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I begin to grab my belongings, holding the telephone between my head and shoulder. “You should know I ripped your roses apart and threw them from my hotel window.”
“It doesn’t change the fact I love you.”
I scoff, shoving clothes into my bag. “You have no idea what love is. Obsession and love are not the same thing.”
“Then show me,” he says. “Show me how to love.”
“Some people are incapable.”
“Grace, you felt it just like I did. I know you did. And I let Maxim ruin what we had, but I won’t let him ruin another second. We can work through this.”
I laugh. “No, Ivan, we can’t. Everything I did, every smile, every kiss, every lame fuck, was because I wanted to gain your trust so I could get the hell away from you. It was all a lie, a way for me to escape.”
“That’s not true,” he hisses, and for the first time, he doesn’t sound so confident.
I smile, even though he can’t see it. “I used to scrub you from my skin after every time. You made me sick. I could never love a man like you.”
“Grace,” he murmurs.
“Give up, Ivan. It’ll never happen.”
I disconnect and shove my feet into my trainers. Grabbing my jacket and bag, I pull up my hood and carefully open the door to my room, peering out into the corridor. It’s quiet. I creep to the lift and press the call button before rushing back to my room and pressing myself against the door just in case he hears it and looks out his peephole.
When it pings open, I dash into it, pressing myself to the side of the lift wall, hoping that if he does look out, he doesn’t see me. I scan my card and press for the ground floor several times before the door finally closes and I breathe a sigh of relief.
I place my keycard in the checkout box, and the receptionist glances up. “I can check you out,” she says.
I shake my head. “I’m in a rush.” I break out onto the street and run towards a taxi, shoving a man out of the way and slamming the door. “I need to go to the bus station,” I snap, pulling on my seatbelt. “As quick as you can.”
I arrive at the bus station five minutes later and head right for the ticket box. I glance at the information board. “When’s the next bus leaving?”
“For?” asks the man behind the counter.
“Anywhere. I’m in a hurry to leave.”
He glances at his computer screen. “There’s a bus to Paris in ten minutes.”
I nod, shoving some money towards him. He takes what he needs before printing me a ticket and handing it over.
I’m speed walking across the station when I spot him. He’s getting out of a taxi, and for a second, I stop and stare. The rush of feelings I have returns the second he places his shades over his eyes and glances around. My body is a traitor.
I duck down behind the rubbish bin, taking a breath and pulling my hood up before standing and marching towards my bus without glancing back.
Luckily, passengers are already climbing aboard. I keep my bag with me and climb the steps, moving towards the back to sit in a window seat. The windows are tinted, and Ivan won’t be able to see inside. A woman sits beside me, and I stare out the window. There’s no sign of Ivan, and relief floods me when the engine roars to life.
The bus begins to pull away just as Ivan comes into view. I smile to myself, and as it passes him, he grins too, staring directly at me. He gives a small wave, and I frown in confusion. The woman rummages into her bag and pulls out a mobile phone. She smiles at me. “You’re Grace?” she asks, and I nod. “This is from your husband,” she says, handing it to me. The sick feeling returns when the mobile buzzes to life. I take it, smiling weakly as I press to answer and put it to my ear.
“See you in the City of Love, my love.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
IVAN
The hotel receptionist was paid highly to give me the heads up when Grace checked out from the hotel. Within five minutes of her leaving, we were right behind her. And now, as I watch the tracker heading to Paris, I’m satisfied she can’t get away from me. I just have to convince her I’m not giving up.
“Why don’t we just stop the bus and take her?” asks Alek, handing me a coffee.
“Because she needs to come back to me of her own free will. Forcing her will only anger her more.”
