out to his café.

When I opened the door to our house, I paused , taking everything in. The chandelier hung exactly where it always had, casting a soft glow over the living room. And for a second… I saw us.

My mum. My dad. Alessia. Me.

We were all there, standing beneath it, holding hands and spinning in circles, laughing like nothing could ever break us. The image felt so real it almost hurt. I blinked, and it was gone. Just the quiet house again.

I don’t know how Dad managed to keep everything the same over the years. But he did. And sometimes… I felt pity for him. “Hey, darling.” His voice pulled me back.

He was standing by the sink, washing his hands. I walked over and kissed his cheek. “Hey, Dad.”

“I just got off the phone with your sister,” he said, drying his hands. “They’ll be on break soon. I asked her to come visit but she refused.” He looked at me, giving me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

We both knew why she couldn’t. This house held too many memories of Mum. Too many things Alessia wasn’t ready to face.

Not like me who was able to move past things. My stomach quivered as the memory surfaced again. Mum lying on the floor. An empty bottle beside her. Foam at the corner of her mouth. I screamed. Dad came running. Alessia followed behind him. He dropped to Mum’s side, his hand brushing the bottle off before he quickly made a call. His face changed, but he tried to hide it.

I didn’t say a word. I just stood there. Trying to be strong. Because Alessia always looked at me. And I didn’t want to fail her. People came. They carried Mum away. Dad went with them. And just like that… everything changed. And we haven’t talked about it for a while.

I blinked, pushing the memory away. “Dad, let her be,” I said softly. “She’ll come when she’s ready.” Hopefully.

He nodded, closing his suitcase. “I’ll be heading out now. See you later and tell Sofia I said hi.” He kissed my cheek before walking towards the door. “Bye, Dad,” I said with a small smile. He knows whenever I’m not home, I’m with Sofia.

I let out a quiet giggle as he rushed out. The way he hurried to work, you’d think he was about to lose a lottery ticket. I relaxed into the armchair and glanced at the time. 7:56 a.m.

The library always looked warm from the outside. Through the wide glass walls, the morning light spilled across rows of neatly arranged books. Everything inside felt and orderly, a complete contrast to the loud nights I spent at the club.

Sometimes, the glass made me uneasy. It felt too exposed. Like anyone could break in. I shook the thought away. Nothing like that had ever happened. Still… The feeling lingered.

I pushed the door open, the soft chime above it ringing gently as I stepped inside. The familiar scent of paper and old books wrapped around me instantly, easing the tension in my chest.

I exhaled softly and greeted the manager, Cynthia at the front desk. As usual, she barely looked up from her phone. I moved behind the counter, picking up the stack of returned books from the day before.

One by one, I arranged them, running my fingers along their spines before placing each one neatly where it belonged. Few people were already inside, browsing through the shelves or reading. Some were familiar, some weren't.

“Hey, nerd.”

I jumped.