I nodded before getting out of the car, and they drove off to the back of the small compound toward the garage.
When I looked up at Elio, he was already looking at me.
Face, as usual, expressionless. In his hand was a lighter he was flicking open and closed, over and over again.
I blew out a shaky breath as I walked over to him, watching his eyes follow me until I was directly in front of him. He looked stressed but composed.
“London was too cold for you?” I asked, wondering why the hell I had decided to lead with that.
He didn’t say anything. He just watched me. As expected. The sound of the lighter filled the space between us.
“What are you doing here?”
“Nobody was answering my calls.” Flick. “You turned off your phone after your… numerous text messages. I could not reach you, Elia, or anyone. So, I flew back.”
Mentally, I punched myself. Somehow, I had forgotten the text messages or even my phone.
“Elio, why would you come all the way—” I sighed. “Those messages weren’t—they’re no longer valid.”
The flicking continued, but still, he wore no expression. “What does ‘no longer valid’ mean.” It wasn’t a question.
“I know everything now about Gemma and your friendship with her. We went there—to her house, and talked to her and Gran Louisa, and I cleared it all up.”
“You cleared it up,” he stated.
“Yeah,” I answered, trying to read his mood.
He stood upright, the flicking stopped, and he shoved the lighter back into his pocket. “I am glad you did. I’ll be on my way.”
I frowned as he started walking around the car.
Hugging myself against the cold, I tried to tame the anger bubbling inside me. “So you’re mad,” I called out, and he stopped, letting his shoulder fall, allowing a minute to go by, before turning to me. I took in his blank stare. “You think youhave the liberty to be mad right now? You think you’re the victim in this situation?”
“I never said anything, Zahra.”
“Yeah. You flew all the way from London, only to leave after exchanging a few words with me and acting like I was the one who hid someone of the opposite gender from you.”
“I never made a comment,” he said, straight-faced.
I ground my teeth, taking a step closer but leaving enough distance. “I had every right to be angry.”
“I did not say otherwise.”
“Why are you acting like a fucking asshole right now?”
“I am?”
I counted to five in my head, ascending and descending. “If you have something to say, just say it.”
“Now you want to communicate.”
I took another step closer. “That’s why you’re angry? Because I didn’t answer your call or listen to you? I was thinking the worst—”
“I concluded that from your messages. I reread them multiple times; I could even recite them word for word. Youindeedthought the worst. I understand and am aware of my fault in this. I did not tell you about her, not because there was anything to hide.
“One reason was because I was preparing myself to join two parts of my world together. Another was because you had already met her on the cruise, and if I recall, we were not together then, and I did not tell you I knew her because right then, at that moment, I was not in the suitable headspace to have that conversation with you.
“There were other opportunities to tell you; I am aware of that too. I admit I treated the matter with ignorance because I knew it would be challenging to make you understand since you had already seen her, and I never said anything then. But I was going to take you to Gran Louisa because she wanted to meet you. You can ask Angelo; I already scheduled a day todo it after we got back from the trip. That is if you still think I would have never told you about her.”
