Chapter 62
The car ride was quiet. Too quiet.
Usually, when we drive through pretty places, I am pointing at things! "Look, a cow! Look, a flower! Look, a cloud shaped like a bunny!"
But today, I was mute. I pressed my forehead against the cool glass, watching the green hills roll by.
Switzerland.
We are really here. The air is so clean it almost hurts my lungs. The mountains are so big they make me feel tiny.
Gabriel reached out and turned on the radio.
Static... then music.
"Don't want to close my eyes... I don't want to fall asleep..."
Aerosmith.
Our song.
My heart squeezed. This is the song I belt out at the top of my lungs! This is the song we sing together (well, I sing, and he tolerates it)!
I wanted to sing. My throat itched to join Steven Tyler.
But I clamped my mouth shut.
No. He doesn't get a concert. He is a cheater.
I heard a sound. A low, vibrating hum.
I glanced sideways without moving my head.
Gabriel was humming. Softly. Along with the song. His fingers tapped the steering wheel.
He was trying. He was trying to break the ice.
I closed my eyes tight. Focus, Aleesha. Stay mad. Stay gray.
★
The car slowed down. We turned onto a gravel path.
We stopped in front of a cottage.
It wasn't a mansion. It was a beautiful, two-story wooden house with a slanted roof and flower boxes in the windows. It sat right next to the river, with the mountains looming behind it.
It looked exactly like the picture in my journal.
Huhu.
I unbuckled my seatbelt. I opened the door.
"Come on, Prim," I whispered.
Primrose hopped out, sniffing the Swiss air excitedly. Sniff sniff!
I ignored the house. I ignored Gabriel getting my luggage from the trunk. I walked straight past the front porch. I walked through the tall grass, down to the riverbank.
The water was crystal clear. It rushed over smooth white stones. Whoosh. Gurgle.
I sat down on a large rock. I hugged my knees. stared at the water.
Footsteps crunched behind me.
Gabriel.
He didn't say anything. He just sat down on the grass next to my rock. He sat close enough that his arm brushed my knee, but he didn't grab me.
We sat there for a long time. Just listening to the river and the cowbells in the distance.
"I want to go home," I whispered. My voice sounded small and broken.
"Not until you tell me the problem," Gabriel said calmly. He was looking at the river too. "We are staying here until we fix this."
"Fix this?" I let out a bitter laugh. "You can't fix it with logistics, Gabby."
"I can fix anything," he stated. "If I have the data."
The data.
He wants the data? Fine!
The anger that had been bubbling inside me since I heard Natalia's voice suddenly exploded. It was like a volcano erupting!
I stood up.
I turned to face him.
Gabriel looked up, surprised by my sudden movement.
"You want data?" I screamed. "Here is the data!"
SLAP.
My hand connected with his cheek. Hard.
Gabriel's head snapped to the side.
He froze.
I didn't stop.
SLAP.
"I hate you!"
SLAP.
"You cheater!"
SLAP.
"How could you?! How could you do that to me?!"
I was screaming. Crying. Hitting his chest, his shoulders, his face.
"I loved you! I trusted you! And you... you were with her! You enjoyed it! You lied to me!"
Gabriel didn't move. He didn't block my hands. He didn't grab my wrists. He just sat there, taking every hit. Like a stone statue weathering a storm.
Finally, I ran out of energy. My arms felt heavy. My throat was raw.
I slumped back onto the ground, burying my face in my hands.
"I hate you," I sobbed, my voice muffled. "I hate you so much."
Silence.
I felt a hand hover near my shoulder. Then, a tentative touch. He tried to wipe a tear from my cheek.
I slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me! Go touch Natalia!"
Gabriel pulled his hand back.
He sighed. A deep, heavy sigh that sounded like it came from the bottom of the ocean.
He reached into his pocket. He pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times. Then, he held it out to me.
"Listen," he said.
I glared at the phone. "I don't want to listen to your lies!"
"Just listen, Aleesha."
He pressed play.
Static.
Then...
I flinched. I covered my ears. "Turn it off!"
I froze.
I slowly lowered my hands.
Click. The call ended.
Silence.
I stared at the phone.
"It was a prank?" I whispered.
Gabriel put the phone down on the grass. He looked at me. His eyes were intense. Honest.
"She called while I was asleep," he explained quietly. "You answered. She heard your breathing. She decided to play a game."
He reached for my hand. I tried to pull away, but he held on firmly.
"Aleesha," he said. "Nothing happened. Since the day I signed our marriage contract... there has been no one else."
He squeezed my hand.
"I used to live a... different life," he admitted. "But that stopped. My focus is on you. Only you."
I looked at him.
He looked so sincere. So desperate for me to believe him.
But...
He is smart, a voice in my head whispered. He is a genius. He has Sean. He has Luca. Couldn't he fake a recording? Couldn't he make Natalia say that?
Just like the "Wine and Ceramics" call. Just like the "Deepfake Analysis" video.
He can rewrite reality.
"How do I know?" I whispered, tears leaking out again. "How do I know this isn't another trick? Another logistic maneuver?"
Gabriel's face fell. He looked hurt. Genuinely hurt.
"Because I am here," he said. "Because I chased you across an ocean. Because I would rather have you spy on me every hour of every day than watch you run away."
He leaned closer.
"Spy on me, Aleesha. Check my phone. Put a tracker in my shoe. I do not care. Just... do not leave."
I gulped.
I looked at our joined hands.
I wanted to believe him. My heart wanted to jump into his arms and say "Okay!"
But my brain... my brain was scarred.
"I..." I pulled my hand away gently. "I need space, Gabby."
Gabriel's brow furrowed. "Space?"
"Yes," I hugged my knees again. "I am... confused. Stephie was cheated on. And I am paranoid. I never had a boyfriend before! I wanted this to be perfect! Like a fairy tale!"
"There is no such thing as a perfect relationship," Gabriel said, his voice tightening. "We are married, Aleesha. Marriage is not about perfection. It is about trust."
He closed his eyes for a second. He looked exhausted.
"Please," he whispered.
The word hung in the air. The Great Gabriel Muratori... begging.
I looked at the river. The water kept flowing. It didn't stop for anyone.
"I can't right now," I whispered back.
I stood up. I brushed the grass off my pants.
"I'm going inside."
I picked up Primrose's leash.
Gabriel didn't stop me. He stood up slowly. He escorted me to the cottage, walking a few steps behind me like a bodyguard.
★
The cottage was beautiful. It had a fireplace. A cozy kitchen. A loft bedroom with a view of the Alps.
But inside, it was cold.
I kept my distance.
I slept in the guest room downstairs. Gabriel slept in the loft.
I cooked for myself (eggs and rice). He cooked for himself (though he always made extra and left it on the counter for me, which I ate secretly).
When he entered a room, I left. When he tried to talk, I pretended to read a book.
I avoided him like the plague.
I watched him sometimes, though. When he was on the porch, staring at the mountains, smoking a cigarette (he started smoking again!). He looked lonely.
But I can't talk to him. Not yet.
My mind is a tangled ball of yarn.
Is he a cheater? Is he a murderer? Is he my hero?
I need to untangle the yarn before I can knit us back together.