Farewell to My Undercover Ex The Fall and Rebirth of a Mafia Princess Chapter 05
“I’ll be there.” I hung up.
Silence settled over the car.
I turned to Nolan and forced a smile.
“You want to know the worst part about the sedatives he forced down my throat?”
My voice came out steady, like I was reading off a menu.
“It didn’t just mess with my hands. It took my memories too.”
Something shifted behind Nolan’s eyes.
*Renata,” he said, voice low, “I’ve seen your old sketches. It’s just…
God. What a waste.”
I knew he meant it.
I used to be good. Really good. Art was the thing I loved more than anything.
After graduation, I landed a spot at one of the top design firms in the country.
But before I could prove a thing, it all came crashing down.
The firm was going to keep me on and move me to another
department. Then Claire “anonymously” leaked my family’s RICO
indictment to HR, and that was it.
After that, I was blacklisted. No firm in the industry would touch me.
Nolan dragged a hand down his face.
“You don’t have to see him. I’ll go.”
“It’s fine,” I whispered, eyes closed, breathing slow. “I’ve got other
stuff I need to pick up anyway. Might as well get it all done.”
My college portfolio.
Years ago. Declan had begged me to let him keep it. He’d treated it
like it was sacred, said he wanted to frame every single page.
Now it just felt like a sick joke.
He picked the spot: an old strip near campus. There used to be a
bakery at the end of it where we’d split a cake for every anniversary.
It was a café now.
I walked in. Declan was already there.
I sat down across from him. A flat white was already waiting.
His fingers were tapping the tabletop. I knew that habit.
I’d only ever seen him do it three times. Once when he told me he
loved me. Once when he proposed.
And now. What was eating at him?
The place had new owners, but the old manager was still around.
He spotted us and came over.
“Wait. No way. You two? It’s been forever!”
“I still remember the day you two came in celebrating your engagement!”
I smiled. “Well, if you want to celebrate, he’s got a fresh ring to show off. Just got married again.”
The color crawled up the back of Declan’s neck.
The manager took a step back and suddenly had somewhere else to be.
I pocketed my ID.
“What about the portfolio? You still have it?”
He reached under the table and pulled out a worn folder. “Most of it.
Claire… she got jealous and destroyed the rest.”
“This is everything you saved?”
My hands weren’t steady as I opened it.
Everything inside was intact.
Every piece had been sealed in an archival sleeve, protected and
preserved with a care that made my chest ache. At least the ones that mattered most had survived.
I stood up.
“Thanks. I’m done here.”
“Wait. Please. Just hear me out.”
He stood so fast the table rattled, coffee spilling everywhere.
He fumbled. “I’m sorry…”
“Declan.”
His name in my mouth felt like muscle memory. I’d said it a
thousand different ways over ten years.
“Declan, help me with this project?”
“Declan, my heels are killing me… carry me.”
“Careful, Declan! You’re gonna leave a mark.”
But this time was different. This was the last.
*Save it. It’s six years too late for that.”
I held the folder to my chest and walked out.
Later, when Nolan stopped by after a photoshoot, I told him about it.
He just shook his head.
“That’s it? You should’ve ripped him apart. Made him feel a fraction of what you felt.”
He exhaled hard. “Actually, forget him. After everything you’ve been through, you just walked out of there? Held it together?”
“That takes real strength.”
That calm didn’t come for free. It cost me years of sleepless nights
and more therapy sessions than I could count.
Four years.
here