Sexting My Ex’s Dad (Forbidden Silver Foxes)

59. Stella

59

STELLA

I sit in my car, parked a few blocks away from Elio’s apartment, gripping the steering wheel to steady my shaking hands. My heart pounds against my chest as I stare at the building, my mind racing with thoughts of him.

What reason do I have to be nervous? It’s not like I’d been the one to leave him out to dry. Taking a deep breath, I step out of the car, my legs shaky but determined. I walk towards the apartment building, trying to ignore the anxiety bubbling in my chest. I know this confrontation is necessary, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

If Elio is going to break up with me then I’m going to force him to be a man and to do it to myself not cower like some little boy.

Just as my hand hovers over the door to knock, it swings open unexpectedly. Elio stands there, those eyes staring at me with a mix of surprise and wariness.

“Stella,” he starts, but I don’t give him a chance to say anything else.

“Save it, Elio,” I say, pushing past him into the apartment. The familiar scent of his cologne fills the air, and I notice the place is impeccably clean, as always. He follows me in, closing the door behind us. The silence that falls between us is suffocating.

Finally, Elio breaks the silence. His voice is quiet but filled with a deep, unmistakable pain. “Why are you here, Stella? You shouldn’t be here.”

Shouldn’t be here… I wonder when he decided that.

His words sting, but I hold my ground. I can’t walk away without answers. Not again. I turn to face him, my voice trembling but resolute. “I need to know why you’re doing this. Why are you avoiding me? Why won’t you let me in? We’ve been through too much together for you to just shut me out like this. I mean, I took a bullet for you. Doesn’t that mean anything?”

Elio runs a hand through his hair, the frustration and torment clear on his face. He looks at me, but there’s a distance in his eyes, an impenetrable wall that I can’t breach. “You don’t get it, Stella,” he says, his voice breaking as he looks down, as if ashamed of his own feelings. “Ever since you came into my life, it’s been nothing but chaos. Like you said, you could have died, just like Margot.”

“Your ex wife?” I frown. “Elio, I heard what Massimo said. It wasn’t your fault.”

He shakes his head, his eyes filled with agony. “It was my fault, Stella. I found another man’s boxers when I came home and I knew the truth—she was cheating on me. And when the gunman came, I froze. I couldn’t even save her. I couldn’t even save her from dying right in front of me.” His voice drops to a whisper, filled with raw pain. “Owen was there. He never knew about the affair, but he’s always blamed me for letting her die…for not doing anything. And now, I can’t do it again. I can’t lose you, Stella.”

“Then don’t,” I plead, my voice catching in my throat. “I’m alive. I’m here. You don’t have to keep me at arm’s length. You don’t have to protect me from something that hasn’t happened.”

“But, it could have,” he snaps. “You deserve more than this. More than me. More than the chaos I bring. You deserve someone who can love you properly, without dragging you into my broken world.”

The ache in my chest threatens to consume me, but I force myself to hold onto my resolve. “Elio, listen to me,” I plead, fighting to keep my voice steady. “I’m not asking for perfection. I’m not asking you to forget your past or pretend it never happened. All I want is a chance to fight for our future together.”

His jaw clenches, eyes shining with unshed tears. “Stella, you don’t understand??—”

“Then help me understand!” I interrupt, my frustration bubbling to the surface. “Talk to me, Elio. Let me in. Don’t shut me out just because you’re afraid.”

For a moment, it seems like he might relent. But then he turns away, the anguish etched on his face almost too much to bear. “I can’t,” is all he says, his voice barely audible.

I blink back the tears threatening to spill over, my voice cracking as I make my confession. “But I love you, Elio. I always have. I’ve always loved you. And I’m here because I want to be with you, no matter what. Don’t shut me out. Don’t walk away from us.”

Elio turns away from me, gripping the back of a chair so tightly that his knuckles turn white. The desperation in his posture is like a punch to my gut.

“You don’t understand,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. “I can’t love you, Stella. I can’t lose another love of my life. I can’t lose you the way I lost Margot. I can’t watch you slip away from me. And Owen – he’ll hate me for the rest of his life for taking you from him. Be with him. You two make a better couple?”

Is he really saying that? Does he really mean it?

I know that this is the moment I’ve been dreading, the moment when I realize that Elio will never truly be able to give me the love I deserve. He’s too broken, too haunted by his past to let anyone in.

And I can’t sit around, wasting my life, begging him to change.

One more chance…one more try, and then I’d have to give up.

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I try to steady myself. “Owen understands, Elio. He’s accepted it. He’s moved on. I’ll always love you, but you can’t keep pushing me away.” My voice trembles, but I force myself to continue. “I can’t live in this limbo anymore. I need to move on too. I need to find my own happiness, so if you tell me right now that there will never be anything between us, I’ll believe you. And I’ll move on.”

His face crumples at my words. “I’m sorry.”

So that’s it. We’re over.

“Goodbye, Elio,” I murmur softly, just loud enough for him to hear before I walk right past him and out the door.

Out of his life.