Chapter 130 Does he know you?
CHAPTER 130
Does he know you?
SCARLETT – POINT OF VIEW
“Aren’t you eating? I ordered your favourite.” Percy tells me, watching like a hawk.
I scoff, a smile tugging on my lips, “My favourite? That’s a bit presumptuous of you.”
“Has it changed?” He grins, “Because I remember long nights we spent reading, working hard, only to order this as a reward for our good work.”
I roll my eyes at him, but find myself relaxing. “We are not in our early twenties anymore, and we definitely are not students again. We can order expensive meals whenever we want to. We don’t have to wait for an occasion or the semblance of success.”
He nods and takes a sip of his wine, “You are right. Things are different. You’ve certainly come in life.”
I scoff, “Come up in life? I have never been down. I grew up wealthy, but not spoiled. My parents gave me everything I wanted.”
“And, now, you are here, engaged to an American Billionaire, playing house.” He runs his gaze over my neck, and his expression changes just for a second.
“Playing house?” I lean back and fold my legs, “Why don’t you say what you really want to say, Percy? Tell me why you are here. Tell me what you want.”
He drops the glass abruptly, but I do not flinch.
“What do I really want?” He demands quietly, and I nod, “Yes, tell me.”
“Are you fucking with me, Rosaline? Does this look like a fucking joke to you?” He seethes. “The last time we spoke was two years ago. Two fucking years. You have been gone for two years. I went insane trying to find you. I didn’t know how to reach your parents. You never took me to their house. You never even wanted me in Mexico. We met in London and Barcelona, but never in Mexico. I didn’t know where you were. I didn’t know what happened to you.”
Heat rushes through me, and my heart picks up pace.
“You were the love of my life, and you vanished. I thought it was one of the times you disappeared for a month and returned, but I waited months, and you didn’t come back.” He enunciates his words, his eyes wide.
“Do you know how insane I went? Looking for you? Looking for the girl that doesn’t exist. You weren’t Rosalina Diaz in Oxford. You were Elena Rossi, and no matter how hard I tried to find you, I just couldn’t.”
I cut him off coldly, “You knew Elena Rossi didn’t exist. I needed to go to Oxford University, and I definitely could not do that as Rosalina Diaz, the daughter of Rafeal Diaz, a Cartel Boss. I needed a name for protection, a new identity. It’s not that complicated, Percy. You knew who I was. You knew the family I came from. You knew what was expected from me, the burden on my shoulders, and you knew we had a timer. I broke up with you because of this, and you chose to stay friends.”
“But we were not just friends, were we?” He counters, jaws clenched.
I am caught off guard because I have never seen him angry, not even when I broke up with him. Something is different, which is a bit hypocritical because everything is different with me, too.
“What do you want me to say, Percy?” I shake my head, exhausted, “Do you want an apology? Do you think I wanted to leave?”
“Do you remember the last time I saw you?” He asks softly.
I am very uncomfortable with recounting our pasts, and he knows. I am much more bothered by how soft he sounds when he was pissed moments ago.
“I do not want to talk about two years ago, Percy. I do not want to remain in the past. Let’s focus on the present.” I say coldly.
Something flashes over his face, but it’s gone again. I cannot seem to read him properly.
“You want to talk about the present? Tell me about your darling Roman.” He glares.
“What do you want to know?” I do not back down.
“How long have you been together?” He demands.
I ignore his tone, “Since August of last year. Eight months now. My turn – what are you really doing in New York?”
“I’m here for work, Rosalina. You chose to abandon your degree. You didn’t even finish your PHD. I completed mine. I became a Professor, like I said I would. I’m tenured now, and if I continue on this path, I will be Dean in no time. Why do you think I’m here?” He watches me with a tilt of his head, “You have always been paranoid, but so much so, now. You’ve been staring over your shoulder, looking at the bar, just fidgeting. Why? What are you doing? Are you in trouble?”
I tear my gaze away from Adeline at the bar and repeat his question, “Am I in trouble?”
“I’m only asking because I care.” He raises his hand in surrender, “I need to know if the man you are about to marry is a monster who will hurt you, so tell me, are you in trouble?”
I smile because Roman hurts me. He breaks my heart. He makes me cry. He made me cum against the door to get information from me. I hurt him, too. I break his heart. I lie to him. I stole from him. I’m hurting him right now, but Percy does not deserve to know that.
Instead, I say, “Roman makes me laugh harder than anyone has ever done.”
He scoffs, “You have bruises all over your body, Rosalina.”
I flush, wondering if he’s being deliberately stupid, “These are not bruises, Percy. These are hickeys, because Roman is as good a lover as he is a fiancé, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“But does he know who you are? Does he know you? Does he know all the identities you’ve taken? Does he know what happened to your parents? The fire that killed them?” He demands and slams his hand on the table.
I lean backwards, shocked. How does he know?
“Come on, we’re leaving.” Adeline is by my side immediately, flanked by two of her security detail.
I get up, grab my bag and walk out of there.
I pull my phone from my bag and see missed calls from Roman. I’m an hour late for lunch. Crap.