Chapter Fifteen
Fifteen
Olivia
Then . . .
It had been a little more than a week since my revelation to Christoph and his crazy, yet romantic, proposal. In that time, life had gone on somewhat normally. Well, other than him springing the most gorgeous engagement ring on me—a two carat ruby, encircled by little twinkling diamonds, on a delicate gold band—the next day. Though it was weird because he treated it a bit like a business transaction, handing me the box as I sat across from him at a café, like he wanted a crowd so I wouldn’t make a scene. I blew that idea off as silly when I tried it on and beamed up at him.
“It’s beautiful, Christoph!”
“Yes.” He nodded absentmindedly as he stirred his coffee, making me frown.
I didn’t obsess about it, though, because I understood that this situation was a lot for anyone, me included. Our entire lives were about to change, and he probably just needed time to digest the news. I certainly did.
I wore the gorgeous ring for the rest of our breakfast, though I knew I wouldn’t be able to wear it in public for a while. He remained quiet while I sipped herbal tea and nibbled on a light pastry. Our summer intensive was pushing through its most brutal and exhausting final days, which was torture for my pregnant body, and did I mention the morning sickness?
By the end of our meal, the tension was so thick, you would’ve needed a jackhammer to make a dent in it. Maybe proposing had him more anxious than I knew? Still, I would’ve killed for even an ounce of the affection I was used to from him. Anything to calm my frayed nerves.
He walked me outside and I moved in to kiss him goodbye. “See you later.”
He turned so my lips grazed his cheek. “Goodbye, Olivia. See you soon.”
Then he was gone, leaving me feeling hollowed out.
As soon as he disappeared from sight, I rushed to the side of the building and threw up my food.
“Is everything okay?”Reni asked the next day, her blue eyes concerned when I came out of the bathroom after a particularly bad bout of vomiting.
I nodded. “I’m good. Must’ve eaten something that didn’t agree with me last night.”
She tilted her head, clearly not believing me. “And the two nights before that? You look like shit, Olivia. Do you need to talk to Mr. Donato about taking a break?”
“No!” I actually yelped.
But God, no. For some reason, showing him weakness, even now, made me squirm. I wanted to show him I could do this. That I was strong. He had insisted on secrecy when we started our affair and I’d readily agreed. I wasn’t stupid. I understood the optics of a teacher and a student, even if we were consenting adults outside of the dance studio. Still, there were times, in my deepest heart of hearts, I wished he cared enough to say to hell with that, and would claim me outright in front of the world. But that was foolish.
I shook off that thought and faced Reni again. “I appreciate your concern. Really. But I’m fine.” I grabbed my dance bag. “Ready to go?”
She seemed perturbed with me. “If you say so.”
“I do. Thank you.”
She walked out with me and stayed close all the way to La Scala. I felt her stare on me most of the day, which was unnerving, but in a way also appreciated.
My entire body warmed when Christoph walked into the room, as it always did. As usual, he gave nothing away, greeting everyone the same. It was only the briefest flash of knowing, of intimacy, speaking of what was between us when he looked into my eyes that gave away a thing, but only to me. Like our delicious little secret. I clung to it for all it was worth, refusing to feel dirty. He cared for me. He wouldn’t have asked me to marry him otherwise. It would only be a matter of time before he would claim me and our child publicly.
I pushed through the lesson that day, though I had to rush out to the restroom once to throw up.
He caught my eyes in the mirror when I came back into the studio. I saw my own reflection and knew I looked like death—pale as a cloud, dark smears under my eyes, I’d lost weight, so my cheekbones were more prominent.
“Again!” he shouted, pushing the class through the routine once more, even though we were overdue for a break.
For the rest of the day, he kept his distance from my side of the room, then when class was over, he kept busy with other students and instructors and seemed to make it a point not to speak to me alone.
I wanted to sob when I left, but I held it in. I could do this a little bit longer.
It wasn’t until that night as I crawled into bed, sore, exhausted, and dehydrated, that it dawned on me that not only had he ignored my calls and texts from that day telling him I wasn’t well, but he also hadn’t touched me since the day I’d told him about the baby.