They got along just fine and they started talking about everything and nothing in particular. Luka told her he was studying medicine, he was twenty, and had had a hard time to move away from his parents. They were quite overprotective. Besides, he had a sister who was fifteen years old who he hadn’t seen in months because his parents lived in Bolonia.
Time passed by and Elsa started enjoying herself a lot. The guys were really nice and made them laugh every second. For an instant, she forgot about Stefan and everything that surrounded him, starting to enjoy what was ahead of her. But later, once she was alone, she started thinking about him again, wondering about what would happen when they met again. She didn’t want to overthink it, since it was better to forget everything related to him.
Chapter 9
Venice. 2015
Alicia’s headache was huge. She shouldn’t have drunk so much the previous night. Gian had seemed to be a bottomless pit. Elsa got up early. She wanted to walk around the neighborhood while her stepsister was still asleep. She enjoyed doing that after having agreed to meet Luka for breakfast.
Luka took her to Piazza San Marcos, where they visited the Basilica and then went to the Correr Museum. She felt very pleased, taking pictures like crazy, and even taking selfies of them together. They were having a great time until a very hangover Alicia phoned her to know where she was and why she hadn’t woken her up to go with her. The first thing that Elsa did was scolding her for having drunk so much the previous night. Then she told her she would go back to the hotel in a little while so they could do something together.
“Don’t worry. I will sleep some more. Have a good time with Luka.”
She couldn’t see her, but she could swear she had lifted her eyebrows suggestively.
“Luka needs to go back to his dormitory. I’m heading to the hotel now. Besides, we need to figure out where we will celebrate my birthday. You remember it is tomorrow, right?” She talked quietly because she didn’t want her new friend to hear her.
“How can I forget it? I think your father sent us here for that. It’s your present!” She burst out laughing.
“Yeah, right. I’m heading to the hotel, boozer.”
Not letting her complain for calling her that, Elsa hung up and told Luka she had to go back.
“So your birthday is tomorrow?” She looked at him with startled eyes. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but…”
“Yeah, sure. You eavesdropped anyways, didn’t you?”
“Something like that.” He smiled. “So, what are your plans? I can take you to a place you would love. I’m sure of that.”
“I don’t know.” She tried to play hard to get. “I will think about it.”
They reached the hotel and she said goodbye to Luka with a kiss on his cheek, although he’d rather be kissed in a different place. They agreed to meet in the evening for dinner. While heading to her room, her father phoned her, but she couldn’t pick it up while still inside the elevator. She got a new call once she was in her room.
“Hello, dad.”
“Honey, how are you? Are you having fun?”
“Lots. We miss you.”
She walked to the bed and saw Alicia sitting there, rubbing her temples with her fingertips.
“We miss you too. The house feels very quiet without you two.”
“Are you calling us riotous? As far as I know, we are the quietest ones in the house, dad.”
She wasn’t kidding. They were the ones who made the least noise in the house. Since they had been studying all the time, they never went down to the living room. It was them who had arguments or yelled at them to go downstairs to eat.
“Okay then. You are right. So what? Have you met anyone?”
“Maybe,” she declared with a smile. “But I’m not going to talk about boys with you, dad.”
“Oh hell no,” intervened Alicia.
She seemed to be recovering and the first thing she did was snatch the phone from Elsa’s hands so she could talk to her mother. As usual, she wasn’t there. That woman worked too much, and when she was at home she spent all the time in her office. You couldn’t really count on her for nothing.
“If you want, I can let you talk to your uncle, Alicia,” Leonard mentioned.
And Alicia, forgetting completely about what had happened between Stefan and her stepsister, told him to go ahead. Stefan grabbed the phone feeling nervous. His niece started telling him what they had seen, what they were doing, and the guys they had met. At that moment, Elsa was in the bathroom, although Alicia thought she was hiding there on purpose. On the one hand, she wanted him to realize he had no future with Elsa; on the other hand, she was afraid of hurting him, since she didn’t know his feelings towards her.
“The guys are very handsome, uncle.”
And that was the only thing Elsa heard. She didn’t like Alicia telling Stefan anything about her, about Luka, or about anything in general. She stood behind her, listening to her, waiting to see what else Alicia would say.
“Yes, we have met again tonight for dinner. Gian is quite the gentleman and Luka… well, he looks at Elsa in a very special way…” Elsa snatched the phone from her, interrupting her words. “Hey! Why did you take the phone?”
Elsa frowned while pouting. The phone was against her ear, but she didn’t say anything. She just stared at her stepsister as if she wanted to kill her. Then she heard him and had to grab onto something to avoid her legs from buckling.
“Elsa? Are you there?”
“Uh, yeah. Hi, Stefan.”
Alicia shook her head, turning around and leaving her alone to talk calmly, something that Elsa was grateful for.
“I’m so sorry about what Alicia said.”
She didn’t really know why she was apologizing.
“It’s quite alright, don’t worry. You need to meet new people and enjoy that beautiful city.”
“I know, but…”
“But nothing, Elsa. Don’t think about anything else but yourself and that place, that guy, and whatever you can feel at any moment.”
“I feel nothing, Stefan. I think that’s what you have problems to understand. Only you make me feel, and it’s only you the one I want here.”
He didn’t reply, but she heard his suppressed sighs and felt she could die at that moment. If he had said at any moment that he wanted the same thing, she would have gone back home just to be with him and tell him all that to his face. However, Elsa hung up and sat down on the bed. She didn’t want to cry, but her tears had a will of their own.
Alicia came back from the bathroom and, after seeing her in such a state, run to her and hugged her.
“I’m sorry, Elsa. I swear I didn’t know this would affect you like this. If I had known, I wouldn’t have talked to my uncle. Forgive me.”
“It’s nothing.” She shook her head. “I think our kisses weren’t as important to him as they were to me.”
Of course she had no idea what knowing she had met a guy had meant for him. He didn’t like that she could have forgotten those little shared moments they had lived in such a short time. When she hung up, Stefan stayed rooted to the ground. Anger boiled from head to toes, hating for a moment his shitty life that didn’t allow him to love whoever he chose to love. As usual, he had to think about others instead of thinking about his feelings first.
He took a deep breath about five times before facing his brother in law. He handed him the telephone with a fake smile. The least he needed now was to be asked about why he looked like a raged bull.
Then he said goodbye and headed to talk to Chloe. They had to move the wedding up, telling her they couldn’t wait any longer, convincing her that he wanted to live with her once and for all. He must do it before seeing Elsa again. He left the house and drove downtown, where his fiancée lived.
They had been together for three years. They met at the university. He believed he was in love with her. He thought what he felt for the green-eyed redhead every time she caressed him was the most a pers
on could ever feel. He was completely wrong. Elsa had taught him a person could feel much more than what they could bear.
While driving, he could only think about the girl who had just turned seventeen, and who had stolen his dreams and smiles. Was it possible that a person he considered as a niece could have found her way inside his heart? A heartbreaking sigh escaped from his throat, making his heart skip a beat. He felt horrible, he felt so guilty… At the same time, he felt something so strong as to be able to forget that feeling overnight.
He had never believed in love at first sight. It was some malarkey people invented to justify their crushes. But now… of course he believed in love at first sight. He was experiencing it.
He parked nearby Chloe’s building and got out of the car. He went up to the third floor and rang the doorbell. Chloe opened the door and, after seeing him, she smiled and kissed him lovingly on his lips. She truly loved him.
“Darling, I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Hi. We need to talk,” he said bluntly. She got immediately worried.
“Something happened?” she asked nervously. He didn’t answer. He thought for a second, finding the right words to say so he wouldn’t scare her. “Talk to me, honey.”
“Let’s move the wedding up.” She frowned. “I know we are supposed to get married once we graduate, but we still have one more year to go. Why not do it now?”
“Where is this coming from, Stefan? It was you who didn’t want to get married so soon, and now… Are you sure nothing happened?” He shook his head. “Something makes me think that’s not true.”
“It’s nothing. Believe me, Chloe. It’s just that I realized I cannot live without you and I need you next to me at every moment.”
At first, she was silent, surprised at that change in him. But the best of her smiles appeared soon on her face, proving his idea was the best he had ever had and she loved it. She threw at him to kiss him.
“Yes, of course,” she said.
“I thought you wouldn’t agree,” he muttered.
“You don’t look happy.”
“Of course I’m happy, Chloe. Really happy.” He stood up and stretched his hand to take hers.
He faked the best of his smiles. He couldn’t hurt the woman who had given him so much love. Chloe was a good person, the best one who could have arrived at his life to make him happy… or so he thought, so he must think.
He had to forget about Elsa, since it was absurd to feel something like that for a girl who was eight years his junior. With his girlfriend’s help, he would manage to do that and Elsa would abandon his head and his heart once and for all.
London. 2018
Elsa couldn’t believe her eyes. An invitation to Alicia’s wedding was something she hadn’t expected, not so soon at least. When she called her so they could have breakfast together, she knew she was up to something. But that...
He was staring at her carefully while listening to her stepsister’s scoffs.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Alicia asked.
“Uh, yeah, sure,” she said. “Congratulations.”
“You don’t like it? Besides, I want you to be my maid of honor.” Elsa looked at her with wide eyes. “Wow, you finally look at me,” she said with a smile.
“I didn’t know you would like me to be your maid of honor. Who is going to be the best man?”
Alicia fell silent, unable to tell her the name of that person. She knew if she did that, Elsa could say no. But, supposing she didn’t feel anything for him any longer, and assuming she had forgotten about him as she swore she had done, she had to be honest.
“Stefan.” She swallowed. “You don’t mind, right?”
Elsa couldn’t reply; the surprise after hearing that name even bigger than the one after knowing about the wedding. She would see him again after years of not hearing a word about him. After years of not looking into those eyes that said too much. Had she forgotten him? She believed she had. Then, why was it so hard to speak? Why did she feel like her body got tense at the mere thought of seeing him again?
“Elsa, please. Say something.”
“It doesn’t matter, Ali.”
“Really?” She nodded. “I thought you wouldn’t want to come to the wedding if I told you.”
“Nonsense. I have forgotten Stefan… I have moved on.”
Yes, I forgot him, she repeated once and once again in her head.
However, how could she forget the person who, upon touching her, made her feel a million different things? How to forget the first man who had ever touched her?”
Chapter 10
Venice. 2015
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. I wish you, dear Elsa, happy birthday to you,” sang Alicia, sitting on Elsa’s bed.
Elsa opened her eyes and smiled happily. She was seventeen at last, only one more year to be of age and for some things to be less weird. She got up and gave a big hug to the girl who had become her sister way before they started living together, even before they started sharing parents. They had met all their lives and they were so close that, once they learnt their parents were going to get married, they didn’t mind spending more time together. Of course, both of them disagreed with the wedding, but they didn’t say anything because they didn’t want to hurt the people they loved.
“Come on then, get in the shower because we have a busy day ahead of us. Besides, do it before the calls to wish you a happy birthday start coming,” Alicia hurried her, hitting her on the face with a pillow.
“Hey!”
“You know that, as soon as your father calls, you two will spend hours talking, and even more when my mother get the phone. Oh no, just thinking about it kind of ruins my morning and I have lots of plans.”
Elsa crossed her arms, staring at her.
“What are we supposed to do? Don’t go crazy, Ali. I’ll be happy if we just go to the opera. You know it’s one of the things I wanted to do while being here.”
“I know, don’t be annoying. We will do that as well, but just because it’s your birthday and I still cannot understand how you can like such a thing.”
Elsa turned around to head to the bathroom.
“Thank goodness we will do something funnier later,” Alicia added.
Elsa laughed out loud at those words. Who knew what Alicia had prepared? They were so different, they liked different things, and the opera was something that Alicia hated with a passion; however, she would do it for Elsa. But of course, they would meet with Gian and Luka to carry on as planned later on.
After having a shower and getting ready for a long day, they left the room. Elsa was nervous and she was dying of curiosity. She was eager to know what her stepsister had planned. Downstairs, they met Gian and Luka at the entrance of the hotel. She wasn’t surprised at all—they had become an essential part of her birthday plans since they met them.
“Happy birthday!” they yelled at the same time, making her laugh.
“Thank you, guys.” She kissed Gian and then Luka. Luka hugged her warmly and she felt awesome in his arms. She liked that.
“Are you ready for today?” She nodded. “Your sister is a bit crazy, but she loves you so much,” Luka said.
“I know. I love her too.”
“Guys, are you ready to go?” Alicia interrupted.
“Yeah, let’s go.” Luka grabbed Elsa’s hand and pulled at her.
The four of them started wandering around the beautiful streets of Venice. It was such a gorgeous place that it looked like a dream.
The first stop was at a coffee shop, since they hadn’t had breakfast and it was crazy to start their busy day on an empty stomach. The four of them got along quite well. Alicia was feeling attracted to Gian, although she never stopped observing Elsa. She wanted her to find in Luka what she couldn’t have with her uncle. Although she seemed to be having a great time, Alicia knew her quite well and, deep down, she knew Elsa was still thinking about him.
Once they finished, they hea
ded to the opera as Elsa had requested. However, Elsa wanted to see La Traviata, Musica a Palazzo, and that show didn’t start until five in the evening, so they would have to wait. So they decided to buy the tickets before resuming their visit of the city. When Elsa was about to pay for her ticket, Luka was faster and said he would pay for her, as a birthday present. It was a really nice gesture that she would never forget.
“Thank you,” she muttered, blushing and smiling at the same time.
“You are welcome. Besides, if I have to pay your opera ticket to see you smile like that, then believe me when I tell you I’m more than pleased to do it,” he whispered in her ear.
Elsa looked at him astonished and embarrassed. She thought that boy was trying to seduce her. The question was, if that were true, what would she do about it? She could let him do it and finally enjoy the perfect holidays her father had gifted her. She could do that and… No, she wouldn’t do it because she only wanted for the days to pass by so she could go back home. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be there. In fact, there were moments when she felt a bit of peace and she couldn’t do that to Alicia. She was the one truly enjoying their holidays, and now more than ever after meeting Gian, whom she had been kissing with passion in the middle of the street. Elsa and Luka looked at each other and laughed.
“They don’t waste time!” he exclaimed.
“She never does,” Elsa sighed.
“How about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you waste your time or do you take advantage of every instant life offers you?” Elsa started thinking about an answer, but she didn’t know what to say. “Do you believe in destiny?” She shrugged. “I believe every person has their fate written in the stars. So, if for whatever reason you are here and we have met, you need to learn how to enjoy the time.”
“I guess so.”
“Come on, Elsa. Just go with the flow.”
A smile appeared on his lips and, at that moment, Luka wished he could kiss her but, as much as he wanted to, he didn’t dare to do it. Something told him that girl was suffering for love and, if that were true, it wasn’t the right moment. As he had said, he believed in destiny, but he also believed in special moments. Every person has a special moment and hers hadn’t arrived yet.
Timeless love Page 6
