Chapter Twelve Ella
Chapter Twelve
Ella
“How exactly did you cover your tracks?” I ask, summoning as much bravery as I can. “Enlighten me.”
Gualtiero smiles. The smugness of it makes my fingers itch to slap him.
“You told Rhia you decided to extend your stay,” he says calmly. “You wanted to see where this thing between us might go.”
My stomach drops.
“Oh, and I also asked you to accompany me on a trip to Africa,” he adds casually. “You agreed.”
Holy shit.
The blood drains from my face.
“She would never believe that,” I stammer. “She knows me better than anyone. That would be completely out of character for me.”
“Oh, but she did believe it,” Tiero replies smoothly. “In fact, she’s been nothing but supportive. Encouraging you to let loose a little and be more adventurous.”
“You’re lying.”
Even as the words leave my mouth, doubt creeps in. Because Rhia would absolutely say something like that. She’s always wanted me to be more spontaneous.
Without another word, Tiero pulls my phone out of his pocket and hands it to me.
“Have a look for yourself.”
I shoot him a murderous glare before switching the screen on. The phone unlocks instantly.
Dread pools in my abdomen.
“How did you unlock my phone?”
Tiero only lifts an eyebrow.
Right. I should have known better than to think that would be an obstacle for him.
I open my messages.
Sure enough, there is a new one from Rhia. Sent only this morning.
A knot forms in my chest as I start scrolling.
Up.
And up.
And up.
Until I reach the message I supposedly sent her on Sunday afternoon.
My jaw locks.
Someone has been extremely busy impersonating me.
There is so much back and forth that Rhia has to notice something is off.
She knows me better than anyone.
Maybe she is just playing along and has already alerted someone. She’s probably planning my rescue right now.
Hope flares to life like sunlight breaking through heavy storm clouds.
But it dies just as quickly as I begin reading more closely.
My gut sinks. It’s exactly as Tiero said.
Whoever wrote these messages did an incredible job copying the way I text.
The phrasing. The tone. Even the little expressions I use.
If I did not know the truth, I would believe I wrote them myself.
Shit, shit, shit.
The messages make me sound as if I am falling head over heels for Tiero and recklessly throwing caution to the wind.
Of course Rhia is eating it up.
Just like always, she encourages me to follow my heart.
“You don’t want to have regrets.”
If only she knew.
My grip tightens around the phone.
“We’re not actually going to Africa, are we?” I ask quietly.
The idea of being dragged even farther away from home sends another wave of panic through me.
“No,” he says. “Not in the next few weeks.”
I look up at him.
“Then why say that?”
“To make it believable that you have no cell reception.”
For a moment I can only stare at him, completely dumbfounded.
All the words inside my head vanish.
He’s trying to cut me off from everyone.
From my friends. From my life. But that won’t work.
He clearly has no idea how close Rhia and I are. She won’t buy this for long.
I swipe out of the conversation with Rhia and am about to place the phone back on the table when another message thread catches my eye.
My boss.
A long string of messages.
What the hell?
A cold knot forms behind my sternum as I open them. Then the ground seems to drop out from under me.
How many more blows can my poor heart take?
“I resigned from my job?” I whisper in disbelief. “Effective immediately… because I met someone in Italy and want to pursue a relationship with him?”
I want to shout. Instead my voice comes out as a strained squeak.
“Yes,” Tiero says lightly. “Romantic, isn’t it?”
My pulse roars in my ears.
But it doesn’t stop there.
As I scroll through my phone, more messages appear.
Friends.
Colleagues.
People from home.
All of them receiving cheerful updates about how I won’t be returning for a while.
My stomach lurches.
I stand abruptly and throw the phone onto the table as if it has burned me. Tiero retrieves it and slips it back into his pocket.
I start pacing across the balcony, clutching my stomach.
“God, I feel sick.”
And I truly do. Nausea rolls through me in heavy waves. I might actually throw up. Preferably in his face.
“You’re a fucking arsehole!” I shout, my voice finally breaking free.
The reality crashes over me with brutal force.
I don’t have a job anymore.
And I loved my job. Not just liked it. Loved it.
Gualtiero has dismantled the entire structure of my life. My work. My routine. My stability.
Everything.
Shock floods my system.
My body begins to tremble uncontrollably. My chest tightens until breathing becomes difficult. I’m dangerously close to another panic attack.
“What about my apartment?” I ask, my voice shaking. “What about all my things?”
“I paid the rent on your apartment until the end of the year,” he replies. “Once things between us settle, we can return to Dublin and pack whatever you want to keep.”
He pauses, as if considering the alternatives.
“Or you can simply buy new things. Something to think about down the road.”
I stare at him.
“Gualtiero, this is madness!” I shout. “You’ve destroyed my entire life in two days!”
The enormity of it all makes my head spin.
“Do you honestly think I could ever forgive you for this?”
He has to be insane. There is no other explanation.
My thoughts whirl wildly, struggling to process everything he has just revealed. I’m on information overload.
But even that doesn’t stop another realization from crashing into place.
“Did you have anything to do with Zoe and Rhia leaving early?”
Tiero says nothing.
He simply holds my gaze. And that silence tells me everything.
Fuck.
“Is this business deal you lured Rhia away with even real?” I demand, pacing the balcony again.
“Of course it’s real,” he replies coolly. “What do you take me for?”
I laugh harshly.
“Trust me. You don’t want me to answer that.”
“I called in a favor from a friend,” he tells me. “He owns a hotel chain and needs a strong public relations campaign. From what I saw, your friend is talented.”
He shrugs slightly. “It benefits everyone.”
“Oh my God.” The words burst out of me. “I cannot believe this!”
My entire body is shaking now.
“Why did you go to such ridiculous lengths?”
The answer is probably obvious to him. But my mind feels overwhelmed by too much information.
“Because I wanted time alone with you,” he says simply.
Then he adds, almost casually, “I don’t like sharing.”
I raise an eyebrow at him.
Is he serious?
He’s jealous of Rhia? My best friend?
We’re not talking about some rival lover here. We’re talking about my girlfriend.
The absurdity of it almost makes me laugh. Instead, the last of my energy drains out of me. I sink back into the chair, suddenly too exhausted to stand and too overwhelmed to keep fighting.
Or maybe this is something worse.
Resignation.
How on earth am I supposed to get myself out of this?
Gualtiero crouches before me again, his face only inches away.
I cover my face with my hands.
Hiding from him, I take a slow breath, trying to build a fragile bubble of calm around myself, even if it lasts only a second.
“I arranged for them to leave because I wanted to see if I was right,” he says, his voice low and seductive.
I spread my fingers and peek at him through the gaps.
“Right about what?” I whisper. His closeness is unsettling. Too intimate for everything that has happened.
“Right about us,” he murmurs. “About what we could be together.”
He gently moves my hands away from my face and holds them in his.
I swallow hard.
“And I was right,” he continues softly. “We create magic together. We are meant to be, angel.”
His certainty unsettles me more than his anger ever could.
“Have you never asked yourself why you were there to save me that day?” he adds. “Our paths were destined to cross.”
I want to argue with him.
But the truth is… the thought had occurred to me too.
From the beginning, he has felt strangely familiar. As if some part of me had known him long before we ever met.
But doesn’t everything that has happened in the past few days prove the opposite?
I know nothing about this man, nothing about what he is capable of doing to get what he wants.
And then there was the raven just before we met. A chill slips down my spine.
What if this really is destiny?
Or maybe this happened for a completely different reason.
Maybe it was meant to shake me awake, to stop me from being so passive about my life, because for the past six years, I’ve just been floating about.
Tiero’s voice pulls me back from my thoughts and my eyes lift to his.
“As soon as you came near me, I felt the pull,” he breathes against my ear. “And you can deny it all you want, but you felt it too.”
What would be the point of denying it?
I do not lie.
His thumb brushes lightly over my fingers. The simple touch sends goosebumps racing along my skin. Proof, once again, of how easily he affects me.
For a while, we simply look at each other.
Then he speaks again.
“Then we talked,” he says quietly. “And I knew I had to have you.”
His voice lowers further.
“And that first time we kissed…”
He pauses, lowering his head toward mine. His gaze holds me captive, my heart pounding wildly in my chest.
My eyes drift down to his lips. They hover a breath away from mine.
“…that first kiss,” he murmurs, “every cell in my body sang.”
I barely dare to breathe.
“I’ve fallen in love with you, Ella,” he whispers against my skin. “Fast and hard.”
The electric current between us crackles as strongly as ever.
He loves me.
And this time, I almost believe him. Not that I would ever admit that out loud.
A smile threatens to form, but I suppress it quickly.
“It’s just hormones,” I whisper. “They will pass.”
“No, Ella,” he says firmly. “This is real.”
His eyes search mine with unwavering certainty.
“You feel it too. Our souls recognize each other.”
His voice hardens slightly. “And I will not let anything, or anyone, stand in our way.”
That brings me back to reality.
I push away from him, creating distance between us. The spell shatters.
“So you think you can just kidnap me and keep me here against my will?” I wrap my arms around myself, instinctively protective.
“Fate brought us together,” he smiles. “We are meant to be. I know it… and you know it too.”
His gaze burns with conviction.
“I simply helped speed up the process.”
“You had no right to manhandle me the way you did!” I snap. “Maybe my destiny was to save you that day. Maybe my soul owed you something.”
I shake my head.
“But that doesn’t mean we are supposed to stay together. Maybe that was it, and now we go our separate ways. But you are clinging to something that was never meant to last.”
“No, Ella.” His voice is absolute. “I know what I know.”
The certainty in his tone frightens me.
“I’m used to doing things a certain way,” he continues, way too calm. “You’ll get used to it.”
“God, you are unbelievably chauvinistic!” I shout. “I will get used to it? I don’t think so. You cannot do this.”
My anger surges back to the surface.
“I already did,” he replies evenly. “And I would do it again.”
His calmness infuriates me even more. I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself.
“You love me too, princess,” he says. “I saw it in your eyes many times.”
“That was not love,” I sputter. “That was… I don’t know what it was. But it was not love.”
So much for not lying.
But he will never hear those words from me. I’m angry with myself for ever feeling them in the first place.
“Right now,” I say, my voice breaking slightly, “I really, really hate you.”
“That’s all right, princess,” he replies gently. “You are upset with me. I get that.”
His tone remains maddeningly calm.
“But you will get over it. We will return to where we were.”
He smiles and presses a soft kiss to my forehead.
“Gualtiero, you say you love me,” I whisper. “Then please… please let me go.”
His gaze burns into mine.
“I can’t. You belong by my side.” His voice softens. “Besides, it would not be safe for you to return to Ireland.”
“Gualtiero, this is madness,” I plead, tears already gathering in my eyes. “You must see that.”
My voice trembles.
“Please… let… me… go.”
He slowly shakes his head. And the dam finally breaks. Tears spill down my face like a wild river.
Still, I hold his gaze. I want him to see exactly what his refusal is doing to me.
He lifts my hand and presses a gentle kiss to it. Then he pulls me closer, cradling my face in his hands and wiping away my tears with his thumbs.
He presses a kiss to my cheek and whispers softly against my ear.
“Everything will be all right. You’ll see.”
How can it be?
He has uprooted my entire life.
The sudden ringing of a phone shatters the moment. Gualtiero pulls it from his pocket and glances at the display, his brow tightening.
“Excuse me, princess. This must be urgent. They know not to interrupt me when I’m with you.”
I watch his expression harden as he answers.
“Che cos’è?”
Instantly the icy mask returns. A stark reminder of the man he truly is. Instinctively, I lean away from him.
Thunderclouds gather in his eyes before he closes them briefly. He rubs the back of his neck and barks a series of instructions before ending the call abruptly.
“I have to go,” he says curtly. “We’ll talk more later.”
He turns toward the door.
“Make yourself at home. I will see you at dinner.”
Then he walks away.
The second he disappears, I slide to the floor and burst into sobs.
Wrapping my arms tightly around my legs, I let the tears come until there are none left.