The Determined Woman by M.L. Lexi

Author:M.L. Lexi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: M.L. Lexi
Published: 2021-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Six

SALVATORE’S MET MARIA’S red-rimmed eyes. “I know Isabella is my daughter.” There was no anger, no blame in his tone.

Maria’s face went dead white. Maria was quiet for a moment as guilt, remorse, shame, and regret washed over her at once. “How long have you known?”

Glancing over at her, he reached for her hand. The warmth of it penetrated through to his bones, sending a wonderful shock to the system he hadn’t felt for decades. “Not long.”

“I’m sorry, Salvatore. I’m so very sorry for not telling you. Please forgive me.”

The wall was down, he thought. It had crumbled right before his eyes. “I know you are, and you don’t need to ask for forgiveness.” Salvatore shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over Maria’s shoulders when the cool midnight air made her shiver. When she started to speak, he cut her off. “I’ll take you home now.”

Maria remained silent for the entire ride home, and Salvatore fell into the silence she needed with her.

“Would you like to come in? I’ll put on a pot of coffee,” Maria said after Salvatore maneuvered the car into the spot in front of her apartment and killed the engine. Looking over at Maria, he saw the traces of tear washed mascara on her cheeks. “I doubt I’m going to be able to wind my mind down to get sleep.” She looked up to Salvatore with fragile eyes. “Please, I’d like the company.”

Maria’s reserve broken, her heavy heart, the feeling of abandonment she’d carried with her all these years vanished. The man who’d left her, whom she’d resented, and hated all these years through his painful story, eroded the wall she’d erected and washed the pain she’d held for so long.

Their exchange made her realize he hadn’t inflicted the anger and pain she’d harboured. Tonight she realized her hatred for Salvatore stemmed from her guilt of denying him the knowledge of his child. The secret out, the fear, anger, and hate afflicting her like a cancer faded away, and the love she once felt for him bloomed in her heart.

But they were different people now. So much had happened to them over the years. They’d led separate lives, had families of their own, endured experiences—good and bad—that changed them. They weren’t the young, naïve couple they once were. She’d have to get to know him all over again, but this time, they would start from a beginning brimming with experience and wisdom.

Salvatore traced the curve of Maria’s cheek with his finger. “I’d love the company.”

Flipping the apartment lights on, Maria waved him to the kitchen while she made her way to the bathroom to wash her face. Salvatore was firing up the stove for the coffee to brew when she joined him. Watching him in her small kitchen with white painted walls, pressed-board cupboards, and the old canary-yellow appliances, he looked as if he belonged there.

She wondered if he sensed how much he’d stirred in her when he walked back into her life. Like a key turning in a long lost lock, he released memories and emotions she’d buried long ago.

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