Chapter 5 - The Test of the Heart|
Vanessa’s nervous smile began to flicker under the heavy silence lingering in the air.
"What does it say, darling?" she asked softly, reaching out to touch the paper.
Luca slowly pulled the letter out of her reach. He didn't look at Vanessa. He looked up at Rosa, his expression transformed into something dark, unreadable, and terrifyingly cold.
He handed the letter to the old housekeeper.
"Read the last part aloud, Mama," Luca ordered softly.
Rosa’s hands trembled slightly as she held the paper, but her voice was clear and gentle as it carried across the silent ballroom.
"My son, before you marry any woman, ask Rosa one simple question," Rosa read aloud. "Rosa spent her entire life serving people who often forgot she was even in the room. She will know a woman’s true heart by how that woman treats someone who can offer her nothing in return."
A cold stillness settled over the thirty guests. No one moved. No one dared to sip their drink or breathe loudly.
Vanessa’s face drained of color, turning as white as her silk tablecloths.
Luca turned his head slowly to look at Rosa.
"Mama," he said softly.
The old woman met his dark eyes.
"Was Vanessa kind to you tonight?" Luca asked.
Vanessa immediately interjected, her voice pitching an octave higher. "Luca, this is absurd! There was simply a silly seating misunderstanding at the door with the staff—"
Luca didn't even turn his head to look at his fiancée. He just waited, his eyes fixed on Rosa.
Rosa glanced over at me, standing in my apron holding the homemade pie that Vanessa had ordered me to throw in the trash. Then she looked back at Luca.
"No, son," Rosa said quietly. "She was not."
Vanessa stopped breathing altogether.
Rosa tightened her grip on her old leather purse. "And before you ask me anything else..."
May you like
Her sharp silver eyes moved slowly over to lock onto Vanessa’s trembling figure.
"...you should know what she offered me at the front door if I promised never to come back."
