13. Amelia
He is sitting across from me and even though the years have kept me safe from him, right now I am directly in his line of sight and it's as though all my effort to escape him was a waste. I chew the inside of my cheek, a nervous habit. My hands twist in my lap. My legs are bouncing with excess energy.
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Stefano asks, raising his hand in the air to call the waitress.
"No," I reply curtly.
The young girl arrives next to us, smiling warmly.
"Hi, Amelia." She says cheerfully.
"Hi, Vicky," I say, trying to force a smile onto my face and knowing how awkward I must look. I just hope she doesn't notice. I don't need her asking questions.
"Amelia will have a coffee," Stefano says.
"And would you like a refill?" She asks him.
"Yes." He replies, lifting his cup to drain the last of the coffee from it.
Vicky smiles and takes his empty mug when he sets it back down on the table.
"I won't be long." She grins and skips off.
I am so relieved she didn't ask about Elle today because the last thing I need right now is for Stefano to have any opportunity to gather information about me or my daughter.
"I said I didn't want coffee," I say just as coldly as he is speaking to me.
"I ordered it - and you will drink it." He replies abruptly. His eyes are not as I remember. Apart from the scar on his face, it is the most obvious change I can see in him. They are empty and void of any kind of emotion. They are so cold and dead they remind me of the images I've seen of icebergs. Piercing and transparent as though there is nothing inside him.
He has become even more heartless and cruel over the years since I last saw him.
"So, you work here?"
"Yes." My hands are shaking so badly beneath the table. I twist my fingers even tighter together to try and stop it.
"What happened to business law, your dreams?"
"Things changed."
"Mm. They did, didn't they?" he says matter of fact.
Vicky arrives back at the table with two fresh cups of coffee and places one in front of each of us. "There you go. Are you guys going to order something to eat? Amelia, we have those caramel tarts you like so much."
"No thanks, Vicky. This is going to be a quick coffee, that's all." I reply before Stefano has a chance to.
Vicky hesitates, seeing the look in my eyes. Her gaze narrows towards me and she scrunches her face for a second, then she smiles again.
"Don't you want your favorite caramel tart, Amelia?" Stefano says coldly.
I glare at him.
"Next time." He smiles at Vicky, and it sends a shiver down my spine.
I don't think I know him anymore. Whatever happened in the last six years has turned him into a different person. Maybe I never knew him. Maybe that small part of him that I saw was just a dream, a perception that was never real.
Stefano lifts his coffee mug in his hand and then tilts his chin towards mine. "Drink your coffee, Amelia." He takes a sip of his own coffee, savoring the taste.
I ignore his order because I can't stomach even one sip of that coffee. I am barely able to keep myself composed sitting in front of this man. Never mind having a coffee. I might puke from anxiety if I try and eat or drink anything now.
He leans back in his chair, looking as cool and calm as ever and I watch the muscles of his jaw feather for a moment. Then his eyes lock back onto mine and I feel the coldness that connects us.
"I understand that you have a daughter, around six years old."
I can't have him knowing she belongs to him.
"I got married shortly after we broke up."
"I didn't ask for an explanation. A simple yes or no would do."
His eyes trace over my face and I do my best to hold steady.
"Yes." I breathe, the word leaving my mouth with regret. He already knows though. There is no point in denying it.
"Broke up?" He chuckles and the darkness in that laugh sinks deep into my bones like a knife. "We didn't break up, Amelia. You left - without a word - without an explanation. You left me for another man. And you did that right after you agreed to marry me - you married someone else. What kind of a cold-hearted monster does that? I have to admit. You fooled me. You made me believe we were more than we were."
The smile on his face does not reach his dead eyes.
"I'm sorry, Stefano, you and I…"
"I said, no explanations. I don't care anymore. For years I wanted to know why - but that time is long past. You could've contacted me to try and explain any time during the last six years and you chose not to. So, let's leave the explanations in the past, shall we. You know, I've been searching for you for a very long time. Six years to be exact."
He is talking calmly, but I can see the micro-movements of his body language giving away his real anger.
He spins the mug slowly in his hand, staring at it as though it was a work of art.
I wait for as long as I can, but the tension building inside me is getting worse by the second.
"If you don't want an explanation about why I left then tell me why you are here Stefano?"
"I want you." He says simply. As though it was obvious.
"What?" I stammer, not understanding him.
"I drove past your parents' house the other day. It hasn't changed in all these years. It's funny how so many things in the world change constantly. But some things just stay the same, as though that is how they will always be. A constant in a storm."
I bite my lip.
"You are going to come and live with me, Amelia."
"No." I blurt out immediately and the look he shoots at me is full of threat.
He laughs and that same darkness spills across the table towards me.
"Yes." He tilts his head. "Because if you don't - I will drive to your father's house again. But this time, I won't go past it, I'll stop outside. I'll get out of my car and knock on the door. And then when he opens it, I'll invite myself in. I'll stay a few days, taking my time, making sure he suffers in the most beautiful ways. All the while, I'll make your mother watch his pain."
"What the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you say such things?" Heated anger mixes with my fear and speaks too loudly. I glance around me, hoping I didn't catch the attention of anyone nearby. No one seems to have noticed a thing.
"I'm just letting you know what your options are. So, you can come and stay with me, or I will visit your parents. You can choose. I'm not a monster. I understand that people have the right to choose. So, tell me - what do you choose?"
I understand very clearly that this isn't really a choice. If I chose not to go with him, he would kill my parents and then he would come and find me anyway.
My breathing is tight, and my lungs feel empty. I know I am fighting off a panic attack because I've had them in the past, just after I left Stefano, living in constant fear for those first years. It faded to the background after a while, but now I can feel it resurfacing.
The panic.
The fear.
"I can't come and live with you. My daughter is sick. She needs constant medical care. I have to be with her." I don't want to give him this information, but I have to at this point.
"That's not a problem. I will ensure she gets all the care she needs. I will have her room set up in my house with everything required to take care of her."
"Stefano, she needs very specialized care. What she has is serious."
"Like I said. Whatever she needs."
I sigh heavily.
"So, what do you choose Amelia?" he asks again with more force.
"Why would you care enough to provide whatever my daughter needs? Why would you do that for her?"
He chuckles and shakes his head.
"I don't care. I don't care about you or your child. But you owe me for what you did, and I plan to take payment in whatever way I see fit."
"So, you expect me to just pack up my things and move into your house?"
"Exactly."
"Today?"
"Right now."
"I need time."
"I know. I understand that. But you can leave work now. I am told that your shift is finished. Your work is done for the day. You can go and pack and be at my house later this evening. If you need help packing, I can provide it."
"No. No. I will be fine on my own. I don't have a lot of stuff. I can do it by myself." I say quickly. The last thing I need is for him to send someone like that asshole from earlier to 'help' me pack. The truth is I own practically nothing. It was a byproduct of living on the run. Owning nothing so that we can pack light and move quickly if we ever needed to - like now.
If I have one last chance to get away, I need to take it.
I'll agree to what he wants, but as soon as he leaves, I am rushing home to pack our things and grab our passports. I have enough money to book us a flight to anywhere. Somewhere far away. I'll warn my parents and tell them to get out of the country as well. We can work everything out once everyone is safe and out of his reach.
I'll have to do the best I can for Elle while we run. I'm a surgical nurse, but I know enough about her treatment because I've watched her go through every single one of them and I've spoken to the doctors about it each time.
It's not like we have a choice anyway.
Running is the only option at this point. I'll get out of the country with her, find another hospital, and book her under a different name.
I'll find a way because I have to.
"Alright then, Amelia. What time shall I expect you home?"
"Tonight." Home. I don't think I will ever be able to think of Stefano as home.
"Do you still remember how to get to my place?" he smirks.
I shoot him a sarcastic glare with my mouth pulled tight on one side.
Stefano waves Vicky over and asks for the bill.
I sit tensely, my mind racing. I won't have a lot of time to pull this off.
A cold shiver runs down my spine and I push the fear away.
I can do this.
I can do this for my little girl, for my family. Stefano will not win.
Vicky arrives with the bill and the card machine and Stefano chats with her as though he is the friendliest person on the planet. He tips her well and she blushes happily.
Then he stands.
I stand too. Eager to get moving.
"Amelia. I can't wait." He smiles.
I want to vomit.
He turns and walks away. I watch him, unable to move my feet. I wait until he is out of the hospital doors and then I am running.
I have so little time.