No Longer Your Rose Chapter 05
The next day, Theo showed up at my door again.
He stood in the doorway, his tall frame blocking the light. “You’re not the Isabella I once knew anymore.”
I tightened my grip on the skewers and looked up at him.
“People change, Don Moretti. If you’ve got no business here, you can leave. I’m swamped.”
Theo was silent for a moment, his expression unreadable. Finally, he gave me one long look and turned to leave.
He seemed to mumble something on his way out.
A stiff gust swept his words clean out of earshot.
I didn’t hear a single word, and I didn’t want to. Whatever he said no longer mattered.
Emma walked over, still holding the bell peppers she’d just washed, her voice wavy. “Isabella, what’s he doing popping up again out of nowhere?”
I didn’t look up. “He’s just got nothing better to do with his time.”
Emma blinked, then laughed and tossed the peppers into the basin. “You said it.”
Emma stayed and talked with me for a while. We chatted about ordinary things—the neighbor’s cat, how much produce had gone up that day. I listened and answered now and then, and my mood lifted.
I saw Theo again two days later.
He placed an invitation in front of me. I didn’t pick it up. I kept threading meat onto skewers.
“Isabella, this is a spot in the finals of the international piano competition. Once you bring home top honors at the finals, I can make everything right between us.”
I looked up casually. “If you want to compensate me, just give me money. I don’t need anything else.”
The moment I finished speaking, his whole body went cold.
“Must you keep speaking to me in such a cold tone?”
Just then, Emma came back with her groceries. She spotted Theo, dropped the bags, grabbed the broom from behind the door, and charged at him.
“What are you doing here again? Get out!”
Theo stumbled back a step, his brows furrowed, but he didn’t fight back. His eyes went past Emma and landed on me.
I lowered my head and kept working.
“Think about my offer.”
He turned and left.
Emma was still furious. She shouted insults at his back for a long time. “What a total creep!”
When she finally calmed down, she saw the invitation on the table and turned red with anger.
“What is he playing at? He knows you can’t play piano anymore. Is he trying to twist the knife on purpose?”
I smiled slightly and tossed the invitation into the trash.
I didn’t see Theo again for the next few days. It was as if he’d never come at all.
Then, one afternoon, Sophia showed up. She sat down gracefully in the chair across from me, her voice soft. “It’s been far too long, Isabella.”
I didn’t look at her. My voice was distant. “Mrs. Moretti, we met just yesterday. I’d appreciate it if you’d take your leave otherwise.”
Right then, Theo arrived as well. His brows were drawn together with a hint of unease. “Sophia, what are you doing here?”
Sophia stood up at once and wrapped her arm around his. “I’m here to coax my elder sister home to the Santoro household, what else?”
As she spoke, her eyes slid meaningfully toward me.
Theo’s gaze lingered on my face for a moment. Finally, he said quietly, “Let’s go.”
Sophia nodded obediently. Before she left, she looked back at me.
I watched them walk away and finally let out a breath.
Then Theo’s voice came back to me. “Isabella, would you accompany me to the finals in two days?”
Sophia’s body went stiff.
“Save your effort, Don Moretti. I haven’t played piano in years.”
That night after closing up, Sophia found me. Without any small talk, she placed a check on my table.
I felt a sharp, bitter irony washed over me. Five years ago, she’d used five million dollars to frame me. Now she was using the same amount to get rid of me.
“Isabella, his five million is yours. Take it and stay out of this area permanently.”
I picked up the check and answered quietly. “You’re worrying over nothing, Mrs. Moretti. Theo and the Santoro family have no feelings for me anymore. You know that better than anyone.”
“As for this money, I’ll donate it to children in rural poverty. Thank you on their behalf.”
Sophia’s petty attempt backfired completely. She left, seething with resentment.
I thought everything would go back to normal. But I had underestimated Sophia’s cruelty.