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“Well, gentlemen, it’s been a pleasure.” He hands back the engagement ring in its box to me. “I’ll commence work on the two custom bands right away and will be in touch about billing within the week.”
“Good. We’ll talk then, I grunt. Curse escorts Bruno from the room.
I don’t watch them go. I’m too pre-occupied with the little black box in my hand. Even the box looks luxurious, some kind of perfectly carved and polished wood that’s been lacquered to obsidian perfection. It’s so glossy and uniform that it makes the smooth expanse of my glove look cracked and gritty.
It’s so small. And yet, it feels oddly heavy in my hand. Positioning my thumb against the seam of the box, I pop it open.
Inside the lid there’s a tiny light that automatically comes on when the box is opened. The light cascades down over the diamond, showing off the gem in all its glory. Shattered bands of colour explode outward, like fireworks, from the white centre.
I sit and stare mutely at the ring for a long, long time.
Entirely fucking mesmerised by its fire.
Chapter 20
Deirdre
I float through my classes in a bit of a daze, unable to focus much on anything that goes on around me. I’m so caught-up in worrying about how Elio’s faring at home without me.
Hold on. Did I just say at home? Like… my home?
I shake that off and try to redirect my attention to my laptop. But as Doctor Heaney goes on at the front of the class, I find my mind drifting once again. What if Elio’s not listening to the doctor’s orders? What if he’s not resting like he’s supposed to? He seemed to hate it last night. There was all this pent-up, burning energy inside him that seemed to make him miserable, especially when paired with how much pain I know he’s in.
I hope he’s at least taken a Tylenol, the stubborn sod.
I take a few perfunctory notes, already knowing that I’m going to have to borrow some from a classmate for this lecture, because mine are pathetically sparse. Although, that might not turn out to be so easy. Everyone’s given me a wide fucking birth ever since we came back from the holiday break and I showed up to the first day of January classes with Elio Titone at my side. I haven’t attended a single class unchaperoned since then, and whenever it wasn’t Elio, it’s Enzo, like today. He may not be as outwardly intimidating as Elio – because let’s be real, is anyone? – but he’s still very big, very broody, and so very obviously not a man to be fucked around with that it’s had every one of my classmates avoiding me like I’ve got some kind of contagious virus.
There’s nobody even sitting in this row with us, even though it’s a decently full room. Enzo and I are completely alone here.
Enzo doesn’t say anything, and I don’t find him nearly as distracting as I do Elio, but it still isn’t easy to concentrate beside him. His head is on a constant swivel, casting his fierce hazel gaze at the students behind us, then back to the front of the room, then to the windows, then to the door, before repeating it all over again. He’s Elio’s head of security, and man, does he ever seem fit for the role. He’s like a German Shepherd in the shape of a person.
The lecture ends, and I give a sigh of relief. I still have a seminar right after this, but at least I’m halfway done now.
Never thought I’d see the day where I’m anxious to get out of class so I can go back and check on Elio. The hold that man has managed to wrap around me is insane. I’m so busy imagining all the ways he could make his injuries worse doing something stupid that I almost miss Doctor Heaney’s reminder from the front of the room as we all file out.
“Don’t forget about your assignment! It’s due in March!”
Shoot. I had forgotten about it. There’s still lots of time, but that’s not what has me worried. What has me worried is that I don’t see how I’m supposed to actually complete the assignment within the given parameters. We’re supposed to go to a live music event and write up a comparative report outlining the similarities and differences to live music productions in the modern age versus a historical period of our choosing. It actually sounds like a really cool assignment. The prof didn’t give us any real restrictions on the type of music. It could be anything from a symphony to a metal concert to a live band in a pub.
But there’s no fucking way Elio’s going to let me go have a night on the town listening to live music.
I take my studies seriously. I’ve never been the type to slack off too much or cheat. But for the first time in my uni career I think I might either have to skip this one or really fudge it by making up a fake music event and writing a report on that.
I blow out a sigh. I’ll worry about that later, I guess.
Maybe I can use my fucking wedding as the music event, I think with mirthless irony. I’m sure there will be music there…
If it even happens. Which it won’t.
The seminar goes much the same as the lecture, with me finding it difficult to focus. It gets so bad towards the end of the class that I do something I typically make it a rule to avoid, because it always just feels so disrespectful, especially in a small, intimate seminar versus a lecture.
But I do it anyway. I take out my phone, hiding it behind the open screen of my laptop. I scroll through my contacts until I reach Elio, who’s still listed as My Monster.
I choose the text message option, biting hard at my lip as I stare at the blinking cursor in the text box.
What do I even want to say? I’ve never texted him before, and it’s got me feeling unnecessarily anxious. And that makes me so annoyed with myself I start typing out of sheer anger.
Are you following the doctor’s orders? Are you in bed?
