The Slave of Pleasure
Chapter 98

Rachel

I got into the limousine that was already waiting for me at the entrance, and before closing the door, I took one last look at the mansion. It stood imposingly under the gray sky, a grandiose building full of mysteries. Every window, every wall inside held a fragment of the moments I had spent with Vincenzo. And now, all those moments seemed like ghosts, dark memories that mixed with the longing and pain I felt.

The pain in my chest seemed to increase with every second I hesitated, waiting to see Vincenzo. Maybe he would appear at the entrance, maybe he would change his mind. But, even after a few minutes, he was not there. Only emptiness watched me in silence, as if it were the outcome I should have already foreseen.

My eyes began to burn with the tears I wanted so badly to hold back. When I finally climbed into the car and the door closed behind me, I felt a sense of emptiness. A lump formed in my throat as I leaned back against the soft leather seat, trying to absorb the reality that I was leaving. I was, indeed, leaving everything behind. The limo began to move, and I watched the mansion grow farther and farther away, the trees and gardens passing by the windows. My heart felt like it was breaking into a thousand pieces. I picked up my phone and, with trembling fingers, typed a message to Vincenzo, trying to replace words that made sense. "I'm leaving. I didn't think it would end this way. I wanted to understand, but I accept that you made your choice." I sent the message and waited. I waited, as if, somewhere inside me, there was still hope that he would respond. I waited until my fingers trembled again and decided to send another one. "Thank you for everything. And I'm sorry..." I knew he probably wouldn't respond, but I waited anyway, with a last shred of hope. The screen of my phone remained still, without any notification, without a simple "Seen" that could give me any answer. It was as if I had become invisible to him, a person he would rather forget. And then I realized: he had blocked me.

The realization hit me like a punch in the stomach, and a wave of despair took over me. I wanted to ask why, I wanted to understand the reason for this sudden coldness, this insurmountable barrier he had created between us. More tears rolled down my face. Vincenzo, the one I thought would never leave, had put a definitive end between us.

Suddenly, all the pain, fear, frustration and memories began to mix together. Every memory of the moments we shared came to my mind, and it was impossible to ignore the weight of each one. I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the cold glass of the window, while images of the days gone by invaded my mind, one after the other.

I remembered the first time we met, the intensity in his gaze. I remember how he looked at me, in a way no one had ever looked at me before. I felt like he could see right through me, that he understood things about me that not even I could understand. And that was what scared me and attracted me at the same time.

As the days went by, I was enveloped by that mysterious and imposing aura of his. Vincenzo seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, but at the same time, there was a lightness and a touch of vulnerability that he only revealed in rare moments. I remembered how he could make me smile, even when I thought the day was lost. He had this unique ability to transform my days into something more, to make me believe that, perhaps, I could be more by his side. The tears began to fall again, but now, they didn't just bring sadness. They also carried the anguish of someone who loved intensely and gave himself body and soul, only to realize that everything had vanished into the void. The truth was that, no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, I still loved Vincenzo. That feeling was engraved in every cell of my being, and I knew it would take a long time to erase it. The happiest moments with him seemed so vivid, so real in my mind, that it was almost as if I were still there, beside him. The night we danced in the living room, laughing and forgetting the rest of the world. Or the deep conversations, in which he told me pieces of his life that, to others, would be inaccessible. I looked out the window of the limousine and saw that we were approaching the airport. The reality that I was leaving everything behind began to weigh more and more, as if I were losing a part of myself that I would never be able to get back. I felt the urge to scream, to beg the driver to stop, to let me out and go back to the mansion, so that I could try to understand what really happened. But that was the truth, and I knew it. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't change what had already been done. Vincenzo hHe had made his choice, and I needed to make mine. It was time to leave the past where it was, to move on, even if my heart broke in the process.

When we arrived at the airport, the limo pulled up, and I knew that was the end. I grabbed my suitcase and walked towards the boarding gate. Each step felt heavier than the last, as if each one was taking a piece of my memories and leaving an even bigger void.

I still wonder if I will ever be able to forget Vincenzo, if I will be able to erase the memory of everything we lived. No matter how hard I tried, he was still there, in the lines between my thoughts, in my dreams and in my memories. He would always be a part of me, even if he was just a painful reminder of what he once was.

I climbed the stairs to the gate, took one last look back, knowing that this might be the last time I would see this place.