With the acceptance of
*Leo*
I was incredibly sleepy. I should have sent someone for coffee, but unfortunately, everyone had already gone home, so I had to push myself to get up from my office chair and go to the nearest café. Outside, a cold wind was blowing, and I hoped that Della heeded the advice of Elizabeth and Nick and didn’t go to the party. I turned the corner, and a girl literally collided with me.
— Oh, pardon, — she lifted her embarrassed face to me, and I stepped back in surprise.
— Leo? — it seemed she couldn’t believe our meeting either.
— Rose? — I was still praying to the heavens that this wasn’t true.
— Leo! — the blonde squeaked joyfully.
— Rose… — I repeated not very joyfully, and the girl rushed to hug me.
Why do meetings with exes have to be like this?
— Comme c'est merveilleux que nous ayons rencontré, ta mama...
— Ne parlons pas de ma mère, — I interrupted her immediately, but she frowned only for a second. Rose's expression and behavior hadn’t changed — she still looked like a doll and still acted like a child. I once nicknamed her "little Rosie" for these qualities, but she took it as a compliment to her appearance.
— Que faites-vous ici? — I finally gathered myself.
— J'ai pris l'avion pour la fête, bien sûr, — I was ready to bet that she flew in on her daddy’s plane and at his expense, — où es-tu? — before I could even open my mouth, she had already taken me by the arm and was pulling me down the street. — Prends-moi, chérie, nous ne nous sommes pas vus depuis si longtemps. Vous n'êtes pas pressé, n'est-ce pas?
— En général, j'ai plusieurs choses importantes à faire...
— Mais pas aussi important que moi, non? — I wanted to say that she was really flattering herself, but I was sure she wouldn’t let go.
We passed four or five blocks (I have no idea why she didn’t take a taxi or her daddy’s limousine) until we finally reached the right building.
— Eh bien, maintenant il est vraiment temps pour moi, — I tried to break free from Rose’s tight grip, but she seemed to hold me even tighter.
— Oh, laisse ces excuses, allons-y, détendons-nous un peu, — she insisted, and before I could protest again, she was already dragging me toward the entrance.
— He’s with me, — she chirped in English to the guards (of course, they knew her) and shoved me into the noisy premises.
— Rose, stop, I shouldn’t be here! — I tried to object.
— Come on, just five minutes, don’t leave me here alone, — but I didn’t want to stay there for even a second longer.
— I’m leaving, sorry, I have no desire to be here.
— Bien, — the lavishly dressed doll hung on my neck for a moment, then turned away and left, throwing back:
— À plus tard mon amour, — I forced myself not to roll my eyes and stepped back out into the fresh air.
Somewhere around noon, I woke up to a phone call. Not that I was sleeping. No. I was just sitting with my eyes closed. I didn't want to answer, but it was Nick, so I rubbed my face with my palm to come to my senses a bit, grabbed a glass of icy water that had been sitting nearby, the liquid of which had warmed up due to the heat in the room, and picked up the receiver.
— Yes?
— How are you holding up? — Nick sounded anxious and was running somewhere, because in the background, I could hear voices and the noise of cars. I brought the glass to my lips and took a small sip — the water had indeed warmed up, which made me want to drink nothing at all. I grimaced as I poured the contents of the glass out and returned to the conversation.
— Normal, — I replied, not even trying to hide the irritation and sleepiness in my voice.
— Stop lying, — it sounded a bit harsh. — When was the last time you slept for more than two hours?
— It doesn’t matter, — I ignored his question. I really hadn’t been able to sleep properly, but Nicolas was exaggerating. At night, I could fall asleep for six hours, yet I still wanted to sleep all day, which made me look half-dead. My secretary was already alarmed by my appearance, and even out of the blue, he began to ask me several times if I wanted to postpone any of my meetings to rest. Nonsense, of course. Work was all that distracted me from the obsessive thoughts, because even in my sleep, I continued to argue with them. Suddenly, I remembered that I didn’t like talking to friends on the phone:
— You might as well come over if you’re so eager to know how I’m doing, — it slipped out of me. And then I remembered I didn’t want to see anyone...
— You shouldn’t have thrown those words around, — "and you really shouldn’t have," — I added in my mind.
I hung up. A week had already passed since I began tackling the tasks I had postponed all this time, so now I had no time to think about how bad I felt.
I wasn’t sick, or rather I was sick, but not physically. I had been sending Adele flowers for almost a week, writing to her on social media, explaining the whole situation, hoping she would understand me, but she seemed to not even want to mention me.
When she sent me that news and then stopped responding, I almost went out of my mind. I couldn’t bear the thought that she didn’t know what really happened, so I tried every way to reach her. They say hope dies last. Then, on her Instagram page, a story appeared with a tall brunette with deep brown eyes, who was tenderly hugging and kissing Adele on the cheek. I don’t know how long I sat staring at that photo, I only remember that after that, I cut off all contact. I stopped writing, waiting for a call, or at least a message. I didn’t want to impose myself if that was her will.
I thought only of one thing: how could I not have guessed that she might already have someone? That thought weighed on me, just like the thought of everything that had arisen between us.
— Hey! Are you even listening to me? — Nick asked, waving his hands in front of my face.
Remind me, when did I let him into my office? My brain suddenly started working, which brought a dull pain to my head. I closed my eyes, rubbing my temples.
— No, — I confessed. I should have felt ashamed, but I felt nothing, only the pulsing in my head increasing with every second.
— I thought so. You need a change of scenery, a break, — that was all I needed.
— No, — I repeated, pausing before adding. — No need, I’m fine as it is. — I have a ton of work, — I pointed to the piles of papers in front of me.
— So what do I do with you?
— Just leave me alone, I’m not in the mood at all, — I wanted to sleep again.
And then I saw a white pill in front of me:
— Here, take it, — Nick ordered.
— Why? — I pushed out, although I knew the answer.
— It’ll stop the headache, — he explained. And I swallowed it, washing it down with the water that Mathieu was handing me. The water was cold. I thought — "how nice it is when you’re understood without words." In a couple of minutes, the headache stopped bothering me, and with renewed energy, I got back to work, sending Nick to walk Tony, who was losing his mind from the fact that I had ceased to spend time with him.
Almost until the end of October, I worked as if I had nothing else to do. Now I don’t really remember that period. I only remembered Nick's advice regarding male dignity and calls from my brother. Poor Philipp! In the end, he and his fiancée chose a place for their wedding and invited me to the ceremony on the thirteenth of November. I love both brothers, but Philipp, perhaps due to the smaller age difference, resonated with me a bit more, so I decided that even if it was hard, I had to come and support my brother on such an important day for him.
Gradually, life became brighter, my mind clearer, and although some unpleasant feeling didn’t disappear, I was getting used to it. I returned to my old work schedule, stopped running errands day and night, and even started meeting with partners, with Nick and Ella, who looked excessively happy. But on the eve of Halloween, I noticed something unusual on the street. I was standing by the window, watching the show unfolding on the city streets, when suddenly I saw a girl trying to push her way through the crowd in costumes.