The Donna He Took for Granted Chapter 05
I glanced toward the anxious seller and prepared to end the call, but Corrado softened his voice.
“Ottavia, I know you’re angry because I forgot your birthday.
“I admit I was wrong. Once Tessa’s heart procedure in Geneva is over, I’ll come back and make this
up to you.”
I waited until he had finished explaining himself, then answered evenly,
“You misunderstood. I’m not angry, and I don’t want compensation.
“All you need to understand is that our relationship is over.”
I hung up and returned the phone to the seller.
I also asked him to block the number if it called again.
After we signed the closing package and completed the required transfer, I left with the records for
my new home.
I photographed the documents to remember the moment, then headed out to meet my friends.
I returned around ten after a wonderful evening and volunteered to take Dad’s dog for a walk.
As I pushed open the glass entrance to my parents’ building, a tall, familiar figure blocked my path.
It was Corrado, his suit wrinkled and his face exhausted from the journey.
“Ottavia…”
I tightened my grip on the leash and stepped back.
“Don’t come any closer.”
My indifference seemed to wound him more than my refusal, but he ignored the warning and
approached with a frown.
Before he could speak, the dog moved in front of me, barking and snapping at him.
Corrado barely seemed to notice. He kept coming until my back met the wall.
Backlit by the lobby lights, he stared down at me without blinking.
“We need to talk. I don’t want any misunderstandings between us.”
I frowned.
“We have nothing to discuss.”
He planted one fist against the wall, trapping me.
“Have you forgotten that we’re about to be married?
“You think you can dismiss me with one casual sentence?
“What do you take me for?”
His furious interrogation left me too disgusted to waste another word.
I tried twice to push him away, but he did not move.
The dog’s furious barking echoed up the stairwell and triggered the motion lights floor by floor.
Apartment doors opened as curious neighbors gathered, and I finally compromised because I did
not want my parents involved.
Half an hour later,
Corrado ordered two Americanos at a twenty-four-hour coffee shop.
He placed a black Americano filled with extra ice in front of me.
“See, Ottavia? I do remember what you like.”
I blinked, almost amused.
Everyone close to me knew I hated bitter flavors.
The only reason our apartment ever contained black coffee was that Corrado preferred it.
I ordered extra ice because it diluted enough bitterness to make the coffee tolerable.
After only two days apart, the man who rarely explained himself could not seem to stop talking.
Before I could respond, he continued,
“I’m sorry about your birthday.
“Work was hectic, and I somehow convinced myself it was next month.
“But I bought your gift a long time ago.”
He took an elegant velvet box from his pocket.
When I made no move to open it, his mouth tightened before he opened the box himself, revealing a pair of expensive crystal earrings.
