Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
To my surprise, she lays her hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay. I did that on purpose. I waited before I told you what happened to him. I wanted to see if you really cared. I wanted to see how much you cared. You’ve never been a very good actress. Do you remember when we joined the drama club in school?”
I laugh, but I’m also crying. She is too. It’s pure emotion bubbling up in us.
“Yeah, for one session,” I say, placing my hand atop hers, pressing down because even if she yanks it away in a second, at least we have this.
“You love him, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I say because I’ve lied enough.
“He loves you too. When we were talking, I could tell that right away. I’ve always thought I knew how Dad sounded when he was in love or talking about love. In hindsight, I don’t think I ever did, but with you, it’s the real thing. I can tell.”
“Rosa, I’m so sorry. I wish it weren’t him.”
“Do you really?”
“Not him, as in Leo, but I wish he wasn’t your dad. I wish this didn’t have to put our friendship at risk. It’s not fair.”
“Have you slept together?” she asks bluntly.
I hesitate, and she shakes her head.
“Honesty, Emma. Please.”
“Y-yes,” I whisper. “Right before he left to fight the Russians. We didn’t plan it. I didn’t even mean to, but that’s not fair. We did it. We chose to do it.”
She nods. “And you meant it before? About wanting children? A family?”
“As crazy as it sounds, yes. We both did. We both want to be together. Really be together. Like when we were in school and used to talk about our future husbands. How romantic it would be. How certain we’d be. I’m sure, Rosa. I know you might hate me for it, but I’ve never been more sure about anything.”
“I could never hate you,” she whispers, pulling me into a hug.
I wrap my arms around her. We both burst into tears, gripped by the emotion, trembling together as we struggle to process everything we’ve just shared.
“You can’t ever break up,” Rosa cries in my ear. “Do you understand, Emma? Maybe I can somehow process all of this. Maybe I can accept that one day you’ll be my stepmom. I’ve thought about it a lot, and I think I could. With some work, I could get my head around it, but if you broke up, and I had to choose…”
“That will never happen,” I tell her.
“Do you promise?” she says. “What if… I’m sorry to say this, but what if Dad doesn’t feel the same?”
“He does,” I reply.
She takes a step back, smiling at me. It’s a shaky smile, like it could change into something else way too quickly. I’m starting to wonder if that’s my imagination, the negativity eating me up. Maybe this can have a happily ever after. I never dreamed it could when I was first kidnapped.
Kidnapped… It feels strange to think like that, but it’s the truth about what happened between us. He stole me, but is it stealing if I wanted to be taken?
“How can you be so sure?” she says after a pause. “Maybe if you and Dad had been going on for a few years, or even months, but you don’t really know each other, do you?”
“It’s not about knowing each other on paper. It’s not about favorite colors or anecdotes or anything like that. It’s knowing I want to be with him forever, and it’s him telling me the same thing and me believing him without even having to try. Believing him when, once, I doubted it. I didn’t think I was good enough or just enough, full stop, but when he told me he loves me—”
“Wait, what?” Rosa says, her smile widening. “He said that?”
I nod. “And I told him the same thing. This must be so strange for you. I don’t want to keep talking about it if it’s freaking you out.”
“No, it’s strange, but it’s not freaking me out. Dad, in love… I always used to wish I was paying more attention before Mom died. Then I could’ve seen a different side to Dad. Don’t get me wrong. He’s an amazing father, but I’ve always thought he’s a bit dark and broody. I wondered what he’d be like with some light in his life.”
“I’m sorry the light had to come this way,” I murmur.
“Light is light,” she says. “You don’t have to apologize. I know it’s not ideal, but I think it will be pretty amazing, seeing Dad happy and in love.”
“What about the things he said about your mom?”
Rosa sighs. “I was thinking about that too. I know why he did it. It came from a good place. It makes sense if he really believed he’d never find somebody else. He didn’t bank on Dario getting drunk and telling me.”