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Not many had that kind of support, and I grew envious of their relationship. He called her daily to check in like she would forever be his only concern. My father vanished more than my mother on her never-ending spa retreats. He’d only come back to make sure I hadn’t fucked up the company.
Now that I had the basis of her life on paper, I needed to begin doing deeper research by engaging with her. For the last three days, Emilia Carmichael revealed her first priority as her morning run. On it, she always paused and sat on a certain bench along the greenbelt of the river in the city. She didn’t do anything but sit, so I knew where I could intercept her to secure my first conversation with her. Right on cue, she left her horrid apartment and threw her duffle bag of work clothes in the backseat.
Starting my own car, I waited for her to pull out and lead our drive to the parking area. I’d park further down to be at the bench before her arrival, but I did wear my athletic attire to fit the morning crowd out and about this time of day. Running had been my own vise several times in my life because of the chaos that came with the business my family invested in, but I didn’t want to start a good run without finishing it. I could go after I finished conversing with Emilia.
The drive felt short, but I knew that had to do more with my racing thoughts rather than the true duration. Stepping out of my small sedan, I purchased it for the time being because I didn’t know how long it would take for me to get Dray out. Using a rental for months felt like too much, and there were plenty of community programs that could use a brand-new car when I finished with it. Sometimes, I let myself believe my small acts of kindness could redeem the true criminal I had to become. Survival felt like a funny concept when it was my own home that felt like the feral ground of predators I had to fight through.
Emilia drove down to her starting point, so I got out to find my seat in her favorite place. Some called this stalking, but I called it finding the right window for a proper introduction. Being someone like me, every potential engagement had to be observed before meeting. Everyone sharpened their knives, but I came with mine already drawn when the wrong party thought they could get to me because I anticipated from my observations.
Getting comfortable, I leaned back to see the morning sun gleaming over the surface of the water. The remarkable beauty took my breath for a single moment. Wow. The trickling of water over the rapids and rocks made the sunlight dance along the glimmering top. Silver springs sparkling with its golden hues. The sound of the wistful stream only intoxicated my thoughts to settle on the peace this scenic piece of nature offered. Getting lost in the tranquility, I almost forgot my purpose until I heard footfalls drawing near and slowing down.
Emilia paused, seeing her location having an audience today. The shock only captured her momentarily as she walked toward me. “Mind if I sit here?”
Pointing to the seat beside me, her sweet voice had a breathy haze to it from her brisk jog. Smiling, I patted the spot and turned my gaze back toward the hypnotizing water. She took her seat and remained silent. I felt like she wanted an unspoken truce to not speak, but I couldn’t do that with my need to get to know her.
“It’s so beautiful,” I murmured in her direction.
“Mhmm. It was my mother’s favorite place in the world. She’d bring me here when she felt overwhelmed to let it calm us both.” Knowing her mother fell sick when she was a teenager, it felt wrong to play dumb, but I really didn’t have any other options.
“Was?”
“She died several years ago from cancer.”
“I’m so sorry,” I earnestly said because I remembered how hard it was for Draven to recover from his mother’s untimely passing.
“Thank you, but I’m alright. I come here every morning to feel her. For some reason, it makes me start my day off a little better than it would’ve without her.” Grinning, her lips exposed her perfect teeth.
“I bet she smiles down from heaven every time you do come here.”
“I hope so.” Emilia sat back. “She deserves to live in peace after all that pain, and I hope seeing me helps that.” After letting her drift off for a bit to think of her mother, she turned back to me. “I’m sorry, I’m being rude. Here I am talking about my dead mother, and I haven’t even asked your name.”
“Tony,” I replied. “And you?”
“Millie.”
“Millie, is that short for Mildred?” I asked to make sure I kept my interactions healthy before I called her by her beautiful real name on accident, letting her know I’d been watching her.
“No, it’s for Emilia, but I feel like it’s too old fashioned.” Her nose turned up.
“Oh, I quite like Emilia. It’s a beautiful name.”
“Anything sounds beautiful with an accent like yours,” she quipped before realizing what she said.
Laughing, I could feel my cold cheeks pulling to form a smile that came with the sound. “I’ll be sure to remember that, Emilia.”
Turning her way, my breath halted. The morning sun fell over her honey hair and face to show me a glimpse of a blissful eternity in the afterlife I wouldn’t make it to. Damnation already claimed me. Her warmth and sunshine felt infecting, but I knew better than to put my trust in someone so easily. I only trusted two people, Draven and Costas.
Costas happened to be the favored man who came to work for my father at a young age. I never knew why my father hired him as a young teen, but he was my age now and loyal to my family. With how my father’s righthand man took him in, it made me question if maybe Costas was his. When I asked Costas about it, he avoided the subject altogether. My father did too and told me people’s personal lives were their own. I had to trust in his words to leave it there, so I grew closer to him as a friend and hired him for the same position Mario did for my father. Technically, we were both still under their rule, but Costas became my second after being raised and trained by Mario.
“You seem lost in thought,” Emilia reminded me I went inside myself. Living in my shoes, my mind was the only safe place outside of Draven’s arms.
“I’m just thinking about a friend who is about to fly in to see me.” It wasn’t a lie because Costas would arrive in a week and help me finalize Dray’s escape.
“Oh, I bet that’ll be fun.”
“Fun is one word to describe the mischief we get in,” I muttered. She gave me a funny look, so I changed the subject completely. “Well, thank you for letting me intrude on your mother’s time, and I hope you have that great day.”
“It was lovely to meet you, Anthony or Antonio? I hope you have a wonderful day too.” Her beauty could rival a goddess, and I knew she bewitched Dray with it because I was falling victim too.
