The Italian Adonis

Sign The Dotted Line

He stared at the woman in front of him, a woman he had been in love with for so long. A woman he thought would be his for the rest of their lives, but he had thought wrong. She sat with her nerves sky rocketing. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. She never thought that this day would ever happen to her. The rustling of papers broke her out of her thoughts. She looked across the table where the love of her life sat with a glare that could put someone in their grave. The pain shown across her face which confused him, the one that should show that he is hurt is him. His glare intensified which made her grab the pen with her shaking hand.

  “Mrs. Gabrielli if you would, please sign where your name is underlined.”

  She gave the lawyer a small smile as she brought the papers closer to her. She brought her shaky hand down to the paper and paused. Did she really want to do this? What did she do for him to ask for a divorce? She looked towards him and saw how he stared at her hand on the paper. She looked back to the paper and signed it. She placed the pen down and sat back in her chair, trying to contain her emotions. The man she had once called her husband sat with his hands folded on his mouth. He stared at her with a blank stare. But she swore she saw something flash across his face. She wasn’t sure, but she thought it was sadness and pain. The lawyer sitting next to her saw the exchange between the two and sighed. He saw the love between the two but didn’t understand why they were there today. He gave a comforting pat on the woman’s shoulder, which did not go unnoticed by the gentleman in front of him.

  He saw the exchange which enraged him, he had grabbed his pen and the paper. He looked at the neatly done signature of his soon to be ex-wife. He had remembered when he had seen her sign the civil wedding papers with that exact signature. He shook his head out of his memories, it was her fault that the divorce was happening. He grabbed the pen that lay on the table in front of him. He then signed his neat business-like signature on the line. It was finished, he was now a single man. What his life be without his wife? He had no one tied to him, no one to call his own. He stared at his name as the lawyers both stood up followed by his now ex wife.

  “It is finished. We now pronounce you divorced. Mr. Gabrielli is there anything you would like to say to Ms. Beverly?”

  He stared at his lawyer then to hers followed by looking at her. He sighed and stood up. He buttoned up his suit jacket as he spoke.

  “I will give you the rest of the day to pack the rest of your things from the mansion. I will have Stanley help you. As we stated in the papers, you can have the Manhattan loft. If you have nothing else, then I will call this a day. I have meetings to get to. Good day.”

  The emotions she held in finally broke and she let her tears show but made no sound. She nodded as she saw him leave. She placed her hand on the small bulge around her stomach. As her lawyer led her out of the office, she thought about the day she came to tell her husband she was with child when he slammed her with the worst news ever.

 Camden had been ecstatic and couldn’t wait to tell the great news to her husband. She had been feeling unwell for a while, so she decided to get checked up. The doctor had told her she is with child. She was so happy, she raced home to tell her husband. She thought the great news would make her husband happy. He had been acting weirdly lately especially after he had that lunch date with his mother the month before. She thought wrong. Once she entered their mansion, she saw that the lights were off. She entered the living room and turned on the lights. Nikolai sat in the arm chair looking at his glass filled with his cognac.

  “Baby I have great news for you, for us!”

  He kept staring at his drink, he swiveled the contents around then spoke up without looking at her heart break in front of him.        

  “I can’t do this anymore... I don’t want you anymore. I want a divorce.”

  The world no longer looked as beautiful as she thought. It became colorless, empty and gray, nothing but a dull look. Her world had come crashing down after that horrible day. She felt like she let him down, that she was not good enough for him, that she didn’t deserve him. With her heart on her sleeve she had given into his wishes, she had called her lawyer and set up a date to proceed with the documents. Her lawyer led her away from the office. As she left the building, she saw her now ex husband enter his limousine as he spoke to someone on his phone. Her heart broke even more when she heard who he had been speaking with.

  “It is done, I am heading to the office now Candace. I will speak with you later.”

  The ink on the divorce papers weren’t even dried yet and he had already moved on from her. The tears left her eyes and she could not stop them as they fell down her cheeks. Her lawyer led her to her brother’s car where her brother waited for her. He had anger written all over his face. He didn’t want to tell his sister what he thought of his brother-in-law and his family. He drove her to the mansion his sister lived in.

  “Are you sure you don’t need my help packing the rest of your things?”

  She looked up from her lap towards her brother. And gave him a sad smile.

  “Go Conrad, I will be fine. I have Stanley with me. He can help me, it’s not that much. I can fit it all in my car. I’ll be back at mom and dad’s in about two hours. I have to leave instructions to the staff for Nikolai. You know him, he won’t remember to feed the dog or when the laundry is to be done. He left me the Manhattan loft.”

  Conrad sighed, he hated what Nikolai was doing to his sister. He had no idea what made him decided to divorce her. They were madly in love, no one could separate them. Everyone around them wanted to be them. They were the perfect couple, so in love. Then one day out of the blue, Camden comes home bawling saying that Nikolai asked for a divorce. No one saw it coming, no one expected it. The Gabrielli family has done nothing but hurt the Beverly family. First with Ethan and now with Camden. He looked down at his sister’s hand as she twiddled with her rings.

  “What are going to do with those?”

  Camden looked down at her finger and sighed.

  “I will be leaving them here on my night stand. I will see you later Conrad.”

  She bent over the console and kissed her brother’s cheek before she stepped out of the car. She waved goodbye as she saw him pull away. She sighed and walked up the steps of the mansion where Stanley the butler waited for her.

  “Good afternoon Mrs. Gabrielli, where is that smile, I always love seeing?”

  She gave him a small smile through her tears.

  “Stanley, as of thirty minutes ago I am no longer Mrs. Gabrielli. I am Camden Beverly once more. It is done, I came back to get the rest of my things. I will be leaving her with nothing but my love for the man that gave me everything and left me with only a loft in Manhattan.”

  Stanley sighed.

  “And don’t forget about that little one growing inside of you. What Mr. Gabrielli is doing is not right. If you would just speak with him and clear things up, maybe you will not be living on your own, raising that child by yourself.”

  Camden shook her head.

  “You and I both know that once Nikolai has something in his head, there is no way of getting him to change his mind. We spoke of this already Stanley. Please no more of it, I am not in the mood. I only want to get my stuff and be done with Nikolai.”

  He sighed and helped her pack the rest of her things. She spoke with the rest of the staff, left detailed instructions for the maids and serpents to follow through with everyday. As she placed the last box into her car, she looked at her rings. She went back upstairs to the room they had shared. She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a note. Then she placed the note on her side of the bed. She looked at her rings once more before she slowly took them off. As she placed them on the note, tears ran down her face and landed on the note which said,

  “I hope you find the happiness that you deserve, a happiness I apparently didn’t give you. I wish you find what you are looking for. Have a wonderful day Mr. Gabrielli.”

  She wiped her tears and walked down the stairs. She looked around at the house she used to call home. The house lacked a woman’s touch, like it missed having her things in it. She walked towards the door where Stanley and the rest of the staff waited for her.

  “We will miss you child, we will miss seeing your smiling face every day. Miss your laughter heard all over this house.”

  She hugged the cook. She hugged everyone there.

  “I will miss you all so very much. You will all have a special place in my heart.”

  Stanley opened the door for her and held the door to her car for her as well. She said goodbye to everyone as she stepped into her car.

  “Take care Mrs. Gabrielli.”

  She smiled.

  “Take care of him for me. He will need you now that I am gone.”

  She drove off, leaving her heart on the steps of that mansion she thought she would raise her family in. She didn’t look back, not once. Even when she saw her ex husband’s limousine drive past her towards the mansion. He had seen her car as she left, the ache he felt as he saw her pain as she drove away broke him even more. He started to regret what he had done which his mother saw on his face. He had picked up his mother from her appointment to have lunch at the mansion. 

  “Nikolai remember what she had done you, to us. You did the right thing and getting her out of our lives. You do not deserve what she did to you.”

  He sighed.

 “Mother I am not on the mood right now.”

  His mother stayed quiet. But she smirked because her plans had worked and hopefully, they would stay the way they were. Nikolai entered the house to see she had cleared everything that had been hers. She even took down the pictures they had shared. The one thing she left that was her had been the dog he had gotten for their 2-year anniversary. He ate dinner with his mother and went into his study to grab a drink. He went up the stairs to his room and sat in his chair. He looked out the window as he drank his cognac. He saw the note on the side table and the rings she had left, he downed his drink and went to bed.

  Two years Later

  It has been two years since she since she signed the divorce papers. She had stayed with her parents for a couple months as she renovated the loft she had been left. She was making a nursery for her little one. After she gave birth, she and her son moved into her loft. He was the love of her life, she would do anything for him. He had her wrapped around his tiny little fingers. She wished that life had turned out differently, but she wouldn’t change it one bit.

  Today, it was her day to dress up and be pretty. She stood in an expensive chiffon dress her mother had bought her for this evening’s festivities. Her parents were hosting a charity ball for the women and children’s shelter they patron. She didn’t want to attend but her mother insisted she attend. She hadn’t attended an event like this since her son had vomited all over one of her father’s biggest donors. She had been so embarrassed that she hadn’t want to make an appearance. But her mother made sure her son wouldn’t be given the same food he had been given the night of that charity event. Camden left her son in the care of his nanny which kept him away from the party. But she had dressed in a nice tuxedo and styled his hair to make him look sophisticated. She loved dressing her son up, she was overjoyed when she found out she would have a boy. She always wanted a boy and now that she had one, she couldn’t be happier.

  Being a little parched, she went over to grab a glass of champagne, she had turned only to almost drop the glass. The years that had past made her long for her ex husband, especially after seeing her son take after his father. The longing for him made her weak, she would tell herself. But that didn’t stop her from asking her parents and her brother who saw her ex husband more than she did how he was doing. But when she turned around and saw him stroll in, the pain she felt when he announced he wanted a divorce came back to her.  He had decided to wear a very expensive Armani suit with a Rolex watch on his arm, he had also arrived with a very beautiful woman that had been draping gracefully on his arm like she was an accessory. Her heart broke even more at how handsome he had become in the two years she hadn’t seen him. The smile on his beautiful face had strengthened the ache she felt. What she hadn’t noticed had been the façade that covered his face.

  Time felt as if it had stopped so felt her heart as he turned towards her. Longing and regret flashed over his face as he saw her. The woman on his arm spoke up and the longing cleared. Had her parents known and forgot to mention he would appear at the event? Her eyes roamed around the hall to see if she could catch one of parent’s eye. Luckily her eyes landed on her mother as she walked towards her. Before she could speak her mother grabbed her arm and pulled her away from peaking eyes and listening ears.

  “Darling, your father and I didn’t know he would be here. He hadn’t said anything, but you know we always invite the Gabrielli‘s to our events. They are one of our biggest donors. I am surprised that they had sent him. I can tell him leave if you want.”

  She shook her head.

  “It is alright mother, it would have happened eventually me seeing him again.”

  Her mother sighed and nodded. The women mingled with the guests. Conrad had arrived shortly after and noticed that Nikolai had arrived as well. He excused himself from the group of patrons he had been mingling with. He walked towards his brother-in-law and tapped his shoulder.

  “Niko, how are you this evening?”

  Nikolai turned towards his best friend and smiled. Their relationship had been strained due to the divorce, but he was happy that Conrad hadn’t held a grudge against him.

  “I am doing well my friend. Let me introduce you to my date for the evening. Conrad this is Donna Ellington of Synoc Industries. She is in the process of signing a great deal with Ostyn Corporations. Donna, meet my best friend and brother-in-law Conrad Beverly.”

  The woman looked towards Nikolai.

  “Brother-in-law? I thought you said you weren’t married?”

  Nikolai glared at the woman.

  “I was married once, to his sister but that is in the past.”

  She nodded then looked at the hand on Conrad’s shoulder.

  “Is that why you still wear your wedding ring?”

  Before he could answer, a commotion came from the hallway causing everyone in the room to look towards the door. The door burst open as a little boy in a white dress shirt, black bow tie, black slacks and black shiny shoes came running into the room. He had tears running down his cheeks.

  “Mommy!”

  The boy yelled as he ran towards his mother whose face was growing pale white. Nikolai saw who the boy called mother. His face scrunched up in confusion, then as if he was hit in the gut, reality checked in. Conrad looked towards his best friend. The look that showed across Nikolai’s face confused Conrad. Regret, pain, anger, and confusion had been written on Nikolai’s face. But the one that confused Conrad the most was the look of love on his face. Conrad walked over to his nephew and sister.

  “What’s going on?”

  Camden looked up at her brother and she tried to console her son.

  “Nothing, he had been frightened by one of the older boys he had been playing with.”

  Conrad nodded. Camden froze at something behind Conrad. He turned around and saw Nikolai come towards them. The night had been going well until those boys had scared her little one. Now her ex husband knows she kept her son away from him. What if he were to take him away from her? Over her dead body would she let him take her son away from her. She only wanted the night to go smoothly but now that her ex knows her secret, she hoped that it wouldn’t be too bad. But nothing will go smoothly after that night. That night she would have to explain everything which she didn’t want to. That night marked the start of the roller coaster of life.