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Emily: I’ll drive down.
I heave a sigh of relief. Finally getting somewhere.
Me: You don’t have to do it .
Me: I messaged you out of the blue. I should be the one to drive down.
Emily: No, I want to.
Emily: No disrespect, but I’ll truthfully prefer not to have you in my space.
Damn… was I really bad?
I read through her last message again, feeling worse. If she believes that being in her hometown ruins her haven, then I must have been the worst person she ever dated.
****
I spot her the moment she walks into the restaurant, where we agreed to meet, a baby strapped to her chest. I stand up and wave at her. She’s different from the girl I remember. Still beautiful and probably always will be, but she’s more mature now. Her blonde hair is in a short bob. Her face is calm, and her green eyes speak of her life experience. She handles her child with ease, showing she’s had one before. My heart wrenches at the sight, and my thoughts go to the child I lost before even holding him in my arms.
“Hello, Enzo,” she greets, sitting opposite me.
“Emily. It’s wonderful to see you again,” I say politely. “Thank you for coming, but I have to ask. Why did you agree to this?”
“Closure.” Her eyes bore into mine as she spoke. “Truthfully, you were one of the most traumatic experiences in my life and the chance to get closure doesn’t come easily. So, when I got your message, I knew I had to meet with you. Years might have passed, but you still affect me.”
I look away from those eyes still holding pain despite the years. I feel like trash. How could I have been so terrible? I still affected her negatively after so many years. In the years I’ve gone, the memories of our relationship disappeared from my mind. Shame courses through me for forgetting so quickly and moving on with my life while a part of her remains stuck in the past.
“What was our relationship like for you? This is your chance to tell me everything you weren’t able to say back then,” I say sincerely.
“When we met, I was completely blown away by your charm. It was surreal, that an exotic Italian boy would notice me, especially since you also was rich. You made me feel like I was a fairytale princess,” she utters and laughs. “Like Cinderella and her prince.”
“Everything was good for a while. I suppose I should’ve known. The movies might portray a happily ever after, but it isn’t always so.” She appears to shrink right before my eyes, her eyes glazing over like she’s back in the past.
My heart clenches as the realization hits. She’s still scared of me and I torment her memory. I want to punch something, but I’d only startle her and send her running, so I sit there, listening as she continues.
“It wasn’t long before everything became horrible. Do you remember how you never let me go anywhere without your permission?” she asks in a droll tone. “I became your accessory. I couldn’t make choices without your input, or else you got so mad and screamed at me. Soon, I couldn’t speak with anyone you didn’t want me to."
She tries to imitate my voice, “Why are speaking with him?”
“When someone approached me, you got so angry. My worst nightmare at the time was some random guy would talk to me and you’d hurt me or him, or maybe both of us. It got so bad I avoided everyone.”
Her voice catches, and she stops to take a deep breath, her eyes closing for a moment. She looks away when she finally regains control.
“You controlled who I could be friends with, making me end friendships if they spoke against you. You isolated me from everyone until I had no one but you to rely on. I spent more time with you than I did at home…you never saw anything wrong with you.”
Memories come rushing back as she speaks. I was extremely selfish and controlling. There aren’t enough words to describe the monster I was.
“I’d begun to fear I’d never get out of the relationship. I couldn’t break up with you even though I wanted to, for fear of what you’d do. It just became too much for me, and I had to get away from you.”
She smiles bitterly, her eyes revealing her sadness. "It took so much courage. There were so many times when I tried to do it, but I chickened out. When I finally did, you made it seem stupid.
What’s wrong with you? Do you think you can survive on your own? These were the questions you asked. Getting out of that relationship was so freeing."
She sniffled and let out a shaky breath before pasting on a false smile. “What is it? Why do you suddenly want to know about it?”
Tears pool in my eyes. I blink to stop them, but they fall freely down despite my best efforts.
“Why are you crying?” she asks, holding her child to her chest.
