Chapter 10: Ten

Apart from the sudden construction on Mrs. Yiannopoulos' house, the neighbor, and all the commotion going around, the weeks that followed the hearing were quiet. Melina didn’t hear from Henry anymore, allowing her a veneer of peace so she could breathe for some time. But the heaviness in her chest never lifted. The worst part of confronting him that fateful day in court was the feelings awakened in her heart. She couldn’t claim she loved him. No, she didn’t. But there was something in there, overshadowed by too many emotions. She still remembered him as the boy she thought him to be, Charming. She fell for him in those two months they talked, just to be crushed by his dishonesty.

After her kidnapping, she was never the same. Guilt and disappointment for disobeying her parents lingered in her heart for a long time. She felt so bad. It didn’t matter how many times they told her it was okay, and to stop being so harsh to herself. She missed the chats with Charming and being able to talk to someone with ease, like they did to each other. How many times she waited for a message from him that never came. She didn’t know what she wanted him to say to her. An apology, an explanation, or just a word to know he was there. Silence was the only thing she got from him.

Two years later, she got the worst call of her life. The police had found her parents shot dead at their home. Melina was already in college and she knew if she was in Manhattan, she would’ve died with them. Right after the murders, she received a video from an anonymous source portraying him in the crime scene at her parents’ home. Melina never saw his face before. Neither knew his name, but she recognized the tip of his bracelet coming out under the sleeve of his jacket, and her world crumbled. How could he be so cruel to her?

“Mel! Melina!” She got so lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice when Gabriella came into her office, looking for her. They agreed to take advantage of lunch time to talk.

“Sorry, Gabs! I was far from here.”

“You sure were. So, are we going out for lunch or not? We have little time. I have to be back in an hour.” Gabs looked at her ghostly face, waiting for the answer.

Since the hearing, Melina didn’t eat at the clinic like she used to or went out for lunch, going straight home and spending time with little Eve. Gabriella noticed her friend had lost some weight, an evidence she wasn’t eating.

“Let’s go. I need some distraction.” Melina got her bag and gripped Gabs by the hand, walking off with her.

They chose a different restaurant not so far from there, but where most tourists go, giving them more privacy. They sat at a table by the corner, in an isolated part of the room. The waitress greeted them and as soon as she left them alone to fetch their orders, Melina felt a pair of piercing blue eyes on her.

“I’m worried about you. These last few weeks you closed yourself off, even from me. What’s going on, Mel?” she blurted out to Melina without preambles.

“That’s the issue, there’s nothing going on. He’s silent and I have a heaviness growing in my chest with each passing day.” She exhaled heavily, and slumped her shoulders, leaning back in the chair.

“Maybe he gave up after you spat all that to the judge.” Gabs shrugged and tied her thick blonde mane up in a ponytail. It was a hot day, and they were getting sweaty already.

“No, Gabs. There’s a saying *‘Silence is golden, unless you have kids. Then, it’s just suspicious.’ *And it fits well with him even though he’s way far from a kid. Now that he found me, he’ll never let go, he’s not a man who lets anything go, I can tell. He’s up to something.”

“So, why don’t you accept Xanthos’ offer at once, at least he can protect Eve and you.” Gabs lifted both hands in the air, annoyed and without patience.

“Listen to me, Gabs, I don’t need a man to protect me. I know he is our friend, but if you really want him to be happy, you’ll drop the subject, and stop putting ideas in his head. I won’t repeat myself to you!” The girl came juggling two trays with their food, giving them a forced smile, since there was some tension going on between them.

“I don’t put ideas in his head.” She got outraged by the accusation. “I just wanted to see the two people I love finding happiness.” She scowled at Melina.

“And I appreciate that, but I don’t see him the way you want me to.” She averted her eyes and started playing with her food under the scrutiny of Gabriella. “You said we have little time, right? Let’s eat then.”

Gabriella’s phone made a funny and insistent sound, but she didn’t bother at all, observing Melina through slits as she said, “You like him, you like Eve’s father!” Melina coughed out her food. Her eyes moistened, trying to find her breath as she grasped her juice, taking a few sips. “Oh. My. God! You do, don’t you? That’s the reason I’ve never seen you with anyone.” When she opened her mouth to rebuke her accusation, Gabs warned, “Don’t lie to me! Do you love him?”

“Aren’t you getting the call?” Mel asked her between gasps.

“Nah, it’s my brother. I talk to him later, we have more urgent matters to discuss. You didn’t answer me.” Before she turned the phone off, Melina saw Tadeo’s face on the screen. She never met him and knew only the little Gabs told her. And she was glad because his picture gave her the creeps.

“He’ll get pissed at you!”

“I don’t mind. I didn’t hear your words…” Knowing her friend, she knew Gabs wouldn’t let go of the subject.

“No!” But the look on her face told her she didn’t believe her. “No, I don’t love him, but…”

“But…”

“I don’t know, ok.” She closed her eyes, giving a long sigh that came out only as an anguished grunt. “There’s a feeling, ok. I don’t know how to explain, since in the beginning something draws us together. Yes, I get the jitters for him, but that doesn’t mean I love him. We barely know each other, Gabs.” She was being sincere. “Besides, someone is sending me messages and pictures of Henry’s nasty deeds. How can I love someone like him? There’s no room for love here.”

Seeing him again revived a bunch of dormant desires, a longing she didn’t know how to explain. But they were strangers to each other. She had feelings, but for the boy she spoke for two months and she didn’t even know if everything they talked about was real or not.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know yet, I’m as lost as a nun on a honeymoon.” Melina was desperate. The feelings he awakened scared her the most.

“Unless you’re a naughty nun!” Gabs wiggled her brows with a wicked smile and both laughed out loud.

“Thank you for cheering me up. I needed that!”

It was past six in the evening, and Melina was a few feet from home when she heard all the talk and giggles on the terrace. Eve was trying her best to communicate with the little English she knew, and the joyful tone coming from her daughter just meant one thing, someone was spoiling her rotten and she was taking all the advantage she could get from the person, then all the hairs in the back of her neck lifted in warning.

“Mommy is home!” Eve announced all happiness.

“And how do you know that?”

“Socks told me!”

She was about to come through the little gate when she recognized the husky, sexy male voice and caught glimpses of her daughter confiding the info to him. She froze on the spot and if someone had punched her, she wouldn’t get so knocked out. Her lungs worked overtime, pulling some air into her system, and her legs didn’t hold her weight anymore. She found herself ass on the floor, trembling as if an earthquake was going over her body. With the noise, both looked in her direction.

Eve sprinted to her. “Mommy, did you fall?”

“Mommy tripped, muffin. I’m okay.” Eve threw herself into Melina’s arms. “Who’s the person you are talking to?” She asked, not even daring to raise her eyes to the man who stopped in front of her.

“This is Henry, our new neighbor!” She delivered the news delighted, but to Melina everything around was a freaking blur.