AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Perhaps we both got the justice we deserved,” he said, “and the mercy we didn’t.”
I raised an eyebrow. He caught my eye and cleared his throat.
“Don’t get used to great insights like that,” he said.
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
I sighed putting elbows on the desk and my head in my hands.
“You know,” Adrian said, “a woman much prefers an apology in person.”
I laughed behind my hands. “An apology couldn’t cover it.”
“Maybe, maybe not. You never know unless you try.”
I picked up the pen and tapped it against the paper, the ink making incoherent splotches across the page.
“Besides, you want to see her again,” Adrian asked. “Don’t you?”
I swallowed, avoiding his gaze. “Does it matter?”
“It would to her.”
I met his eyes and turned away when I saw the seriousness in them. I sighed, not answering.
“In other news, Jacques hired me for a job,” Adrian said, filling the silence. “I leave in about a week. Maybe you should come back with me. See Mom and Dad, maybe a few other people worth seeing.”
He lingered for a moment, waiting for my answer. I nodded, but I wasn’t sure if it was simply in acknowledgment or in agreement.
He smirked as if he had won a game of cards.
“You’ll have enough time to think of your apologies on the ship,” he said as he started to walk out the door. “But if you ask me, I’d say you won’t be needing them.”
***
“This is it?” I asked.
Adrian nodded, walking up to the door with me. He was the only one of us who knew where Esmeralda lived, and he had offered—or, I should say, forced—his escort to her house. I had to keep wiping my sweaty palms against my coat, hoping it would help them from shaking.
“It’s late,” I commented. “Maybe we should come back tomorrow—”
“It took us over a month to get here,” he said. “Don’t you think you’ve made her wait long enough?”
He reached up to knock on the door, but I grabbed his arm.
“She has to hate me,” I blurted out. “She has to.”
His eyes lingered on me for a long moment, and he lowered his arm.
“Esmeralda? Hate?” He chuckled. “I kidnapped her, threatened her family, and nearly got her killed. In the end, she still pleaded for my life. You think that woman would hate you?”
I swallowed. “I did far worse.”
He puffed out his cheeks and gave a rough sigh. “Yeah, yeah, you messed up. How about you ask her directly how she feels instead of making up stories that make you miserable?”
With that, he banged hard on the front door and ran off, leaving me at the doorstep alone.
“You rat!” I called after him.
