Chapter Forty-Eight

I didn't call Luca right away.

I stayed outside for the longest time, deciding what to do even though I had already made my decision in my father's office. I walked around and around, thinking deeply. Wondering if I was making a mistake.

The neighbors drove past and saw me pacing back and forth like a lunatic. They all gave me odd looks. I wonder if they can tell that I've been kicked out of my own home because I refused to obey their orders. How can they expect me to break things off with Luca so that Mary might have a chance? How can they ask such a thing of me and call me selfish when I refuse to do it?

I haven't known Luca for long. And I spent half of that time hating him. This is risky. I know it is. If I abandon everything I've ever know because of him and end up with a broken heart, I won't survive it. I'm giving up everything for him. To be with him. It's insane. Brett and Victoria wouldn't approve. They wouldn't even recognize me.

I don't recognize myself.

The sun was s