Billion Dollar Baby

18

Alright everyone, this is the last chapter... Sorry for cutting it short but I feel the story is complete here. I may write some more about them in the future, but for now, it's goodbye 💔

Thank you all so much for supporting this book!! I truly appreciate it and I hope to see you all in my other stories ❤️ 

Roman and Val will be featured in my new story Booth Three if you'd like to give that a read ❤️

Love you all so much!!!

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"Alright, everyone, glasses in the air!" Mum calls out across the table, leading by example. Everyone else follows, lifting their champagne over the table. "Tonight we're celebrating Valeria and everything she's accomplished so far. Congratulations on your brand new store, honey. To Valeria!"

"To Valeria!" my family concurs. We all clink our glasses together, ending the cheer with a sip of our drinks.

"I'm so proud of you, Val," Dad smiles. "You've worked so hard for this—all those hours on the phone at 3 AM, finalizing your college assignments on the plane back to Milan, those asshole investors who thought you were a fraud... you proved them all wrong."

"Well, I had fun doing it," I admit. "It was nice to see all my designs together and... I don't know, just to see my goals come into fruition."

"I hope you're proud of yourself."

"I am," I nod. I've barely had any time to process everything that's happened today. I'm exhausted. Even beforehand, I was so focused on getting everything done and making sure everything worked out well, that I didn't even get an opportunity to enjoy the day or even be excited at all. Don't get me wrong, I was excited, but not as much as I would have been if I hadn't been so stressed out. That's completely my own fault, though. I should've moved down here a week earlier, or at least put everything with Roman on hold until the store had opened. The latter was my initial plan anyway, but things just didn't work out that way.

"I wish I could have been there today," Ivy comments. "It looked amazing online, though. There were so many people out front."

"We could see them lining up from the office," Roman adds, his arm resting on the back of my chair. "It was hard not to come see it for myself."

"You can all come see the store tomorrow, if you want," I tell them. We probably should've done this before the opening, but I didn't even have time to think about that.

"I'd love that," mum smiles. "I bet the press asked countless questions about you and Roman."

"Oh my god, it was so annoying," I tell them. "But I can't blame them, you know? They're just interested."

"Have you heard from Diego yet?"

"I haven't," I shake my head. "Roman hasn't either, right?"

"I haven't heard anything," Roman confirms, a clear sadness in his voice. "Is he doing okay?"

"He's fine," dad says. "He's not mad anymore. He just feels betrayed."

"I feel like such a fucking dick," he grumbles. I fight the urge to nudge him under the table. He's known my parents for years. He always swears in front of them. Being my boyfriend doesn't change that. I don't have to tell him off.

"You shouldn't," dad assures him. "I understand why you kept it from him, and I think he understands it too. It just... it doesn't ease the pain."

"I just feel so selfish, you know?"