Read Online Limits of Destiny (Volume 1) by Sharlyn G. Branson - Free Book Online Page B

logged out of the computer and stood.
    We went to my favorite Italian restaurant, Toscana, and ordered the vegetarian lasagna.

  7  
    I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer by the time I drove home. Adele’s song “Someone Like You,” which was playing on the stereo, was only exacerbating the agony I felt. My heart had been smashed into tiny little pieces. And I knew it would be a long time before I could gather these pieces, put them back together, and go on with my life.
    Why did I let myself fall in love with the wrong man? Why? These thoughts raced around my mind. I’d yearned so intensely for this before, but now I felt so lonely. I’d been seduced, used, and abandoned.
    I barely managed to unlock the door to my apartment. I dropped my handbag to the floor and covered my face with my hands to suppress the tears. Then I went into the living room and put a recording of one of my mother’s concerts on the sound system. She was a famous violinist and had performed not just in the USA, but in Europe, Japan, and China. The tender sounds of her violin as she played Tomaso Albinoni’s “Adagio in G-Minor” filled the room. I wanted to be closer to her, and music was the only way. I threw myself on the couch and started to bawl like a small child, unable to stop.
    God, my broken heart hurts so much!
    Alexander wasn’t mine and he would never be. It had all been just one wonderful moment. The thought that we would never again be together was suffocating me. I wanted him. I wanted to feel his embrace once more, to breathe in the scent of his skin, to taste his kisses, to feel the touch of his warm hands, hear his soft voice, see his handsome face… I wanted him.
    I didn’t know his cell phone number, but even if I did, I wouldn’t call him. I still had some self-respect. He’d promised to call me, that we would have lunch together, but he hadn’t kept his promise. He’d lied to me, given me false hope, made me think something could happen between us.
    I cried so much that in the end, I had no tears left. I went into the bathroom and washed my face. My mascara had run and smeared all over.
    I decided to make something to eat in order to put him out of my mind.
    The doorbell rang. It was Lily. As soon as she saw me, she realized I’d been crying.
    She hugged me tightly right on the doorstep. “What happened, for God’s sake? Did Alexander hurt you?
    “We arranged to meet for lunch, but he never called me.” The tears started flowing down my cheeks again.
    “Oh, Alexia, I’m so sorry. I’d never thought this could happen to you. You can have anyone you want. How did you manage to fall in love with the most unsuitable man?”
    “I only want him, Lily, but he doesn’t want me anymore,” I sobbed and wiped the tears from my face with my palm.
    “What a moron. He doesn’t know what he’s missing. By the time he realizes, it will be too late. Come, dear, I brought French red wine, Perrin et Fils Les Cornuds. It will relax you.”
    The wine, with hints of red berries and cherries, was very nice. We got drunk, more than we ever had before, so Lily stayed over for the night.
    *     *     *
    In the morning, I gave her one of my dresses. I was eternally grateful to her, for she had stayed and not left me alone in that state.
    As people say, a friend in need is a friend indeed.
    I put on a classic black number to match the grief eating at me and went to work, arriving a little late. Roberto was already at his desk, looking at the computer screen and drinking a coffee.
    “Ciao, Bella.” He turned to me and froze. “Mamma mia. What’s happened to you, Alexia? You look awful; your eyes are bloodshot.”
    “Thanks, that’s so sweet,” I said sarcastically.
    “Sorry, I’m just worried about you. Can I help you somehow?”
    “Please, I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “Okay… As you know, I suffer from dry eyes and use moisturizing drops. I bought these really good ones—in disposable