Chapter 23 Marfil
Sebastian traveled beside me in first class on the flight back to New York.
Without my asking, he held my hand and didn’t let go.
I was nervous, apart from everything that had happened since my kidnapping, I also had no idea where things stood between us.
Living with him had already been intense before.
Now, after everything we’d gone through that last week, and knowing for sure that I was starting to have strong feelings for him, I had no idea how to behave in his presence.
A full-fledged war was raging inside my head.
My life, as I’d known it, had changed. My list of priorities now included the man seated beside me with his eyes closed, gently rubbing his thumb across my palm.
I wanted to bury my head in his chest, to sleep curled up against him, to let him run his hands through my hair until I drifted off, just as he’d done on the flight to Baton Rouge, but something inside me had changed, too.
Nothing was the same as it had been before the trip, not only because I’d experienced an attempted murder firsthand, but because of everything Sebastian had done and said during our time there.
All that had hardened me, had made me realize that, if I didn’t protect my heart, I might experience the biggest heartbreak of my life.
But whenever I closed my eyes, I still felt his body close to mine, his mouth on mine, his hands on me, and my heart pounded at the memory of that exquisite pleasure.
We barely talked on the flight back to New York, and when we reached the airport parking lot without a word, I knew that Sebastian was going to behave as if nothing had happened, that his attitude would remain the same as always.
Instead of making me angry, it made me sad.
I wasn’t going to keep putting up with his isolation, lack of communication, and distance; I couldn’t do it anymore.
In the car, I rested my head on my hands and looked out the window at the imposing buildings that rose up in the distance. It didn’t matter how long I’d lived there; I always felt like a tiny ant in that city.
It took me longer than it should have to realize we weren’t heading to my apartment.
Instead, we were crossing the Brooklyn Bridge in the opposite direction.
I peeled my eyes from the road and turned to Sebastian as he parked outside a red-brick restaurant near the East River.
Despite often rubbing elbows with snobby, prejudiced people who disliked Brooklyn, Tami and I loved it.
Our favorite neighborhood was Bushwick. We often walked its lively streets, popping into galleries to see works by unknown but highly talented artists.
“What are we doing here?”
Sebastian cut the engine and turned to me. “We’re here to eat the best hamburger in New York.”
That was the last thing I expected to come out of his mouth. Before I could say anything, he got out of the car and started walking to the entrance.
I caught up to him just as he stopped to open the door for me. “Why are you bringing me here?” I asked before going inside.
“Why do you think?”
I blinked, confused. “Because you want to fatten me up so you can eat me?” I answered, noticing that my mood had lifted and a smile tugged at my lips.
Sebastian looked at me for a few brief seconds. “I brought you here because I needed to see you smile.”
My lips froze, and I felt a thousand butterflies begin to dance inside me. He didn’t wait for me to answer; he just gestured with his head for me to enter the restaurant, and I did.
The place was casual, almost a fast-food joint, but it was not without its charm.
We sat at a table in the corner, and I said I’d have whatever Sebastian was having. When they brought the food, however, I quickly regretted my decision.
“Did being nice for the first time in your life impair your ability to count?” I said, unable to fathom the quantity of food the waiter had placed before us. “There’s only two of us.”
“I eat for four,” he replied, meticulously positioning the plates in front of us.
It was funny to me how obsessive he could be sometimes, as I’d observed in our time living together. It wasn’t that he was a clean freak, but with certain things like food, he insisted that everything always be perfect.
I picked up a fry and realized something was missing. I stood up, intending to go to the counter, but Sebastian grabbed me by the wrist and narrowed his eyes at me.
“Where are you going?”
“To get something. I’ll be right back,” I said calmly.
Sebastian hesitated for a few seconds, scanned the restaurant, and then let me go. That fleeting touch reignited my desire for him, but I did everything possible to keep it under control.
When I got back to the table, he was already on his second burger. He looked displeased as I placed a bowl of vanilla ice cream between us.
“You haven’t even tried the hamburger and you’re already going straight for dessert?”
I sat back down, and without taking my eyes off him, picked up a fry and dipped it in the ice cream.
Sebastian simply frowned.
“Mmm… delish,” I said, grinning from ear to ear, picking up another fry and repeating the process.
“Just when I thought you couldn’t be any stranger…”
“Try it,” I said, picking up a fry, smearing it with ice cream, and holding it up to his lips.
“No, thanks,” he replied, ignoring my outstretched arm.
“Come on,” I said, watching as the ice cream began to drip down my finger.
Sebastian looked at me, then at my hand, and I couldn’t help but notice his eyes had an unfamiliar gleam to them. Without looking away, he leaned in and brushed his lips against my fingers before he took the bite, the tip of his tongue tickling my skin as he licked away the drip of ice cream.
I froze. His dark eyes blazed as he released me and sat back in his seat. My breathing was ragged and my heart beat wildly in my chest. Unlike Sebastian, who picked up his plastic cup and took a sip as if nothing had happened.
“Did you like it?” I asked, pretending that what he’d just done hadn’t affected me in the slightest, but cursing silently as my trembling voice betrayed me.
Sebastian’s eyes sparkled. “Very much.”
Was he flirting with me?
“Eat up,” he said, back to doling out orders.
I shook my head and smiled as I bit into the hamburger. “Wow, it’s delicious!” I exclaimed, licking my lips.
Sebastian nodded.
As we continued eating, I thought about how I could broach the subject of what was going on between us without starting another fight.
I was blabbing away senselessly, trying to get up the nerve to ask him, when the restaurant doorbell jingled, and his eyes shifted away from me, all the fun he’d been trying to fake fading instantly.
I followed his gaze slowly, and saw a young woman entering the establishment, looking at the menu.
Then she noticed us, paused, and immediately made a beeline for our table, as if we had summoned her over.
She was livid, and Sebastian seemed to feel similarly enraged by the sight of her.
Before I had the chance to ask who she was, Sebastian stood up and intercepted her in the middle of the restaurant.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” she spat.
“Please, Samara…” I heard Sebastian say in a low voice so that I wouldn’t hear.
I turned back around so as not to seem nosy, but I continued watching them through the mirror on the opposite wall.
Who the hell was this woman?
Sebastian said something to her that I again couldn’t hear, as she shook her head and looked toward me with revulsion. I was so confused by her reaction that I didn’t realize Sebastian was struggling to keep her from coming over to where I was seated.
She reared back, her blond hair swishing around her thin frame.
“Fuck, Samara,” Sebastian said as she stopped before me and looked me directly in the eye.
“Stay away from him.” She threw Sebastian a look of abhorrence, then directed her attention back to me. “He’s dangerous. Trust me, you should stay away from him,” she repeated. “When you least expect it, he’ll ruin your life and leave you before you even know what hit you.”
“That’s enough!” Sebastian broke in, holding her firmly by the wrist, clearly losing his cool.
I jumped out of my seat.
Samara’s eyes filled with tears, but she released herself from his grip.
“You’ve been warned,” she said, looking at me and then back at Sebastian. “And you… go to hell,” she said to him. Then she left without another word.
Sebastian stood eyeing the door, as if afraid she might reappear. Then, all of a sudden, he seemed to remember that I was still there, and he returned to the table.
I stared at him, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened and why this woman had bothered him so much. Was she his girlfriend? His ex?
I shuddered at the thought.
“Who was that, Sebastian?” I asked, seeing that he wasn’t planning to say anything.
He didn’t immediately answer, seeming to only register my question after a moment, as if his mind was racing a thousand miles a minute.
“No one,” he said dryly. “Are you done?”
I looked at my tray, still completely full, and his, half the food untouched.
“Let’s go,” he added without waiting for me to respond.
I didn’t say a word, my intuition telling me that it was better to keep quiet for now, although I wasn’t going to allow him to pretend like nothing had happened.
Sebastian got in the car and sped onto the highway. I stretched out a hand to lower the volume, and he lashed out at me, livid. “Fucking leave it!”
“Don’t talk to me like that,” I answered, shutting the radio off. Silence flooded the car, and I turned to face him. “Who the hell was that woman?”
Sebastian didn’t answer, he just stepped harder on the accelerator.
I looked out the window, alarmed by how fast he was going. “Sebastian, slow down.”
He didn’t even acknowledge me. The man at the wheel was not the Sebastian I knew; he had a completely deranged look in his eyes, as if that woman had awoken that dark, frightening man inside him.
“Sebastian, slow down, fuck!” I shouted as the speed approached suicidal.
It was as if he couldn’t hear me, as if he weren’t able to hear anything beyond whatever was playing inside his head. I punched his arm, shook him, but his eyes didn’t stray from the road for an instant, even though it was clear he wasn’t seeing anything in front of him.
I started to panic. The scene was too similar to the accident a few days prior, reviving the same sensations, but the person now putting me at risk was the last person I would’ve believed could harm me.
I screamed hysterically as a large truck passed just inches from us, forcing Sebastian to swerve, barely avoiding collision. I buried my face in my hands, no longer able to watch what was happening.
Samara’s words replayed in my mind: He’s dangerous… stay away from him.
I noticed that the car was slowing to a stop. I lowered my hands from my face, and without even stopping to look at him, threw open the door and jumped out of the car.
“Marfil!”
I stared him down, shooting daggers from my eyes. He walked over and tried to touch me, but I pushed him away.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?”
Sebastian looked sad and full of regret, guilt painted all over his handsome face. “I’m sorry,” he said, trying to pull me toward him, but I reared back.
Sebastian had exited the highway, where the cars zoomed past in the distance, the Manhattan skyline visible on the horizon. Where the hell were we? Had we gone that far from the city?
“Don’t get any closer to me, Sebastian,” I said when he tried once again to close the distance between us.
He stopped and looked at me, sorrowful, his perfect face lined with concern. “I don’t know what came over me… I’m sorry, truly,” he said, rubbing a hand over his face.
“Who is Samara?” I asked in a voice cold as snow.
Sebastian lowered his hand and looked at me, clenching his jaw. “No one you need to concern yourself with.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “She just told me that you’re going to ruin my life. Who the hell is she to you?” Seeing him with her had upset me, had affected me more than I could understand, and I needed the truth.
“Marfil… please,” he practically begged. What did he expect? For me not to ask about her? “You should’ve never met her. You should’ve never seen that.”
“I just want to know who she is—if she’s some nutjob who doesn’t even know you, if she’s your little sister or your fucking lover, Sebastian. I just want to know who she is.”
He stood in stubborn silence for a moment, until he finally chose to answer me. “I’ll tell you. Then we’ll get back in the car and go home. After that, we won’t talk about it again. Ever.”
What?
“Promise me.” He seemed totally serious.
“Okay,” I agreed, although inside, I knew it was a promise I couldn’t keep.
Sebastian took a deep breath and then looked me in the eye. “She’s my ex-wife.”