Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“Sorry, sir.” He goes silent, and a few moments later, I hear the back door open.
I stand, fixing my suit jacket I changed into once we got on the plane, now fully in business mode.
“Nico?” Emelia’s voice sounds raspy.
“Emelia.” I turn and walk toward her.
She holds her head, rubbing at it.“My head is pounding. Do we have any medicine?”
“Yes.” Giulio stands without needing direction and goes to find the stewardess.
Once we’re alone, she sits on the couch and puts her head down. I move over to dim the lights a bit, so they aren’t so harsh.
“Why am I here?” Emelia asks but doesn’t look up at me. Her tone is firm, and I know a fight is coming.
“We are going to New York. I have business to take care of.”
“Meaning my family?” She finally looks up as Giulio approaches with water and some pills. She takes them from him, then sips some water before taking the pills and swallowing them down.
“Yes, I have to attend to some business with your father.”
“And you don’t think he knows you’re coming, Nico?” she asks matter-of-factly.
“No, he does. I just sent in our last-minute RSVP to the annual ball. All outfits were asked to attend, but seeing as I was planning on being on yet another attempted honeymoon with my wife, I had withdrawn our names from the list.”
“I'm not going to that ball with you. I don’t want to see my father, and after what you did back at the house, I don’t want to see you either.” Her chin quivers.
“Emelia, I lost it back there. I was hurt, and I was angry.”
“Angry? You call that anger? That was cruel.”
“I know. But your betrayal was just as cruel.”
“What betrayal, Nico! I didn’t do anything. I tried to tell you that I never did what he asked, and you decided to go mad on me and almost take your—” She stops, holding back tears. I swear I have caused more tears for her today than she has shed in her lifetime, and for that, I hate myself.
“I know we’re figuring things out and trying to navigate something neither of us understands, but I can't have you without trust, and vice versa.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner then, Emelia?”
“Because I didn’t want you to do what you’re doing now. I didn’t want a war. I didn’t want to lose you,” she admits, and I drop my head, releasing a sigh.
This is all so fucked.
“I know. But that doesn’t make it okay. You have to tell me things like this, Emelia.”
“I thought we didn’t talk about your business?”
“This is different and you know it.” I tilt my head and give her a stern look.
“How?”
“Because this could have had us killed.”
“As could anything in your line of work! We are moving targets, Nico, and I knew that since I didn’t do what he asked he was going to kill me. And I wanted to breathe and see what life was like free for just a moment, and I saw that in you. Now, I don’t know what I see!” She stands and moves to the bedroom.
I follow her, hot on her heels. “Or you could have told me sooner, and he would've already been dealt with,” I retort.
She turns and pierces me with a look.“I don’t know what I’m doing! I've been controlled my whole life, and then I was with you, and we were arguing and having beautiful sex I just thought was lustful hate, but it was really our way of communicating our wonderment and excitement for one another. I was falling for you, and nothing felt like it was going to get in the way.” I can tell she wants to throw, hit, or break something, but she holds it all in.
“I felt free, and I wanted to revel in that. I had a voice. I could tell you how angry I was. I could speak without being hurt. We may not have had the perfect start, and we may not have been playing twenty fucking questions, but you were learning me, and I was learning how to be alive. You were giving me space to breathe and live for the first time, Nico.”
Each word is filled with pain, and I feel her hurt in my soul, the way she whimpered every other word out of that sentence.
It was true though. We weren’t getting to know each other in the conventional way, but we were getting to know each other in a way that was unique, freeing, and new to us both. We created our own fucking love language.
“You’re right. I fucked up. I’m sorry. But we can’t act like this didn’t happen, and we can’t let your father do this to us. He can’t take you like he took the only other people I loved. I won’t let him have you, Emelia.” This time, my voice cracks.