“What’s happened?”
“I’ve… I’ve lost my placement here. I won’t be able to graduate.”
Imre stopped stroking my back. “Oh.” He shuffled away, and I dabbed my eyes. I’d cried so much they were probably red raw.
“For a second, I thought you were going to say the rumours about you and Zoltán were true,” he said, and he looked relieved, releasing a brief breath.
“What?” Iasked, my hands dropping to my sides.
His face was twisted in deep thought as he looked at the bike Zolt had brought in when the black flag had demanded his return.
“At least it’s just a degree,”he said and gestured at the room.“Zoltán’s lost his whole career.”
Anything that made me think a relationship with him would ever be meaningful was expelled from my soul with a scoff. I was hysterical, going from tears to laughter.
If Zolt heard him say that, he’d be in for some hard truths.
But I didn’t need his hypothetical words.
“So my career means nothing because I don’t gotwo hundred miles per hour? It doesn’t matter that your relationship breaking down with my mother meant I had to move across Europe, be thrust into a school where I only knew a few phrases, and then at twenty-two, I know five languages? That’s not an accomplishment to you, because I am not an accomplishment to you.”My throat was torn into bits from all the tears, my voice scratchy, but my anger broke through.“If something doesn’t go your way, it’s not acceptable.”
“It was your mother who took—”
“You want to know what hasn’t gone your way?” I croaked. “The rumoursaretrue. Zoltán and I were together.Before your wedding. On your wedding night. When you came to visit, every day for the last three months, we’ve been each other’s.”
I didn’t know if that was technically true. I’d found a fake red rose petal in our bedroom under the bed that he’d explained away as his housekeeper, Anna.
This whole time, I was probably a ploy purely for that pitiful report.
“Christ, Zsófia… you couldn’t just keep your distance?” he spat, face growing red. “You had to go after him? The one person… My daughter and my rider? The man I see as my son?”
I let my breathing settle, standing tall, watching my words sink in.
“Yes,” I said, voice strong and flat andEnglish.
“Do you have any idea what this will do to me? His mum? Everyone will think—fuck, everyone will—”
“I don’t care,” I told him and realised just how freeing those words were, rolling my shoulders back. As I was sinking,why would I worry about the man who had never thrown me a single line?“Find someone who does to share your woes with. It won’t be me.”
I stormed to my locker, opened it, and started to shove everything into the bag. I’d left my iPad and phone charger in Zolt’s trailer, but I could buy brand new ones. I’d rather do that than face him.
The papers crumpled in my hand as I shoved them into my bag,but what did I care?I no longer gave a single fuck. I wasn’t translating for Veltar again.
I was out.
I zipped the bag shut just as the door opened, and silence fell. My breath caught, fingers trembled. Escorted by two security guards, Zoltán Farkas stepped inside. Even ruined,even disgraced, one look at him and he still managed to take up all the air in the room.
27
Chapter 27
Zoltán
In the grand scheme of things, I knew very little English. My knowledge had grown, thanks to Fia, which was the only reason I knew things were about to get worse.
I was used to people talking about me in front of me, thinking I didn’t understand. They didn’t even try to hide their gossip as I was led through the tunnels. They paused when they saw me, but it was just that. A second.
“Zoltán…”
