Giovanni frowned the moment he entered the door. All of Kira's belongings were by the end of the staircase. The further he walked inside the house, a feeling came over him. Something wasn't right and that was confirmed when he saw Kira sitting on the couch with one of her legs crossed.
"Kira?"
He saw her shoulders go stiff as he rounded the couch. His frown tipped deeper when he saw how red her eyes were. He didn't hesitate to sit down next to her and grab hold of her hand.
"What happened, Kira?"
Kira kindly pulled her hand away from his touch, shifting to create some space between them. Giovanni didn't like the action but he knew he had some explaining to do because of last night.
"Where were you last night? I called you and you didn't answer." Her words came out softly while staring straight ahead.
"I had left my phone back at the office before going to meet with Joshua."
"The family lawyer? Why did you have to go see him?" One of Kira's brows raised in question as she turned her head to face him.
She watched as a look crossed his face, his jaw clenching on both sides. Something serious was happening with him but Kira already knew that. Courtesy of news reporters.
"I have to tell you something but you have to promise to hear me out before anything." The worry in his tone was clear as day.
"What is it?" Kira nods, not leaving without an explanation. She was going to hear him out but her stay depends on what's his part of the story.
"Yesterday, you remember me getting a call from my assistant?" When she nods, he continued. "Leah came to see me about her dream home."
"What? Why would she come and see you?" Why not someone else?
Giovanni sighed, never breaking eye contact with her. He wanted her to know that everything that he was about to say was going to be pure honesty.
"Leah was always known to be a person to get what they want. No doubt that she wanted to try and squeeze her way back into my life."
"But she did, Giovanni." Kira ran fingers through her hair. "You allowed yourself to help her find whatever home she was looking for when you should have offered help from somebody else at your firm. Whenever you told her you'd help, you made her believe that she can get anything from you and now she's pregnant and claiming it's your baby."
"How do you know that?" He questioned, anger rising within him.
"It's all over the news, Giovanni. They know all about your secret with her and I'm being made a fool. I'm the one being questioned for even trusting a man that has played his cards and got with almost half of these women here in Phoenix."
Giovanni could see every ounce of emotion Kira was giving off. She was angry, hurt, and sad. The look of betrayal didn't sit right with him at all.
"Kira-"
"It's a wake-up call." She stood to her feet, creating more space between them. Giovanni stood as well, looking at her beyond worried.
"What do you mean?"
Not saying anything, Kira walked around the coffee table to the couch on the other side. She grabbed the file that rested on the couch and handed it to him. Giovanni opened the file and his heart skipped a beat at the familiar sight of Kira's signature and the black ink of the contract.
"I know the arrangement between us has lasted almost six months but I think we need to go back to what we know."
"Kira, we both signed an agreement. A year of marriage." His grip on the file tightened.
"I know but I can't be a part of whatever is going on between you and Leah. I'll pay everything back if that's what you want."
"It's not what I want." He stepped in her direction. "The baby is not mine. Nothing is going on between Leah and me. This is what she wants. Us, apart and I'm not going to let her come between what you and I have."
He tossed the file down, reaching out to grab both her hands in his. Kira smiled sadly, not wanting to let go.
"Giovanni," Her voice trailed.
"I should have told you before about Leah's pop-ups but I didn't want you to worry about her."
"Well, I won't be given that I'm returning to Vegas."
She pulled away from him, walking out. Giovanni followed, not far behind her. The moment she grabbed one of the bags, Giovanni grabbed it from her. She was trying to leave. Leave him for good.
"Just wait a minute, Kira."
She turned around abruptly. Tears brimming in her eyes.
"I need to go. I can't stay here, Giovanni. I want to go home."
"What if I don't want you to?"
She looked off, shaking her head. He cupped her face and made her lookup. His eyes boring into hers. She was scared of something.
"I-I can't, Giovanni."
"Please?"
"What we had was just for show. To fool everyone. Think about this, Gio. If I go back now, we don't have to bother each other again. I know you want to take your father's place as CEO and you can have it with a little positive persuasion. We were great friends but I think it's time we get on with our lives before we met."
"Just friends?" He murmured, his jaw clenching.
"Yes,"
"So everything we've done despite the contract, didn't mean anything to you?"
Kira didn't say anything immediately. She was afraid that if she spoke her truth, things will be different. She was in love with him and though Robyn told her Giovanni didn't give any reason for her to doubt, he did now.
"Of course it did. You make me happy, Giovanni. These past weeks have left me happier than I've ever been but finding out that you have been talking to Leah, makes me wonder. There was a reason you kept working with her. If you truly didn't want to be around her, we wouldn't be here right now. You have unresolved business with her, Gio. I can see it, Leah can see it because she's taking advantage of it, and the media can see it."
It was true. Giovanni had unresolved issues with Leah and by the looks of it, he won't fully be able to move on and be happy with Kira if he didn't fix it.
"I have to go. My plane leaves in two hours. I wish you nothing but the best, Gio. You're a good man and I want you to hold on to things that make you happy."
Kira called out to one of the house helpers to grab her things and put them in the waiting car. Just as Kira's body turned, to assist the house helpers, Giovanni grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs.
He ignored her protest. Pushing open the door to their room, Giovanni pulled her inside, closing and locking the door behind them.
"Please, don't make things any more difficult."
"No more talking, Kira."
"But-"
He captured her lips quickly, taking her into a deep kiss. Panic was all he felt and he was going to do the only thing he thought would make her stay. Proving to her that she was all for him and no one else. Giovanni wanted no one else but her. Kira has changed him, made him feel what he swore he'd never feel again.
He was going to show her what he felt and hopeful that she'd give him the chance to correct what happened with Leah.
"You're making this harder for me." Her soft cries echoed in his ears.
Refusing to give her another chance of breaking their connection, Giovanni hooked his fingers in the belt loops of her pants, pulling her even closer. A few seconds of her registering, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him impossibly closer. His arms wrapped around the back of her thighs, lifting her from the ground, towards the bed.
No words were spoken. Both caught in passion and secret love as they pulled off each other's clothes. Blocking out the world around them, it was just them, loving each other with their bodies.
—
Time passed while Kira stirred in Giovanni's arms. She remembered them both falling asleep after their intense lovemaking. Shifting in her position carefully, Kira turned to face him. Lifting her hand, she touched along his eyebrows, his muscular cheekbone, and his lips. She studied every part of his handsome face because she knew that she might not see him again after today.
Giovanni had shown her a lot of things and out of all those things, her favorite was happiness.
A tear slipped from her eye. Her sadness was a strong emotion. She didn't want to leave Giovanni but she was doing this for their good. She was a runner and she didn't enjoy it. To her, Kira was thinking about herself as a real person.
Who would want to continue to pretend that the marriage between them is real?
Closing her eyes tightly, imprinting everything about him in her mind. She moved carefully from under his arms and dressed quickly. She slipped on her shoes and fixed her hair. Catching sight of the time, she was due to get another plane ticket to Las Vegas.
Kira looked down at the ring on her finger. Inhaling sharply, she slipped the meaningful diamond off and placed it on the nightstand. Her heart was tearing immensely on the inside but she could no longer stay here when Giovanni had unfinished business with the woman that's trying to squeeze back into his life.
And she refused to be a part of it. Any of it.
Even if her heart was hurting, filled with pain that has never been there before.