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Who was this guy? “You know my husband?” I asked.
He nodded, smiling. “Valerio, Verona, and I all studied together. I am a little wounded I was not invited to the wedding.”
I was about to blabber something, but I was cut off again. “You are not close enough to be invited.”
My eyes widened at those words. Verona really had no chill. I could see for a second Max flinched, but his smile didn’t waver. Maybe because he had known her for so long, he was not fazed. Still, their dynamic didn’t make sense at all to me.
“I should work on that,” he said. “Oh, by the way, I bought something for you when I was in Europe.”
“What?” Verona asked with furrowed brows.
Maxim reached into his bag that was hanging from his arm and brought out a book. It looked old but in good condition. He handed it to Verona. “I saw this in a second-hand shop. It is a poetry book in Italian. It reminded me of you because I know you can speak Italian. Just a small gift.”
I thought it was a sweet gesture. Apparently, Verona didn’t because all she said was, “And you were carrying this with you?”
“Like I said, I thought I might see you.”
“Whatever,” she mumbled.
Just for a second, Max looked at Verona with longing but then hid it with a bigger smile. “I should go talk to some people now, but I hope I will see you around Verona.”
“Maybe.”
Max then looked at me. “Nice to meet you, Luce. Say hi to Valerio for me.”
“Will do,” I replied with a polite smile. I really couldn’t find one reason to be rude to him, and I was usually good at that.
Just before leaving, Max’s eyes came to Bianca’s. For the first time, they were not so warm. Bianca’s eyes reflected the same displeasure. “Take care, Bianca,” he said, addressing her for the first time.
“Goodbye, Maxim,” she replied like she really wanted to live her life without ever seeing him again.
Maxim then left, but the heavy air his presence created stayed anyway. I was actually scared to talk because I thought he was a nice person, and I knew Verona and Bianca might end all the possibility for us to be friends if I said that. So, instead, I let them talk.
“I hate that guy,” Verona said, and I thought this might be the first time I saw Verona express any type of emotion.
Bianca shook her anger away to console Verona. “Don’t let him bother you.”
Verona shook her head and looked at the book. “It is like he is making fun of me,” she murmured and walked away, ignoring Bianca.
I really didn’t know what to do. Understanding Verona was not easy. I couldn’t understand how she thought he was making fun of her when all he did was be kind to her.
Thankfully understanding Bianca was a bit easier, and she looked like she needed some help at the moment. She looked after Verona with sad eyes. Even I could tell that Verona didn’t have feelings for her. I doubted Verona had feelings for anyone— except her hate for Maxim, apparently.
Bianca should have let her crush go, but I had no idea how to tell her that.
“Bianca,” I said with a soft tone thinking about how I should word my thoughts.
She looked back at me, and without needing any other words, she nodded. “I know.” She swallowed and looked down sadly. “I’m gonna go have a smoke.”
I didn’t follow her. My chest felt heavy for her, and I realized I felt a little guilty because I had what she wanted. I had never felt like that before. I was always the subject of pity for others, but now I had something most people wanted in life.
Just a second after that, someone pulled me into his arms. “Where did they go?” he asked.
I looked at him and smiled for a second at how seeing his face made me feel. I was not even so afraid of it anymore.
“What?” he asked.
I shook myself off. Dozing off like a schoolgirl in love was not me. Maybe it was now, but I was still not comfortable showing it. Instead, I gathered myself and answered his previous question. “I met Maxim.”
