by Cara Wylde
“Not for long.” Their food was getting cold, but he needed to tell her this. He would never forgive himself if his reluctance hurt her feelings. He would never do anything to hurt this woman. He’d rather die a slow death first. “I’m leaving for the US. Moving, actually, I didn’t join you for lunch because I had a meeting with my assistant. He’s taking care of selling the business, and I had to make sure he has things under control.”
“But isn’t this your parents’ legacy?”
“It is…” It hurt so much to talk about his adoptive parents. It hurt even more that he couldn’t tell her the whole truth. “I can’t… I tried, but I can’t stay in Segesvar anymore. I can’t live in their old house. I can barely stand living at the inn. They’re gone, and every single day has been a struggle to make peace with the situation. I need to put as much distance as possible between me and this town.”
Rebecca thought for a second then furrowed her brows. She enjoyed his warm hand on hers, but she couldn’t let his soft touch cloud her judgment. It wasn’t as if she didn’t believe he was telling the truth, but she had a weird feeling there was more to it. There was something he wasn’t telling her.
“Why the US? I mean… you could go anywhere.”
He smiled and hoped she wouldn’t be able to tell how fake it was. “I just told you… as much distance as possible.”
“Right…”
“Let’s eat.” He motioned to their plates. “It’s already gotten cold. A few more minutes, and it will actually become icky.”
They ate in silence. They only made small talk between the two courses. Rebecca told the waitress she would skip dessert. She felt so full that she could swear she wouldn’t need food for the next couple of days. This time, she ordered a beer and drank it slowly while she watched Emil drink his dark coffee. It was always weird to see someone drink coffee at such a late hour. She jumped in surprise when she felt his big, warm hand on her thigh.
“I like you, Rebecca,” he whispered. “I really, really like you.”
She smiled and spread her legs just enough to show him she didn’t mind what he was doing to her.
“Good. Because I like you too.”
After another moment’s hesitation, he pulled his chair closer to hers and encircled her waist with his thick arm. She immediately responded by pressing herself against his chest and rubbing her nose on his neck. She inhaled his strong, masculine scent and sighed in delight. Oh yes, she could get used to this. Her pussy throbbed and juices soaked her tiny panties.
Emil smelled her arousal. His wolf growled, and it was all he could do to hold himself back. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, and when she moved to look up at him, he captured her lips in a fierce kiss. She opened her mouth almost immediately, and his tongue sought hers. She smelled delicious, but she tasted even better. The sweet scent of her juices invaded his nostrils. He started breathing heavily, his stomach tensing with desire, and his rock-hard cock threatening to explode in streams of milky seed before she even touched him. He couldn’t believe what this woman could do to him with a single, passionate kiss.
Rebecca lost herself in Emil’s arms. He was so big, his muscles so wide and hard… For the first time in her life, she felt tiny in a man’s embrace. She had never been on the skinny side, so whenever she had managed to land a date, she had done her best to handle the guy gently by taming down her kisses and caresses. It seemed with Emil there would be no need for such silly tricks. She knew he could take her hard, and she looked forward to it.
The beast thrashed in his chest, and Emil was forced to pull away for a moment. He stared into Rebecca’s brown eyes and the realization hit him: he was afraid of her.
Rebecca was having her own revelation, but it was completely different from his: he was the one. She couldn’t tell why or how, but he was it. He was Mr. Right.
“Becca…”
“Emil…”
She stretched her neck, her lips inviting him to claim them again. When he pulled back and removed her tiny hands from his chest, she felt like someone had just driven a sharp knife through her ribs.
“Emil?”
“I’m sorry… I’m leaving tomorrow and I don’t want to do this to you. I can’t, Becca. I respect you too much.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
He couldn’t look into her hurt eyes anymore, so he took his wallet out of his pocket and paid the bill before standing up and leaving her at the table.
“Good night. I hope… I hope you enjoy your vacation here.”
Rebecca stared at the money, then at his back as he walked away from her. She blinked rapidly, determined to chase away the tears of anger and frustration which were threatening to ruin her make-up.
“The fuck did just happen?” She looked at Emil’s empty chair. “I just got dumped. That’s what happened.”
CHAPTER THREE
Rebecca woke up earlier than usual. Even though it was only 7 AM, it was useless to try and fall asleep again. She had tossed and turned all night, and all she wanted was a shower, a big cup of coffee, and to feel the chilly morning air on her skin. It took her an hour to get ready and walk out of the room. She felt a bit depressed because of what had happened the night before, but that didn’t mean she should skip on her make-up routine. In fact, she even took her time to braid her hair in a pretty fish tail that hung heavily on her right shoulder. She threw a cardigan on and went downstairs, on the inn’s terrace. After asking for a coffee and telling the waiter she would order breakfast later, she started checking her e-mails and social media profiles.
Not thinking about Emil was proving to be a real challenge. She had loved every minute with him, every story he had told her, and every selfie they had taken together. After replying to a couple of e-mails, Becca browsed through her gallery. She smiled when she came across her favorite picture of the two of them: they were up in the Clock Tower, at the highest level, huddled together to squeeze as much of the breathtaking view of the citadel into the picture, behind them. Emil had his arm around her shoulder, and Becca had placed her tiny palm on his chest.
“I can’t believe he dumped me like that,” she whispered to herself. “I respect you too much,” she imitated his voice. “Come to think of it… he’s the first man who has ever said that to me…”
She sighed and drank the rest of her coffee. Yes, Emil Severin was one nice catch. And a keeper. She could feel it. Handsome, with a body to die for, and obviously wealthy, a leader since he ran two businesses, and a gentleman. She thought back to Kassandra and her promise that Becca would find her destiny here. Was Emil Severin her destiny? Given that she would probably never see him again, she doubted he was.
As she scanned her surroundings, hoping she would catch a glimpse of him if he hadn’t left the inn already, Rebecca saw a pretty brunette two tables away from her. The woman seemed to be in her thirties, tall and curvy, dressed in a cute blouse and a long summer skirt. Becca smiled when she saw she was wearing high-heeled sandals. “My kind of girl,” she thought. Then, she heard her arguing with her 8-year-old daughter, who refused to drink her smoothie, and cocked an eyebrow. “Definitely an American accent.” Becca hesitated a minute longer, then decided she should at least try to talk to the woman. With Emil out of her life, she needed someone to spend time with. Someone who could distract her.
“Good morning!”
The brunette looked up at Becca and smiled.
“Hello.”
“I’m sorry, but this will probably sound weird… I heard you two talking and realized you must be from the US. I’m from New York… Taking a vacation all by myself… I didn’t realize it would feel so lonely. Anyway, may I…?” She motioned to the empty chair, a pleading look in her eyes. She really didn’t want to spend this particular day alone.
“Oh! Of course! Please sit down. Ava and I were just arguing about breakfast. I’m Amber.”
“Pleased to meet you. Rebecca.”
They shook hands while the little gi
rl, Ava, looked at them confused, her skinny arms folded over her chest. Apparently, she didn’t appreciate being ignored.
“And who’s this beautiful princess?” asked Becca, offering the child a bright smile.
“Oh, this beautiful, stubborn princess is Ava,” said Amber. “Ava, baby, say hi to Rebecca.”
“Hi.”
Her mother rolled her eyes and sighed. “All right, all right. If you don’t want the smoothie, I’ll get you something else. What do you want?” She made to look through the menu again and read her daughter the options.
“I don’t want anything. I’m not hungry or thirsty. I just want to play.”
Amber closed the menu and threw Rebecca an apologetic look.
“Well, where do you want to play, Ava?” asked Rebecca.
The girl looked around her and studied the options. That early in the morning, the central square was rather empty. There were just a couple of people sitting at the tables, having coffee or breakfast. Yesterday, there had been two carriages with beautiful horses, and the nice men who were offering tourists rides on the narrows streets of Segesvar, had let her pet the pretty animals. She hoped they would come again later and this time her father would say they could go for a ride.
“I want to go see those pretty flowers,” she eventually said.
Indeed, there were some nice flower arrangements on the terrace across from them.
“Okay,” sighed Amber. “But try to stay where I can see you.”
Ava didn’t say anything. She grabbed her tablet and went to walk around the square and take pictures.
“She’s bored…” explained Amber.
“Well, this place doesn’t offer much entertainment for children.”
“I know, right? My husband chose it. Stephan is a bit of a history buff, which is fine, because I love history too, but when you travel with children, you have to take other things into consideration as well.”
Becca smiled and suggested they should get more coffee. They also ordered breakfast and started a light chat while they both tried to keep an eye on Ava. The girl was now watching an old lady as she was setting up her souvenir gift shop. Rebecca welcomed the distraction. She didn’t feel like talking, so she let Amber tell her about her husband and daughter. It turned out that they lived in Chicago, and that her husband worked at his father’s software company, while Amber was a stay-at-home mom. They obviously had a financial situation which was way above Rebecca’s. She had thought she was a busy person, but Amber’s husband seemed to work 24/7. Right now, as Amber and Ava were having breakfast alone, he was on the phone with an employee who had, apparently, messed something up and was trying to fix it.
“He’s never here…” said Amber. “This trip was supposed to be about us, you know? About him spending more time with his daughter.” She sighed. “I was such a fool…”
The conversation had suddenly taken a whole different turn, and Rebecca noticed Amber was picking at her food, her sad blue eyes fixed on the plate.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t burden you with my problems,” she looked up at Becca and gave her a small, embarrassed smile. “It’s your turn. Tell me about yourself.”
Rebecca was ready to go into more detail about her job then maybe even tell her about Emil, but she changed her mind. Compared to Amber’s problems, hers were child’s play.
“No. I’m here to listen, if you want to talk. You don’t seem… very happy and excited about your vacation. You can tell me. You’ll feel better afterwards, trust me.”
Amber seemed uncertain of how to react. Rebecca took a sip of her coffee and gave her an encouraging smile.
“I know I’m a stranger to you. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to strangers, though. I’ve seen a couple of counselors and even attended a therapy group for a while. That’s how I realized that it was easier for me to open my heart to people with whom I didn’t have any kind of personal relationship than to talk to my friends, or even my sister. I don’t know why… Maybe it’s because when you talk to a stranger, you know they won’t judge you. And if they do, their opinion has no way of affecting you because you know… you don’t have to see them again.”
Amber smiled reluctantly. “The truth is… I don’t have many friends. I used to have some in college, and then two or three years after that, when I was still working, but after I got married and become part of the Castell family, things changed.”
“How so?”
“Well, for one, the Castell women don’t work. Ever. It’s like a family tradition or something.”
Rebecca’s eyes went wide with disbelief. “That’s so…”
“Unfair?” A bitter smile graced Amber’s features. “They don’t see it that way. The Castells have always been rich and powerful. Their lineage goes back to medieval Germany or something… They branched to America over 200 years ago, but they still own a couple of businesses in Europe. I haven’t even met all my husband’s relatives, if you can believe that!”
“So… how did you two meet?”
Amber smiled, her eyes fixed on an indefinite spot behind Becca. “At a school conference. I was an English teacher, and the school organized a career event and invited a couple of successful people to talk to the kids, tell them about their field and business. Stephan was there to represent Castell Technologies. He swept me off my feet, invited me to dinner, and the rest is history. Things moved really quickly. Before I knew it, we were married and I was pregnant with Ava.”
Rebecca waited for Amber to continue. Her story had taken her mind off Emil completely, so the trick had worked. Now, if she could help Amber in some way, if listening to her made her feel better, Becca was ready to spend her whole day at that table.
“Everything was great the first year. We went on an amazing honeymoon in Thailand then I quit my job when everyone convinced me it was better to stay at home for Ava. At that time, I too thought it was a good idea. I mean… why not? I would have time to spend with my daughter, keep an eye on the house and the maids, and make sure everything went well. Stephan worked a lot, so there had to be someone home to take care of everything. I thought I would also have more time for my hobbies. Reading, writing, doing various DIY projects with Ava… It sounded great, actually. What woman wouldn’t want that kind of life? I considered myself the luckiest woman alive!”
“I wouldn’t want that,” thought Becca, but didn’t say it out loud. Yes, she did want a family and she would make time for her children, but she’d never give up on her job and financial freedom.
“But things changed after Ava was born. Stephan changed.” The pain in Amber’s voice was evident. “He didn’t look at me the same. Truth is, I could never get my body back after the pregnancy. Believe me, I tried. Went to a nutritionist, followed diets, exercised… It just didn’t work. Not entirely. At first, he didn’t say anything. When I insisted, he told me it was a problem for him. My weight had become a problem for him.”
“Jerk…”
“I don’t know…” Amber chewed on her bottom lip then sipped her coffee. “I’ve been struggling with my weight for 8 years. Sometimes I manage to lose quite a lot, then something happens that makes me stressed or depressed, and I gain a lot more in a matter of weeks. I’m trying to deal with it. He’s trying too.”
“Is he, though?”
“Yeah… He was the one who suggested we should take a one-week vacation. Take some time for ourselves to work on our marriage, you know… But we’ve been here for three days and he spends most of the day locked up in our room, on the phone or on his laptop. Yesterday, we visited the Weapon Museum, he got a call, said he had to get it, and spent one hour outside, on the phone, while Ava and I visited the museum by ourselves. I just… I don’t know what’s happening. Our marriage seems to be dying a slow death, and I have no idea how to fix it.”
“Do you…” Rebecca swallowed heavily and cleared her throat before finishing her sentence. “Do you think he’s got someone else?”
A flicker of pain and uncerta
inty danced in Amber’s beautiful eyes. “I… I don’t think so. He’s just really busy. His father works late too. Has been spending most of his life in his office, and my mother-in-law told me she got used to it. It’s a risk you take when you marry a rich, successful man. No, I don’t think he has someone else.”
“Okay…” Rebecca wasn’t convinced, but she didn’t know Stephan, after all, so there was no point in insisting. Also, she reminded herself this was about Amber, not about her. If two of her ex-boyfriends had cheated on her, it didn’t mean all men were the same and Amber’s case was in any way similar.
Amber rubbed her temples and ran her fingers though her coarse, black hair. It looked as if it had been recently dyed, but Becca noticed black wasn’t a good color for Amber. It made her look a bit old and tired.
“I don’t know… Sometimes, I feel like it’s all my fault. Especially when I think about getting a divorce.”
“You’ve been considering a divorce?”
“Yes! God, that’s so awful of me!”
“Awful? How?” Becca leaned over the table to look straight into Amber’s eyes. “Amber, you’re not happy with him. In fact, you seem to be utterly miserable.”
The woman was silent for a minute, then bit the inside of her cheek and finally whispered: “It’s a risk.”
“How so?”
“Rebecca, I’m 34 and I have an 8-year-old daughter to raise. Divorcing Stephan is a huge risk.”
“Everything is a risk.”
“No. You don’t understand. I’ve been married to him for 10 years. I’m not young anymore, Rebecca. What if I never find someone else? What if I never re-marry and Ava will be forced to grow up without a father?”
“No, you don’t get it. What people don’t understand is that every choice they make is a risk. Yes, divorcing him means taking the risks you’ve mentioned, but not divorcing him means taking other risks, maybe even greater than the first ones. Think about it: what good does it do to Ava if she is raised by a father who is never there? In fact, that means you’re going to be the one who raises her anyway. What does Ava have to learn from him and your marriage? That it’s okay for a man to ignore his wife? His family? That it’s okay for a woman to never be loved and cherished by her husband as long as he provides for her? And when she grows up and sees that you stayed married to her father only for her sake, how do you think she’ll feel? Knowing that someone sacrificed their happiness for you… Can you imagine the guilt? Even if you think you’re taking the easy way out, every choice you make is a risk.”
