All Chapters of You Were My Goodbye: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"Didn't Valentina dump him first?"That was the whispered question going around the table while Nico's fiancée was in the bathroom.My name is Valentina. I hadn't planned to be here. A friend swore Nico wouldn't show up, so I came. But there he was.Nico Barzan—the youngest don on the East Coast. He ran every dock and casino in Boston. In his tailored suit, he was almost too handsome to look at. Even the family ring on his finger was worth a fortune. Everyone wanted his favor.Me? I was nobody."She did break up with him," Nico said flatly, answering the question no one dared ask aloud.Let them fill in the blanks. I was proud. Blind. Stupid."Valentina, I heard your family went under, right?""Oh my God, did you come here to ask for money?""Or find some rich guy to pay off your debts? Ha."Nico just watched me from across the table, his dark eyes unreadable. He didn't say a word in my defense. So I smiled—an ugly, tight thing—and stayed quiet.Then the bathroom door opened. His fianc

"You hit him?" Chiara handed me a glass of warm water."Yeah. He tried to put me on a monthly allowance." I curled up on the couch, fighting waves of stomach pain, and drank slowly.A few minutes later, I ran to the bathroom and threw up.Chiara patted my back. "Bad stomach and you still drink."I caught my breath, wiped my mouth. My throat was on fire."Was it worth it?" she asked. "Loving him all these years?"I looked up at my reflection in the mirror—wet lashes, dark hair plastered to my forehead, pale face.Chiara's voice came from far away, muffled. "If you hadn't been so ruthless back then, he wouldn't be where he is today…"I thought of Nico's fiancée again. She had a brightness I'd lost. I used to be like that. A long time ago. Then I fell too hard. By the time I crawled out of the pit, everything had changed.When Chiara finished her work in Brooklyn, we walked hand in hand back to our rental.My phone rang. It was Nico's friend."Valentina, if you're in trouble, I can find y

The fever hit hard.I was delirious, every bone aching, shivering under the blanket.The wind howled outside. In my haze, I dreamed of the past.I was on Nico's back. "Nico, what if I die?"He walked steadily, his voice soft. "Don't say that. It's just a fever. You'll be fine after a shot.""Hey, do you have enough money? Shots are expensive.""It's fine.""How can it be fine? How much do you have left?"He didn't answer. He carried me into the hospital, crouched in front of me, and said seriously, "As long as you're okay, I'm okay."I was bundled up in a thick coat. "When Mom and Dad stop fighting, I'll ask them for money to pay you back."Nico touched my hair, his eyes gentle. "Trust me. You're going to be fine."But I wasn't fine.The night Nico was sent to the East Coast on family business, I came home and opened my parents' bedroom door.My father had another woman in his arms.That was the beginning of my fall.Then came the screaming fights. Then my father was shot dead by my mo

The private hospital was in the suburbs, surrounded by endless woods.I couldn't leave. I couldn't reach anyone.The doctors and nurses said they were sorry, but their hands were tied.Nico came every day. Mostly at dusk, rushing in straight from work, and we'd talk.I kept my distance. He didn't push.Lately, I'd been dreaming of the past a lot.Back when I used to say his name all the time."Nico, you're going to be the greatest don ever."He sighed. "What flavor milk today?""Banana."He skipped class for the first time just to buy me banana milk. Got caught.Later, in college, rumors spread about him and the campus beauty.I took the subway for over a dozen stops and sat crying under his building.Nico got out of bed, came downstairs in the dark, and gently wiped my tears. "Stop crying. If you want me, I'm yours.""Only you from now on.""That's not how you confess."He hugged me tight. "I love you."We never imagined that a decade later, it would come to this."Tomorrow, I'm getti

(Nico's Perspective)Since that day at the family hearing, Nico hadn't spoken a word.The blinds stayed shut for three days. No light got in.Missed calls flooded his screen. He didn't look at them.Time seemed to stop.He sat there, head down, lifeless.He still remembered the cold tone of the man who took Valentina away."All of us have been fighting to keep her alive," the man said. "The Barzan don's iron fist, though—you undid everything we did without even trying."Chiara had been stopped by security. She screamed at him, "Nico, if she doesn't take her meds, she relapses! Keeping her locked up is as good as killing her!"Depression. Psychiatric hospital.Those words were like needles, shredding his thoughts, pulling at nerves.Matteo knocked, then cracked the door open. "Nico… are you okay?""Why?" Nico's voice was hoarse. The dull ache in his chest was unbearable.Matteo was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry. At the time, I didn't think it was necessary to dig deeper, so…""The info