Pleased To Meet You

If you knew...

I didn't pick up the call right away because I was working until I noticed Camilla had called. I tried to text her, sent a bunch of letter and emails but I had no response. When I tried to call her again it seemed like her phone had been disconnected, so I contacted Christine to see what was going on. 

Christine: Hello?

Giovanni: Hey, Christ. It's me, Giovanni. I hope you're doing okay. Uhm-- Is Camilla there with you? She hasn't been answering any of my calls and I'm a bit worried.

Christine: Oh, hi. Giovanni, I don't mean to be rude but you should forget about her and please stop calling. You're gonna get me in trouble and I can't help you. 

Giovanni: In trouble? What are you talking about?

Christine: I'm sorry. I have to go. Goodbye.

Giovanni: No, wait. Chris-

I was so confused, I had no idea what was going on. Christine was clearly hiding something from me but I was going to find out the truth as soon as I could. At the time I didn't enough  money to just drop it all and fly to Barcelona, I had to work day and night to earn enough to buy an airline ticket. It took me an awfully long time to be able to go but  around Christmas I finally did it. I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was excitement because everyone was hiding something from me and it bothered me a lot. I hadn't talked to Camilla in a while and Christine just disappeared after that phone call. I couldn't help thinking if something bad had happened to my love.

If you can already tell, this was the first time I was away from home. I had never flown to another country before but even though this was my first time on a plane, I was more nervous about what I was going to find out. Mr. Ontiveros seemed like a messed up man and I was afraid he could've hurt Camilla.

 When I arrived I took a cab and went to her house. I rang the doorbell but no one seemed to be there. I looked through our conversations and remembered the name of her dad's company. I only had enough money to get a cab back to the airport I had to walk all the way there. They were having a Christmas Ball but I couldn't see Camilla anywhere around. I went to the second floor so I could get a better look and I finally found her. She was stunning. She was wearing a red dress and seemed safe and sound but I finally saw what everyone was hiding from me. Camilla was with someone else. Of course, I couldn't believe it, I mean, right at that moment everything that we had gone through togeher felt like a lie. Christine was there taking photos of them and Camilla looked happy, just like when she was with me. Why everyone had lied to me? I was in love with someone who had forgotten about me so easily.

"I inteded to get Camilla back but it turned out she was never mine"

The anger was eating me alive and honestly, I wanted to hit something. I couldn't believe she would do that to me. She didn't even care enough to tell me it was over because she just pushed me out of her life. I meant nothing to her...

When I was leaving I ran into Camilla's dad. What else could I ask for? 

Mr. Ontiveros: Oh, Who do we have here? Let me guess, Gustavo?

Giovanni: It 's Giovanni, sir. I was about to leave, so you don't have to call security or whatever rich guys like you do when you don't want to deal with things. 

Mr. Ontiveros: Oh, why the long face? You can stay if you want to. We've got enough food for uninvited guests too. 

Giovanni: Why would I stay? So you can tell me you were right all along? That your daughter never loved me and there she is looking beautiful as ever with some rich guy just like you wanted because I have nothing to offer to her.

Mr. Ontiveros: I don't have to say anything else, Mr. Bartolini. You knew if she left with me she would forget about you and guess what? She did. You know, Pierre and Camilla are getting married in June. Maybe I'll tell her to invite you to her wedding. I hope it doesn't come as inconvenient due to your situation. I'm guessing that's why it took you long enough to come all the way here. Maybe start saving for her speciak day. 

Giovanni: No, thanks. I'm done with this fucking family. The fact that you think this is funny is fucked up. 

Mr. Ontiveros: It's amusing to me because now you understand how I felt when I saw her with you. You feel cheated and like you deserve better. That you have given her everything you've got so she can leave you for someone else. The only difference is that she is my daughter and even if she's with a scumbag like you, she always comes back to me. 

Giovanni: Do you really think so? Because when those two get married she'll start living her own life and she will forget about you. You won't be able to control her life or her decisions. 

Mr. Ontiveros: You still can't understand how this works, do you? I can do whatever I want and my daughter will listen because right now she thinks I'm the best dad ever and you know why? Because I introduced to her the love of her life. 

I stared at him and said nothing. He was right, he had already won. She never loved me and she was marrying someone her dad approved. My job was done. 

Mr. Ontiveros: It hurts a lot, doesn't it? Well, you deserve it when you try to take my daughter away from me but I guess, I am right. She always comes back. In a few minutes they will announce their engangement, so you should leave. 

I left so angry, I couldn't think or even breathe. My heart got broken again but this time, I wouldn't forget how I felt. The betrayal cut deep. 

I flew back to Italy, told everything to Lucy and decided to forget about all of this. I transferred all the money back to Mr. Ontiveros and moved out of Alessandria so I could start a second new beginning. Two years later I found myself working in "Amore Mio", a very fancy restaurant. I could barely talk to Lucy because I was always busy and honestly, recalling my past was a bit painful.

In February the restaurant has this tradition to close until the last couple has left but this time went different. A couple of guys made a reservation. They worked for "Empresas Ontiveros". I wasn't happy to have to serve them but they paid me really well, so I had no choice. Before I left my manager told me I still needed to tell a customer we were closing so she could leave. When I went to talk to her she bought me a drink. I wasn't in the mood for this but I accepted. She was very kind to me and she made me forget about Camilla at least for one night. It all happened so fast. I mean, in less than a week we're already living together. It felt right to be with her because I could forget about my painful past but I didn't love her. I didn't feel anything. I missed Camilla even though I felt so much anger at her and well, she loved someone else. 

I want to give you some advice. Something that my dad told me once. "Never say I love you to someone if you don't love them when they're angry, sad, happy, anxious, etc.". You know when you really love someone because you love them at their best and at their worst, you love them exactly for who they are and that's not how I felt for Alessia. We both met when we were both at our worst times and for a while we were happy but it all turned out into a really toxic and horrible relationship. 

I hated being at home with her and she always wanted me with her but in a ver possesive way. She turned into a controlling and aggressive woman and even though I couldn't stand it I stayed with her because I felt I didn't deserve better. We weren't right for each other yet neither of us found the strength to actually leave.