Chapter 18 – A Kiss Once Shared
Emelia’s POV
At that moment, I felt a shift in my own energy that I hoped wasn’t going to happen on this trip. Even when Lily wasn’t here, it was like I couldn’t escape the clutches of her affect on me.
This time alone with him was precious, and I didn’t want to let go of the perfect memories we were just starting to make with each other. Even if his mention of her was innocent and probably unintentional, I didn’t want to ruin this moment by bringing her up.
Victor tilted his head, as if sensing something was off about me. “Is everything okay, Emelia?”
I nodded my head, and smiled. “Yeah it’s just…” I hesitated, wondering if I brought her up if he thought I was suddenly being weird or unreasonable. But I knew if I didn’t ask, it’d just eat me alive.
It seems you and Lily have a lot of history together… Have you taken her here to this restaurant, too?”
course, since
Victor nodded his head. “I have, although if you want to be technical, it wasn’t my doing. My dad was celebrating a business deal he had secured with another company, so he invited everyone he could think of. Of o Lily’s mom was best friends with mine, their family was on the list.”
“Ah.” Was all I could manage to say.
It eased my worries a little bit that it wasn’t Victor specifically that took Lily here. But still…
The thought of the two sharing time here at this restaurant beforehand made me feel uneasy.
Victor placed his hand on mine. “Look, I know things haven’t been easy since Lily’s come around. And I’m sorry that I haven’t really been able to comfort you. To be honest, I just don’t really know how to.”
Then he added, “Lily takes some time to get used to, but I promise, she is a wonderful person. And her staying with us isn’t going to be forever–just temporary.”
I looked up to meet Victor’s gaze, and it was almost like he was pleading with me to understand. There was no denying just how his eyes alone seemed to melt my defenses sometimes.
But then, I realized that he was pleading for me to understand Lily’s situation and her feelings, instead of understanding that he was trying to do right by us and our relationship.
If anything, that just made me feel more disappointed. Whatever sweetness lingered between us turned sour. Instead of prodding the issue further, we tried to salvage what was left of our dinner date. He went back to telling me other stories about his past–without mentioning Lily–and I came to enjoy the evening a little more afterwards.
Once we were back at the hotel, Victor sat me down on the bed. “So, where do you want to go tomorrow? If there are some places you find that seem interesting, let me know. I’ll take you wherever.”
“Well… actually, there is a place on I*******m that I saw on the way here. It looked like a park, but the photos made it seem really pretty, so I thought we could take a stroll.”
mark?” Victor raised a brow. “Out of all the places you want to go, you’re choosing a park?”
I furrowed my brows at his reluctance. “You said you’d take me wherever.”
“There’s not really anything interesting there, but you’re right. I did say that.” Victor chuckled. “Fine, I’ll take you
tomorrow afternoon.”
+25 BONUS
The next day came and it was sunny and beautiful outside. Perfect weather for park strolling
As Victor and I were getting ready, his phone started to ring
“It’s Rosalie.” I stated.
“Oh, shit.” Victor let out a deep breath. “She knows not to call unless it’s something important.”
“I hope everything’s okay.” I gave him an assuring squeeze on his arm. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, no, c
don’t let me hold you back from enjoying the park Victor smiled. “I’ll catch up with you, okay?
“Okay.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving. “Just call me if anything changes!”
Luckily, the park wasn’t as far as I thought it would be from the hotel. The shrubbery was neatly kept and there was also its famous coin fountain that I recognized from the photos.
Aside from that, though, Victor was right. There wasn’t much else to it.
I guess looks can be deceiving, I laughed to myself.
Instead of meandering at a park I wasn’t all too familiar with and getting bit by all the mosquitoes, I chose to wait for him at a nearby café.
The inside was unlike anything I’d seen before. A wildflower wall took up most of the space closest to the door, and a trail of wisteria flowers hung from the high ceiling above. It was like I’d walked into a garden from a fairytale.
As I walked up to the counter to look for something to drink, something else caught my eye. Behind the cashier was a photograph surrounded by a wreath made of roses and lilies.
Even though it was supposed to be a beautiful sight, my blood ran cold and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach.
There was no mistaking the photo–it was a picture of Victor and Lily kissing!
