"Please, just listen to me," she pleads. At that moment, the server approaches our table and serves the cocktails.
Without touching them, Aurora and I stare at each other until he leaves.
"Tell me, do you have any idea what I did to find you?" I suddenly ask even though this doesn't even matter now.
Guiltily, she lowers her gaze and pulls her Cosmopolitan closer. "I'm sorry."
"Spare me, Aurora." I don't want to hear her empty apologies. "After the police refused to help me, and you and Sky pulled the same nasty trick on me, I posted missing person ads on all online platforms." My God, how naive I was to think that finding her was the key to my happiness again. "I even traveled to Tuscany after your sister Camilla mistook me for a stalker on the phone and refused to give me any information."
Aurora's lower lip trembles, her eyes glistening with tears. She opens her mouth, but I stop her with an unmistakable gesture not to say anything.
Now it's my turn, and everything must come out.
I take a sip of my Whiskey Sour and lean across the table toward her. "And you know what?" I raise my eyebrows invitingly. "She told me that you live in Paris and attend a dance academy there!" Then and now, I can't believe it. Even her own family lied to me. She went to such lengths to make sure I wouldn't find her.
Aurora's eyes widen, but instead of the usual powerful sparkle, I see raw panic in them. "You told her about the miscarri...?"
Is that her only question about it? Is that all that matters to her?
"Hell no." Yes, I was incredibly angry with Aurora, but I would never do something like that. Besides, I didn't reveal my identity to Camilla. I was too disappointed at that moment.
Suddenly, Aurora's expression softens. "Thank you," she murmurs into the collar of her jacket. "I don't deserve that."
Certainly not. She doesn't deserve anything I did to find her.
"Finally, I hired a private investigator, but all I got were numerous overpriced bills," I say, resting my head in my hands. I feel like screaming out loud at my own naivety and the intensity with which I pursued the search.
"I thought finding you and hearing from your own mouth why you ran away would bring me the peace I longed for," Isuddenly sound weary, exhausted. Telling her all this feels like unburdening myself from a weight I didn't even realize was so heavy.
Aurora keeps sinking on her ice stool. "How could I do this to you?" She sounds just as worn out as I feel.
My shoulders slump, and I let go of everything I've been clinging to so desperately for years. "This." I point at her, then to myself. "We can't fix this. I hope you finally understand that."
I glance at my wristwatch.
6:47 p.m. Time to go.
She clears her throat nervously. "Every coin has two sides," she says significantly, her fingers trembling. "You've shown me your perspective. Now it's time to flip that seemingly glittering metal to see mine, don't you think?"
