Chapter Forty-six

Gwen had arrived at Armani's apartment from work about twenty minutes ago and she had a flight to catch in the next two hours. She glanced at her wristwatch, it was seven forty-five and she needed to vacate the building before Armani returned. Armani hadn't been speaking to her since the day Gwen uttered those words that pricked her heart like a thousand needles. They lived like strangers and the silence killed Wendy. She tried to start up a conversation many times, but it didn't work because Armani gave her deaf ears and if there was one thing she hated so much, it was being ignored.

Gwen zipped her box and sighed for the umpteenth time today as she set the box on the ground and straightened the rumpled bedspread. She grabbed a piece of a yellow sticky note off the bed, perusing at the words she had jotted down from the bottom of her heart, making sure she didn't make any mistakes or sound insensitive like she did the other day. Satisfied with what she had written, she pulled off the cover of the pen and scribbled down at the ending, 'Love, Gwen. I hope you find a place in your heart to forgive me.' She grabbed the handle of her box, pulled it up, and rolled it out of the room. Her feet took her to the kitchen, and she pressed the sticky note on the fridge and glanced at it one last time before exiting the apartment and locking the door. Wendy decided to stop at one last place before leaving Romania forever–Paris' apartment. With a constricting chest, she knocked on his door and felt her throat suddenly running dry. She forced a ball of saliva down her throat and felt like it stung as it glided its way down her deserted throat. She cast her gaze on the door, staring like she would burn down the wooden door if she could. There wasn't a response, so she knocked again and listened. Once she heard shuffling of feet, she became giddy in anticipation of locking gazes with his beautiful eyes.

Slowly, the door was pulled open, and Gwen's lips fell into a grim line when she met the beautiful eyes of the girl who had dried her hair a few days ago, the one who stole Paris' love from her.

"Gwennie!" The girl exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear as she grabbed Gwen's shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. "Hi, remember me?"

"Yes." Gwen managed a smile at her, one that was not genuine. "How are you doing?" Gwen pulled out of the hug, feeling her skin crawl as she watched her eyes widen with joy.

"Good." Gwen forced the word out of her lips with a weird smile that only played at one corner of her lips.

"Baby, who is that?" Paris' voice rang from the other side of the room and Gwen's heart skipped a beat, but her expression turned sour when she realized he had called the girl who was acting all-cotton candies and rainbows in front of her.

Paris slid up beside Kim and they shared a glance before letting their gazes fall on Gwen, whose feet were getting sore.

"Gwen," Kim replied leaning into the side of Paris.

"Hey, what's up?" A small smile graced his cherry-red lips that seemed like they were being sucked on.

"Fine, I-" Gwen hesitated when he lifted his arm. She watched the way his muscles spasm as he wrapped it around Kim's shoulder and bile found its way up her throat, spreading its bitter taste on her tongue. "-I was just about to leave."

She gripped the box handle and was about to walk away but the voice of the two lovers stopped her, making her skin crawl.

"Are you traveling?" They chorused. Lines of concern formed on his forehead, and they vanished as soon as they came the moment he locked gazes with his girlfriend and smiled at her at the way they said it in unison.

"Jinx!" They both exclaimed, giggling and irritating Gwen to her bone marrow. "Double-"

"Yes, I am. I wanted to drop by but since you're busy, I'll leave." Gwen interrupted love display, rolling her box away from his door with a clenched jaw.

"Wait!" Paris jogged after her and gripped her arm, restraining her from moving forward. "Where to?"

"New York." She replied shortly, refusing to face him. The sight of seeing him and Kim sharing a loving and understanding smile shattered her heart. She harbored a lump in her throat, and it weighed her down, making it hard for words to come out of her vocal cord.

"Why?" Paris inquired with a clutch that was beginning to burn its way into her flesh.

Suddenly, another hand gripped her arm, she shivered from the cold touch and spun to face both their eyes, boring holes into her skin.

"You can talk to him, I was about to leave before you knocked," Kim said, releasing Gwen and giving Paris a short hug before nodding at Gwen. Both their eyes followed her till she was no longer in sight.

"Can you at least come in?" Paris inquired, wrapping his fingers around the handle of the box and trying to pull it away from her surprisingly strong clutch. "So we could talk, please?"

Gwen budged, letting him roll the box away from her and leading her into his apartment. The moment she crossed the doorway, chills ran down her spine and she hugged herself, rubbing her arms to stay warm as she glanced at the couch and wondered if they had kissed on it. Wrinkles of disgust climbed her nose, and she shook the feeling away.

"Why are you leaving and why are you in clothing so little?" His eyes trailed down her bare arms and stopped at her open cleavage before rising back to her face.

"Personal reasons." She replied, avoiding his gaze as she could taste the reasons on her tongue and hated the sour taste.

"Like?" He inquired, sitting on the couch and tapping beside him so she could join him.

"No, I don't have the time to sit, or I'll be late for my flight." She shook her head in dismay and squinted in disappointment at how shaky her voice sounded. "I have a best friend to stand beside on her wedding day."

"Hold on." He hoisted himself out of the couch and made his way into his room.

Wendy chanced a glance at his hallway and swallowed down the fat frog that was sitting in her throat. The moment she heard his footsteps, she lowered her gaze back to her feet, which were encased in the prettiest nude sandals she had ever seen. It had beautiful butterflies surrounding her toes and ankles. She wiggled her toes and made a quick check at her watch.

"Here." His groggy voice announced his arrival as he wrapped a warm hoodie around her shoulders, and it made her stomach sick. Little things made her heart flutter and she let strands of hair fall into her face in a bid to hide her crimson face.

She gripped the sides of the hoodie and risked a glance at his face, saying, "Thank you."

He nodded in acknowledgment and tried to make her sit but she declined, maintaining her posture.

"I came to give you Armani's spare key." Gwen searched her bag for something then pulled out a silver-colored key that was hanging down from a sonic hedgehog key holder. She extended her arm to him, and he opened his palm to collect it.

"Do you have to leave?" Paris asked, clouds of sadness filling his eyes.

"Yes, for my mental health because I can't deal with this place and everything that is going on anymore," Gwen explained breathlessly with a blurry vision as her face got tomato kissed.

"What is going on that-"

"I can't and I won't, just stop trying to convince me." Gwen cut him short, feeling her lips wobble as everything that put her in an emotional state flashed in her head, weakening her soul.

"Breath," he said, getting to his feet and pulling her in for a warm embrace, understanding the message even before she spelled it out.

Gwen's chest heaved as he pressed her to his body and filled her nose with his scent. She parted her lips and sucked in deep breaths, filling her lungs with oxygen as she squinted her eyes and refrained from falling as her knees buckled.

"Armani wouldn't talk to me and Mihai broke my heart, he never returned," Gwen let out between sobs, dampening his shirt with heavy emotions. "You got a girlfriend without informing me and-and-I love you."

Her ears picked up the sound of how his heartbeat drummed in his broad chest. Suddenly, she snapped her eyes open and detached herself from his hug.

"I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Do you love me?" Paris asked with pupils that conveyed nothing but the same way she thought she felt for him. He inched closer to her and cupped her face in his cold hands. "Tell me."

"No," she whispered, grabbing both his hands and pulling them away from her face. "Slip of tongue. I mean I care about you, and it hurt when I realized you shut me out." She lied and felt as if her nose grew like that of Pinocchio. Slowly, she looked down at her nose just to make sure it wasn't real. If vampires were real then what was Pinocchio? "I-I-"

He placed a finger on her stammering lips and shushed her before pulling her in for a teddy bear hug, "You'll be fine, I'm here for you, and I'll drive you to the airport."

Gwen nodded on his chest, enjoying the comfort his body gave, getting cozy till she remembered he had a girlfriend.

Suddenly, a loud noise of the door being flung open filled her ears and escalated her heartbeat. It seemed like it had been kicked down by foot and she jerked, jumping out of his arms and whirling to face the door. What if it was Kim?