That last thought was too much. The tears erupted out of her like an uncontrolled geyser, flooding her cheeks and seeping through the fingers covering her face. She sobbed for several minutes before finally rushing into the bathroom and locking the door. She couldn’t risk him seeing her like this.
It would be too humiliating.
Everything she’d been feeling over the past four months, and even the months before that, burst out. All her insecurities. All her feelings of neglect when he seemed to want to spend more time working than he did with her.
All her fears of starting a family and not having him as a willing co-parent in the life of their children. She couldn’t stop the tears. The dam had burst, and since she couldn’t stem the flood of tears once they were unleashed, she leaned against the wall, sobbing until they stopped on their own.
The motion lights on the ground floor shone their light onto the pool area. Leonardo’s sinewy muscles glistened as he torpedoed through the water, doing his best to burn off the pain of Alexa’s rejection. She couldn’t have been clearer that she wanted out of their marriage. She became giddy at the prospect. To insist on leaving tonight was proof that no matter what had transpired between them over the past couple of days, she couldn’t stand to be there a minute longer than was necessary.
He’d suspected what her answer would be. Yet, to watch her transform so immediately, it was a crushing blow. She couldn’t wait to get away from him.
Levering himself out of the pool, Leonardo swept his wet hair back from his face.
It couldn’t end like this. She had loved him once. He’d never heard her say the words, but he was sure of it. He could see it in the way her brown eyes used to light up when he approached. Surely they could work on their marriage and find something that was still worth salvaging.
Leonardo made it up the stairs in record time, but when he entered the bedroom, the familiar heavy quiet that was over the room made his heart beat faster than the laps he had swum.
“Alexa!” he called.
Like a madman, he pushed open the door to her closet. The lights were turned off. He looked over toward the bathroom. The door was cracked, and he could see the light was on in there. Maybe she hadn’t heard him. He rushed over to the door, but he knew the truth before he pushed it open so hard it slammed against the wall with the force of a storm gale.
“Alexa!” Her name was torn from his throat and reverberated in the empty bathroom.
Two platinum rings jeered at him from the counter.
She was gone.
Chapter Nine
The first few days after Alexa left, she’d secretly hoped Leonardo would come after her. She clearly hadn’t learned her lesson from the first time. He didn’t come. He didn’t call.
She didn’t tell Xander right away that she and Leonardo were no longer together. She couldn’t face her brother, but he soon found out what had taken place. The Monday after her weekend with Leonardo, Xander showed up at the mansion with a large cake and some smaller, specially made desserts. Congratulations and Thank You the cake read, serving the dual purpose of recognizing they were back together and showing his appreciation for the money Leonardo had given him.
When he arrived at her doorstep forty-five minutes later, she fell apart and let him comfort her as she sobbed out an explanation of how nothing had changed and she and Leonardo were no longer going to be together. She carefully skated over Xander’s innocent role in the argument that ultimately forced them apart again.
Five months after her second departure from the mansion, Alexa stood in the ballroom of the Royale Hotel in Atlanta. Tonight was a fundraiser for Second Chance Closet, and she had arrived early to ensure the final details were handled and everything went off without a hitch.
The huge room was still empty except for the local jazz band setting up onstage and the servers making last-minute touches to the room. The musicians were friends of her brother’s, and Alexa appreciated the generosity of them volunteering their time and talent.
She felt the butterflies resurface in her stomach as she looked around for the event planner, Clarissa Beauchamp. Alexa had met and been impressed by Clarissa’s efficiency when she’d attended a party at the hotel with Leonardo two years ago.
Just then, she saw the dark-skinned woman enter from a door near the back of the room. When she saw her, the tension she’d been harboring left her body.
Clarissa hurried over, wearing a pair of ballerina flats that Alexa knew she would exchange for pumps once the festivities were underway.
“Everything’s fine,” Clarissa said, giving Alexa a big smile and reassuring hug. She was petite and spoke in a soft, but firm tone, her Caribbean accent giving a melodic quality to her voice. She directed a smile over Alexa’s shoulder to Xander, who had just walked in, looking handsome in a charcoal gray suit. Xander slipped his arm around his sister, and she leaned into him.