ROMAIN
Bella is quiet on the way back to England. I don’t try to pry out of her whatever she’s worried about. I have my own shit to deal with. Marcel sent me the details of the job he wants me to do. I have to make a little trip to London as soon as he gives the go-ahead.
I’ve done some fucked up things for Grandfather in the past, but messing with Nicole is the next level. She’s family. Marcel’s eldest. She’s supposed to be untouchable. If he’s making this kind of move on her….
I also have no idea how I’m going to send a message to her. Maybe I scare her somehow? Fuck with Seth? Grandfather might be livid at that, but it’d be worth it. Seth Montford needs to come down a fucking peg or two.
On the drive back, I call a mutual friend I know who has a history with Seth. She owes me a lot of things—time to collect.
“Hey, Rome, how are you, baby? Oh, hold on….” There’s rustling, and then she breathes down the phone. “Sorry, I’m just about to board a plane.”
“Beautiful Lana, about to come to London to party, I hope?”
“Hah, no, I’m on my way to Milan for a shoot, but I could be persuaded to drop by afterward.”
“You do that. It’s been way too long since I had a blowout with you.”
She giggles down the phone. “Oh, we’re boarding. But yes, let’s do it. See you soon, baby.”
I sigh as she hangs up. Lana is the only way I can get close to Seth and hence close to Nicole. She’s my friend, but she’s Seth’s ex. Even though we’re cousins, we don’t spend time together. But they still hang out, so it’s not uncommon for us all to be at some club together and then go back to my house or Seth’s. The only problem is Lana is a goddamn coke fiend, and I’ve given up that pretty habit since the start of term. Studying and being coked off my damn tits don’t mesh well for me. But if I meet with Lana, I’m going to go off the fucking rails.
I’ll just have to avoid Bella
Or maybe I should take her with me?
“Who is Lana?” Bella asks, speaking for the first time in hours.
I give her a confused look. “What?”
“She’s an old friend,” I say. As soon as the words are off my lips, I know it’s the wrong thing to say. Bella says nothing more, twisting her head away from me to look out of the window. I go to reach for her, but then I’m annoyed that she’s closed herself off for no fucking reason, so I pull back.
I drop Bella off at the rear entrance and then get Simon to drive back out to the front. If I come in the rear entrance, someone will get suspicious. She hasn’t said more than those words to me since last night. Maybe I went too far? Maybe I hurt her?
When I get to my own room in the dorm house, a place I’ve hardly slept in all term, it’s unappealingly empty. I have a sudden overwhelming urge to see her, to beg her forgiveness for being a dick. I shower and change, and head to her apartment. It’s still half term holidays, so the halls and grounds of the campus are empty. There’s hardly anyone around to see me at her place, so I take the risk.
On the way, I take a detour to the school horticulture gardens and pick a couple of roses. I don’t do romantic bullshit, but Bella has me doing things I wouldn’t normally do.
She still hasn’t told me what happened to her at Courchevel. Time to wheedle it out of her. She doesn’t get to keep secrets. I should be the only secret she’s keeping.
The door is open when I get there. I push my way inside, only to be greeted with an empty room. Everything is gone, her clothes, even her books.
“Bella?”
Silence.
I stalk through and check every room like a fucking idiot, just to be sure. When it’s clear she’s gone, my chest constricts. Of course, she would fucking walkout. She has done it before. The age gap excuse is bullshit.She’s gone and left me, just like she did the first time. I smash the roses in my hand into the wall and then slam my fist into the wardrobe door several times over. It’s broken, hanging off its hinges when I’m done. Breathing hard, I storm through the school under some kind of red mist until I get to the front entrance, expecting to see her leaving but find no one.
There’s one security guy in the porter’s lodge. I grill him until I find out that she took a taxi to the airport, and then sprint back to my room to grab my car keys. I’ll take the Mclaren. I can get there before she does. I can fucking stop her.
I drive like a maniac. Three times I nearly lose my grip on the wheel and spin the car to fucking kingdom come. I’m sweating like a bitch, chest-pounding, threatening to kill every fucking driver to cut me up. The Mclaren screams into the pick-up and drop-off strip, and I leave it where it lands. If I get a ticket, I don’t fucking care.
Every girl with dark hair is Bella until I’m yanking them by the shoulder, spinning them around to yell at me. Did I mention that I don’t fucking care? Finally, I see her. She’s queuing up, about to walk through security. I make a mad dash across the causeway.
“Fucking move,” I snap, shoving aside anyone who gets in my way.
“Bella, wait.” I pant, throwing my hands on my knees while I suck in lungfuls of air. She turns around, mouth open, eyes wide, taking me in.
“What are you doing here?”