Chapter Eighteen

حبل الكذب قصير

The rope of lies is short

Rose

Emmet sighs deeply, turning to look at anything but me before sitting down on the bed, letting me watch him being in his thoughts, ''Who is he?'' I ask, this time—my voice sounds like I've had enough.

''Who is he?!'' I ask again, louder than before which causes him to look up at me; clenching his jaw in respond. My heart continues to beat fast, making me sit down on the nearest chair as I run my fingers through my hair, carelessly.

The both of us keep quiet, not a single sound manage to disturb our own thoughts yet I can't take my eyes off of Emmet—wanting to watch his every movement, his every gesture. For once, I don't care what his parents might think at the moment because I can't deal of living with lies especially with the man I've been with for a year.

''I met him a year ago before you started going to law school. He asked me to help him—more like a favour. He also said that he would pay me if I do as told, if I protect you.'' He says before looking up at me, straight into my blue eyes, ''That's when I met you,''

I try to hold back the tears from forming, knowing how I've been a fool for loving him. I wait for him to continue, ''You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, I can't help but be more than friends. You took my breath away, Rose. Months after knowing you, I—I started to fall for you.'' He mutters under his breath.

''Do you even love me?'' I finally speak, after minutes of keeping quiet.

He looks at me once more, this time his lips are pressed into a thin line—showing signs how he's not uttering a single word. I nod my head, letting a few tears fall down my cheek before I start to wipe them away, ''Okay, Emmet. I get it now, you were paid to know me—your feelings for me aren't real, you're just pretending to be my boyfriend. I saw your text with Elia, he said not to make me fall in love with you and that the agreement is over.'' I say.

''It's not like that,''

I stand up, taking my suitcase from under the bed before seeing him walking towards me, trying to stop me from packing my clothes and my stuff but I refuse, ''When you said you were going out to meet Henry, is it even Henry?'' I ask, looking straight into his eyes.

He breathes out, clenching his jaw before looking down on the ground.

''Fuck you, Emmet.'' I say, quickly picking up my suitcase and pulling it out of the bedroom once I've packed everything I need—including my handphone and my purse. When I step out of the room, I see both of his parents look at me in surprise but I just look away and walk straight towards the front door.

I let out a breath of relief once I step out of the apartment before realising that I'm actually bursting into tears—without anything holding me back; not even my will. I continue to walk down the road, wiping away the tears from blocking my sight but every time I wipe them away, they keep on coming back.

After knowing that I'm far from the apartment, I put my suitcase down before sitting on it and cupping my own face, continuing to let tears out. My heart is aching so much that I can barely feel the touch of reality anymore; it feels like I'm going through different types of pain at the same time yet it's only a heartbreak.

I feel someone tucking a strand of hair behind my ear which causes me to look up, seeing the familiar brown eyes looking straight at me with concern all over his face. My breathing hitches, not expecting to see Elia, ''What do you want?'' I ask, pushing his hand away.

''I want to explain,'' He replies.

I stand up, pulling my suitcase as I continue to wipe my tears away before walking down the road, leaving him behind. As I continue to walk, I hear him trailing behind me, ''Rose, you don't understand. You don't remember. Let me explain,'' He says, making me stop walking.

Turning around to face him, I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, ''What do you mean that I don't remember? You know what, Elia. I don't understand, you're right. I don't know what's the truth or anything anymore. He said, you paid him to protect me? From what?'' I shake my head, ''Who are you?''

Then, all of a sudden, memories come rushing in—memories of Elia and I being in a vehicle while he drives down the road and we were laughing, as if enjoying the moment. I immediately regain my consciousness before taking a few steps back.

''A year ago, I sent you for a persuasion therapy after injecting you with some drugs to make you unconscious. The therapist managed to replace your memories of me to something different, making you forget. Then, you started to wake up at the hospital, only one thing in your head, that you had an accident and your parents died while you survived.'' He says and I realise that what he's saying is actually true—but he could be lying.

''It's just a coincident that he has the same brown hair and eyes as me. It's also a coincidence that his name starts with the letter, E. I didn't know what else I can do to push you away, Rose. I didn't want to hurt your feelings and making you forget was the only option. You have no one, I thought that I could trust Emmet. He did protect you but I didn't expect you to fall for him,'' He adds.

''You're stupid then. Why on earth would you let a man and woman be together and expect them to just stay friends or acquaintances? This is not Barbie, Elia.'' I reply, rolling my eyes in annoyance.

He sighs, taking a few steps towards me, ''While you were living the normal life, I was suffering. You don't remember the danger that we've been through together because that kind of danger is what I want you to stay away from. You deserve better, I said that before.'' He says.

I look up into his eyes, realising how I actually know him too well. With every word he speaks, I manage to trust him easily—while I didn't even bother listening more to Emmet's explanation.

''Who are you?''

''Elia Dominic Morello,'' He replies. ''I met you a year ago, in a nightclub. You were stunningly beautiful that you manage to catch my attention just by a single glance. I don't really want to go into details but you were a prostitute. I paid one million dollars to set you free, to make it seemed like you were mine.''

A prostitute? I thought.

''I like you, though.'' He mutters, making me chuckle.

Suddenly, my eyes start to widen as another wave of memories come rushing in my mind—making me take a few steps back. My eyebrows furrow in confusion, surprised at the fact that my life isn't what I expect them to be. It's faint but I manage to remember well; slowly even.

I stop looking around as I see an unknown man looking at me. His brown eyes are as dark as it could be and his face is nicely sculpted. My eyes continue to eye his entire face—realising how amazingly beautiful he is. How he has a strong jaw and perfectly shaped lips. He's too beautiful to be human; he seems like an angel. An angel that is out of place.

He continues to look at me and I do the same. To my surprise, he says something to the man near him before standing up and making his way towards me. He won't stop looking at me and I can't stop looking at him either. My cheeks heat up as soon as I see him curving his lips into a small smile—revealing his dimples.

Then it comes rushing in,

One by one.

Elia keeps quiet for a second or two before clenching his jaw and starts to speak once more, ''How much?'' He asks and I start to feel a little pain in my chest.

''One million.'' Gonzales says out of nowhere.

When I started to run away.

''Stop!'' I hear someone shouts from behind and I turn around to see that it was the previous man from before—the man that Elia talked to.

Groaning, I continue to run; making a sharp turn before bumping my arm into the wall—making me groan harder. Fuck the dirty streets, I just need to get the hell out of here. I finally agree with myself for once as I look around—seeing that there's an open street up front. This might be my only chance of escaping! I have to act quick.

As the figure starts to get closer, I fasten my steps. I immediately stop running as I see someone standing a few feet away from me. Due to the dim lights, I can barely see his face but after looking closely, images of him comes flowing by. Of course, he would be here. Of course. Exhaling, I start to take a few steps back but if I do so, I will end up bumping into one of his men but if I just stand here, he'll get me.

When he caught me.

I look up and see him looking down at me—even in the dark, I manage to see the warmness of his eyes. He uses the back of his hand to run it smoothly on my cheek; making me gulp unknowingly. Our eyes aren't looking away, not even a single blink could interrupt us. He leans in and I feel his lips brushing against my cheek, making me hold in my breath.

His lips travel to my earlobe, ''I'm sorry, mio amore.'' He whispers, softly.

I blink a few times, looking back up at Elia—seeing that he has his eyebrows furrow while he eyes me but the memories won't stop rushing in, as if I can't stop myself as I continue to remember. This is what I want, right? To remember. I thought.

His letter.

Mio Amore,

I'm sorry that I didn't have the chance to say this in person. What happened last night, I truly regret it. It wasn't thoughtful of me to inject drugs into your system but I had to calm you down and because of that, I would like to apologise.

I'll see you soon, Rose.

Sincerely,

Elia

When we actually met face to face for a horse ride.

Once I've reached the stable, I push open the wooden door and I look around to see horses. Four horses. My lips curve up into a smile as I walk towards each one of them and I stop as I see one that caught my attention—a black beauty. I run my hand on her face and she nickers; pleasantly accepting my touch.

''You're really beautiful.'' I mutter towards her and look straight into her eyes; seeing how lively they are.

I look at the other horses and I see that they are all as beautiful as the black beauty. They look like they are well taken care of. I've never had the chance to be near anything like this—my previous was a trap. It was as if I was living in a box. An empty box.

''She really is.'' I hear a familiar voice says from behind and I turn around to see Elia leaning his side against the wooden door. My hand drops down to my side at the sight of him—isn't he supposed to be back in a week?

When his hands were on my waist.

He looks up and our eyes meet instantly. Due to the sunlight, his eyes seem lighter than they were before. It feels like the whole world is silencing as it's only Elia and I. My heart starts to beat faster at our closeness—but I can't seem to move or look away. I blink a few times, ''Huh?'' I ask, didn't completely hear him previously.

''You okay?'' He asks, again.

Nodding my head, I answer, ''Yeah.'' And he immediately grabs me by the waist which causes me to yelp as soon as he picks me up and place me on the horse. My eyes widen—not really expecting him to lift me up but hey, at least I'm up. I look at him once more and see him eyeing my entire posture.

When we fell onto the ground caused by the black beauty itself.

Slowly, both of us stops laughing and I peek through my hands to see him looking straight at me. He seems to be out of breath and so am I. We both continue to stare at each other's eyes—which we've been doing quite a lot. I must say, that.

Elia pushes a few strands of hair on my face slowly and his thumb stops on my cheek; as he leans in. I expect what is going to happen next but I don't feel like stopping him. It might be a sudden act, a sudden kiss but it feels like I wanted to be kissed by him, especially now. For some reason, I don't mind falling on the ground just so that we could share a kiss.

What the hell has gotten into me.

The tip of his noses touches mine as he tilt his head to the side but before his lips could even brush mine, I feel drops of water on my forehead which causes him to back away slightly.

When he kissed my, cheek.

He leans in and to my surprise, kisses me on the cheek. I stay still while our face are inches from one another. Then, I hurry myself towards my room, not even glancing back at him.

''Wow, okay—I'm okay,'' I mutter under my breath, looking away from Elia before falling onto the ground and controlling my breaths. Elia crouches, eyeing my face up close as my heart continues to beat at an unexpected pace.

Then, another memory comes rushing in.

It is as if I couldn't hear anything around me. All I could hear is my own heartbeat. He continues to lean in and I close my eyes—hoping that he would end up kissing my lips. I feel his lips brushing against mine and all of a sudden, something passed through my whole body; giving me all sorts of emotion.

Before his lips could fully meet mine, the microwave interrupts us with a sound—stating that the food has fully heated. I open my eyes slowly, seeing Elia clenching his jaw and moving back slowly. He licks his lower lip before standing up and heading towards the microwave, leaving me trying to cover my cheeks from redden.

Including the look on his face when he saw me in the navy blue dress that clung onto my body perfectly, showing off the right curves. Then, he smile he was giving me before kissing onto my cheek—making me breathless.

Other than that, when he pushed me down.

''I want you to jump.'' He says and I shake my head in disagreement.

''No! Are you crazy?'' I run my fingers through my hair, ''This is insane. Will you tell me what the hell is going on? Who are we running away from? Did you do something wrong?'' He continues to look around the room—probably searching for something.

Elia breathes out, ''I've done a lot of wrong things, mio amore. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what the hell is going on nor who the hell we are running away from but I want you to jump out of the window right now or both of us are going to get killed.''

I furrow my eyebrows, ''I can't. I'm afraid of heights.'' I lie, smoothly as I continue to look at him.

He rolls his eyes at me, pointing at the window, ''No you're not. You need to jump now, amore.'' Then, he pulls me towards the window before picking me up and placing me right near the window but he drops me as soon as I start fighting back, ''Rose.'' He says my name, impatiently.

''I'm wearing a dress, Elia. I can't jump!'' I state but he quickly tear the dress—making it short up till my knees. My eyes widen in surprise but he just acts casually, as if it wasn't a big deal.

The knocks on the door starts to get louder with every thump. Elia sighs before looking at me with some sort of meaning, ''I'm sorry, mio amore.'' Then, he pushes me down the window—making me scream.

I immediately shake my head, seeing Elia eyeing me in a weird way before putting the back of his hand on my forehead, ''Why is your body hot? Do you have a fever?'' He asks, looking back into my eyes but I slap his hand away.

''Did you push me out from a window?'' I ask, making his eyes widen in surprise while I sit here, impatiently waiting for his answer.

''You remember?'' He leans closer.

When I was trying to leave him.

''Were you trying to fucking kill yourself?'' He continues to pull me roughly.

I roll my eyes in annoyance but he ignores my discomfort. Even though I try to pull my hand away from his grasps, he is indeed stronger than I am, which fails me miserably, ''You need to let go of my arm.'' I push him with my other arm but he won't budge.

''Rose.''

''I wasn't trying to kill myself, okay?! I didn't see the fucking car and killing myself has never crossed my mine so can you please let go of my arm because it fucking hurts!'' I say, loudly which causes him to look at me in surprise. Without me realising, I am already breathing hard, due to the fact that I'm mad.

He let go of my arm slowly and I turn around—not bothered to face him. Ignoring his presence, I continue to walk down the road even though I don't know where my legs will take me but I don't care at the moment. I keep on hearing him calling out my name but like I said, I don't bother.

I sigh deeply as soon as he stops in front of me and starts holding my arm again, ''Where do you think you're going?'' He asks and I pull my arm once more, this time, I push him by the shoulder before walking pass him, but that doesn't stop him.

''Away from you.'' I answer.

When he stated the reason.

Elia sighs and I take a closer look at him—even from afar, I can see the thickness of his eyelashes, ''Rose. We can just forget whatever happened earlier and walk back. Let's not walk any further. I know you want me to stop you from walking away and this is what I'm trying to do. I'm sorry for saying that I didn't even want you here because honestly, I want you here. I paid one million dollars because I want you here. You want to know why I paid it for you instead of other girls? Because I want you. There's no simple explanation to why I did what I did but I have no single regret of it.''

When we were in a car accident.

''They're gone.'' I mutter.

Elia look up at the rear-view mirror again, ''That's odd—'' Just before he could finish his sentence, my eyes widen at the sight in front of us before we both hit the car up front—causing Elia and I to move forward towards the airbag but I hit my head to the side, making me see the darkness immediately.

I keep on hearing noises—more like voices. Blinking a few times, I see Elia's eyes are tightly shut as blood keeps on flowing down from his head. It also took me awhile to realise that we're upside down. Just like that, I start to close my eyes and every noise that I hear disappears due to the fact that I can't bear the pain anymore.

When he actually defended me.

Elia smiles back but I immediately stop moving all at once when I feel him wrapping his arms around my shoulder, making the two women look at me in envy—then all of a sudden, Elia lifts his middle finger using his right hand that is around my shoulder while continuing to smile at both of them. The two women gasps in surprise before walking towards the other direction, probably taking the stairs.

''Sluts.'' I hear Elia mutter under his breath.

Somehow, I want to smile but I remain calm.

When we had our first kiss.

I walk towards him, closing half of the space between us, ''I want to ask you. When you look at me, what do you see?'' My blue eyes are looking directly into his brown ones—waiting for his answer.

He leans in so that our noses are touching as he looks straight into my eyes, ''Mio amore.'' He says and within seconds, I feel his lips brushing against mine—pecking before slowly leaning back for a few seconds. We stare at each other, not really knowing what just happened but I wrap my arms around his neck, meeting his lips once more.

With every movement, I feel my butterflies in my stomach which causes me to lean in closer towards his body. Our kiss doesn't feel rushed because our lips are moving in sync, slowly and passionately. His hands are on my waist as he tilt his head to the side, getting a better access.

He pulls my body closer towards his while I pull at the tips of his hair—earning a slow groan from him. The softness of his lips leaves me wanting more and the comfort of his touch makes me want to continue on feeling his warmth; like there's nothing else in this world to care about except for ourselves.

It may be too early to say that we are enjoying each other's company but I know that we're starting to develop something, some sort of feeling just by looking at one another.

I break the kiss, brushing the tip of my nose against his and I see him clenching his jaw—his grip on my waist loosening a bit. As I look up, I see him still looking down at my lips, controlling his breathing. My whole body feels weird sensation that I've never felt before; as my heart continues to beat like I had run a marathon.

When he asked about trust.

From the side, I see him clenching his jaw before he turns to look at me, ''Do you trust me?''

''That's a hard question.'' I reply, making both us chuckle which is pretty insane when the situation is tense.

When he wanted me to be safe.

Closing my eyes, I exhale, ''I'm safer with you.'' Both of my hands are cupping his face, lucky me for being tall so our height wouldn't be much of a struggle.

My lips curve up into a small smile before pecking onto his cheek. He breathes out, pulling me by the waist before fully wrapping his arms around my body—leaving no space in between. We both snuggle up to each other's embrace and warmth; wanting this feeling to last.

No matter how less we know about each other, at least we know that the both of us are attracted in some way.

''Let me stay.'' I look up into his brown eyes and I see a glimpse of his dimple which causes me to stand on my tiptoes—wrapping my arms around his neck.

When I got shot—wait what?!

My eyes widen at Elia, pushing him slightly, ''I got shot?!'' I ask, loudly before he covers my mouth in a hurry. My whole body tenses at the fact that I once got shot. Then, I start to remember the scar on my back; they said that I got it from the car accident, I guess it's actually from being shot.

''Sto chiamando la polizia!'' Someone shouts from behind and Elia turns to look at him—more like glaring as he clenches his jaw in dissatisfaction but his grip on my face never loosen or tighten.

''Ci stiamo lasciando.'' Elia replies.

Then, he looks back at me, leaning in a bit but it's not the closeness that I'm worried about at the moment. I can feel myself weakening due to the amount of blood I'm losing but I try my best to stay awake; to fight the part of me who wants to let the darkness consume and just give in.

''Tesoro, look at me.'' He raises my face and I look straight into his brown eyes—which someone soothes the pain a little, ''Do you trust me?''

Both of us are just intimately staring into each other's eyes. Even though I barely know anything about him and we've only known each other for awhile but deep inside, it doesn't feel that way. It feels like I've known him forever.

''Rose, do you trust me?'' He repeats, waking me from my sudden trance.

''I trust you.''

When I found out he was married.

''You know exactly why I left, Elia. You know exactly why I gave up on us.'' She starts to speak and I hear heels on the floor, ''You can't just blame everything on me. It was your fault, too.''

To my surprise, Elia starts to chuckle but it didn't sound sincere or happy, ''At least, I thought I was marrying someone who would stay through the best and the worst, whatever may come, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others for as long as we both shall live.'' He replies. My heart starts to beat fast due to his respond.

When we had sex.

''Wait a minute, we had sex?'' I raise an eyebrow at him, trying to seek for answers in his eyes but all I see is smirk forming on his face—making me realise that we definitely did.

''Do you want me to show you the details?'' He glances at my lips for a few seconds before receiving a punch on the arm from me; making him groan in pain, sighing afterwards.

He clenches his jaw, glancing for a few seconds at my lips before looking into my eyes once more. Screw it, I thought to myself as I start to cup onto his face, pressing my lips against his. Without me realising, I feel my back being pressed against the soft mattress and Elia is currently hovering on top of me.

Both of his hands are on the side of my face as he supports his own weight with his elbows; preventing his body from completely falling on top of mine. My hands are currently pulling onto his shirt, trying to get it off without any intention on breaking the kiss but the kiss got interrupted for a few seconds for the shirt to be taken off.

Elia stops, looking straight into my eyes after eyeing my whole face, caressing my cheek with the back of his hand; making me lost in a world of my own. Then, he leans in once more, pecking me on the lips before trailing kisses down my neck. I feel the whole tingling sensation starts to appear; a sensation that I've never felt before with all honesty.

I pull onto the ends of his hair, earning a low groan from him.

As we continue to be lost in each other's warmth and touch, we barely even notice how we're already skin to skin—with nothing in between. For some reason, my cold skin finds comfort with his warm body. We manage to enjoy every touch and every movement; without realising with what we're dealing with.

Within seconds, I am already filled with all the memories I've lost. The dreams, the moments I've been through—it's all coming back to me. Even though, they come in broken pieces yet I manage to combine them all together, making it seem more like a reality.

I tuck strands of hair behind my ear after breathing heavily, ''I can't believe it.'' I mutter, looking up at him once more; seeing that he is clenching his jaw as he looks back at me—nodding his head slightly.

Once I stand in front of him, I start to close the distance between us. When I lean in, he expects a kiss on the lips but I immediately slap the side of his cheek; making his face turns to look right before clenching his jaw once more from the pain, ''I think I deserve that.'' He replies.

''Oh hell to the yeah you do,'' I say.

My heart won't stop beating at a fast pace—it's probably because I'm having a lot of thoughts right now and my emotions aren't stable either. I keep on thinking about the fact that Elia isn't actually a stranger but a man that I fell for; a man that I've given in when I've learned to build walls incase I have to prevent myself from hurting.

As tears form once more, I quickly wrap my arms around his neck and rest the side of my cheek on his chest—hearing his heartbeat. Within seconds, he is already wrapping his arms around my body, making me snuggle closer due to the fact that I've always missed this hug and his warmth. Not Emmet's kind of warmth nor hug.

''I hate you for leaving me,'' I mumble as I let tears stream down my cheek.

He wrap his arms around my body tighter while I inhale his scent, loving the sensation and the feeling. I feel him kissing the top of my head; long enough to know that he actually means it. We both stay still, only enjoying each other's warmth—how we have longed for this kind of touch.

I slowly break the hug, looking straight into his brown eyes; the kind of brown eyes that I've loved. Then, I am standing on my tiptoes, kissing him on the lips before he starts to kiss me back—my whole body starts to feel the flow of electricity that's supposed to exist between two lovers and now I completely understand how I've been with the wrong person.

We both hug each other again and this time, he has one of his hand at the back of my head, soothingly calming me down, ''I'm sorry, amore. I'll never leave you again,'' He mutters in my ear; making me pull him tighter.

I place both of my hands on his shoulders before looking up into his eyes, ''I want to know about my parents,'' I say, earning a confused look from him—due to the fact that he doesn't know but I know he can help me.

Honestly, I've been getting the same nightmare once in awhile. The nightmare where I was being dragged away by a man who I've known as my father. I want to know what that nightmare means because I'm sure it means something, it's not just a dream. It must be a memory.

''We'll figure it out,'' He replies and we start to walk down the road before I stop—looking back at my suitcase being left all by itself on the ground. As I run to pick it up, I turn to see Elia laughing. Then, he starts to walk towards me, helping me with the suitcase.

Two days after,

We are currently just roaming around the streets in Los Angeles, not really knowing why we're doing this especially when the sun is setting soon—Elia said he wanted to show me a place he found while I wasn't around, a place where he finds peace.

My eyes widen as I see the same house in my nightmares before quickly grabbing onto Elia's forearm, making him turn to look at me, ''Stop the car.'' I mutter, and he stops the car while I turn to look that the house is exactly the same.

''Wait,'' I say.

I step out of the car, walking straight towards the house before I hear Elia running up to me, trying to catch up before asking questions. I turn to look at him, ''I'm just thinking.'' I reply which makes him furrow his eyebrows once more but I keep on walking until we reach the front door.

Seconds before I can knock onto the door, the door swings open, revealing a man around his twenties looking back at me; somehow surprised to see me standing here. I swallow the non-existing lump in my throat while I look straight into his blue eyes—reminding myself as the same guy I bumped into at the airport last year.

The both of us look at each other, confused even but I can't help but notice that he looks exactly like the man in my nightmares. With the same blue eyes, they look similar yet there are a few differences; such as the shape of his face. His face is more defined and his nose isn't even crooked. Apart from that, they look the same.

''Hi,'' I say.

He looks up at Elia before looking back at me, ''Hi.'' He replies.

''I—I'm looking for Barbara,'' I continue.

The man clenches his jaw, looking at me as if I've lost my mind but there's something hidden in his eyes. I don't know how I come to know the name Barbara but it feels like I've heard it a few times when I was a little girl so it doesn't hurt to try.

''I'm sorry, I think I'm at the wrong house.'' I shake my head with a smile once I realise that the man isn't saying anything; so I might as well leave. When I turn around to face Elia, I see him looking back at the man with blue eyes; probably wondering something.

''Wait.''

I turn around, looking back at the man before he takes a few steps towards me, then he runs his thumb on my cheek—making me furrow my eyebrows immediately, ''Rose?'' He asks and my eyes widen in surprise.