Chapter 2

2

L IZ

"She's probably home, sleeping," I say. "She didn't feel well last time we talked."

Finally, I say something remotely true.

"She got a bug or something?" my cousin asks, breaking off a piece of the garlic bread.

I watch her fingers push the food into her mouth.

"It may be. She didn't feel well on Sunday."

Her eyes stay locked with mine, and I have a hard time holding her gaze.

"You said so," she murmurs.

"It was so."

"Where did you two go the night before?"

"Where do you think?"

She opens her can of soda, and her drink still fizzles when she gulps it down.

"No way. Did you go to the club? Without me?"

We laugh.

It's nice to see she hasn't lost her sense of humor.

"You're a married woman now."

"Not yet," she says, a playful grin clinging to her lips.

My eyes dip to the diamond ring sparkling on her finger.

"Yes, you are. You're not officially married, but you've been married since you met him. You brought his children into this world. And you love him."

Her smile dims a little.

"I do love him."

The nostalgic moment withers away while her focus sharpens on me.

"So, how was it?" she asks.

"It was eventful."

"As in?"

"We did stuff."

She shakes her head slightly, waiting for me to offer more information.

I give her more yet carefully cutting my story short and never getting into the moment I met David.

"She met someone new?" Thea goes on.

"She wanted to and kind of met someone. It was nothing serious, though. They fought the entire night."

I go silent, my smile asleep on my lips.

"I don't know… It's hard."

"What are you talking about?" she asks, lifting her drink to her lips.

She empties the can of soda, her eyes locked with mine.

‘Yes, what are you talking about, Liz?' The voice in my head gives me a scolding look.

Me, and my big mouth.

"What is so hard?" she presses on.

"Finding someone."

She looks at me attentively.

"Are you talking about her or yourself?"

"Both. But mostly her."

I can't make up my mind, can I?

"Chloe wants to settle down?" she asks, a bit baffled.

Now that's getting weird.

"No, no."

I laugh.

"No one wants to settle down. I don't know why I said that. How was dinner on Sunday night after we left?"

She nods slowly.

"Nice. It was nice. You know it's always nice. No matter who they have over and whether you know those people or not, the atmosphere is always fantastic. It's because of her. Rain."

I stay silent.

A faint smile flickers through her eyes.

"I want to be like her when I grow up," she jokes.

"You're already like her," I retort.

"Haha. I wish."

We both smile and go quiet, her eyes trailing to the leftover pizza in front of her.

"I wanted to have one last meal as an unmarried woman," she says softly before looking at me.

"You're not having cold feet, are you?"

She shakes her head.

"Never. I've never been more certain of anything in my life. I love Ed. And he loves me. But life moves fast. I have James and Leia now. Next year, we'll probably go to the Maiden's Tower in Turkey to celebrate our anniversary. We promised ourselves we would do that when kids got older."

She has a pensive look on her face and seems nostalgic, too nostalgic for how young she is.

Regardless, she makes me tear up.

"You'll be fine," I say, and moving closer, I hug her.

She doesn't mind me, and when we break away from each other, we both have tears in our eyes.

"Please don't make me cry," I say, laughing and wiping away happy tears like her.

"That's why I wanted us to have lunch before the ceremony. So we could cry now instead of then," she says.

"Good thinking, cousin."

I know why she said what she said.

I know the story of Ed and her. How they met in the middle of Bosphorus, at that place, and why their meeting had such a deep meaning.

"I hope I won't get sappy at my wedding," I say in a lighter tone, and we laugh. "If I'm ever going to get married."

"You will. I'm sure of that."

We laugh a little longer, removing more happy tears from our lashes.

"How is the book coming along?" she eventually asks, trying a different topic.

"It's not coming along. I took a break from writing. I need to do some reading first."

"That always helps. Don't worry. Inspiration will strike eventually."

"I'm sure it will."

She signals to the waitress to bring her another drink.

"Do you need anything else?' Thea asks me.

"No. I'm fine."

My phone vibrates on the table, and Chloe's name is plastered across.

Thea asks for the check while I answer in a silent voice. I speak before Chloe has the chance.

"I'm at the pizza shop with Thea. Can I call you back?"

A pause ensues.

"Chloe?"

"Yeah… Sure."

She's hoarse and sounds like she's been asleep or had too much to drink. Which doesn't make sense.

She drinks socially but never when she's home alone.

"Are you okay?" I quickly ask. "You sound like you have a cold or something."

"I'm fine," she says in a nasal voice.

I wish I could end the conversation, but something doesn't feel right and keeps me asking questions.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes. We'll talk later."

There's no smile in her voice. She doesn't joke about anything or ask about Thea. Say hi to her. She's supposed to attend my cousin's wedding in three days.

This is so not Chloe.

The call ends without me saying goodbye.

Strange as fuck.

Still holding the phone to my ear, I try to figure out what just happened. I haven't heard from Chloe in three days, and I'm pretty sure something happened.

It's all my fault.

I should've called her first, but I know she always has stuff to do. If she doesn't call me, it's usually because she's busy with something else.

Or someone else.

I was so busy with my life––going to school, working a few extra hours, dying my hair, and exercising––that I hadn't even realized time flew so fast.

I feel bad for not checking on her.

Something must've happened.

Was it that man again?

No. I don't think so.

She would've said something to me if he was the reason for her silence.

Thea gets her second can of soda and leaves cash on the table.

"Are you okay?" she asks, giving me a double look.

I put the phone down, staring blankly at the table.

"Yeah. Yeah… I'm fine."

"Chloe?"

"She sounded weird. Listen…" I say, moving my focus back to her.

She stares at me, sipping soda, while I weigh my words.

"About the people at Rain's party on Sunday afternoon…"

"What about them?"

"Do you know all of them?"

She sets her soda down and runs the tip of her tongue over her lip.

"Not all of them. I mean, I've seen them before. It's not like we are family friends or something."

"And what about the men?"

A puzzled look slides over her face.

I feel compelled to continue.

"Was there anyone you haven't seen before? I don't mean the ones we all know."

"The two women's husbands?" she says. "I hadn't seen them before. They were nice people, though," she adds, growing concern sliding over her face.

"Was there a problem with any of them?" she asks with worry on her face. "Did they say something offensive to you?"

I shake my head.

"No."

"Did they talk to Chloe?"

"No. There was nothing like that. I thought there were a few more men who hadn't had their wives or girlfriends with them."

She sags back into her seat, her brow creased in concentration.

"There was David. David Moore," she says, and I tip my chin down in acknowledgment, my heart pitter-pattering like crazy.

"Anyone else?"

"I think there were a few others. Why are you asking? Has anyone caught your eye?"

"Hmm… No?"

I flash a grin.

"Why are you asking then?"

I shrug.

"I was making conversation."

"Oh… Come on. You were making conversation. You didn't ask me that for nothing. Is this about Chloe?"

"It might be. She didn't say anything to me, but I had a feeling she knew one of the men at James' house."

I lie.

And I'm so bad at lying, yet somehow, my lie sticks.

"That man came later," I say.

Her eyes go vacant as she's trying to remember more details about that afternoon.

"Oh… There was someone. A dark-haired man. Handsome, polished."

When did she have time to get all that about him?

"I suppose."

"Dahlia knows him. She chatted with him."

My mouth pulls open.

She nods in response to my puzzled expression.

"He's some guy she's worked for," she goes on.

"What?"

My voice screeches a little.

"When she lived in Europe," she continues.

"Uhh… Never mind, then."

She waves me off.

"He's some hotel tycoon," she drones on.

"A what?" I mumble.

She laughs.

"Ty-what?" I say again, smiling.

"Tycoon. He has a luxury hotel chain named after him."

The Architect?

Is this the same guy who fucked with Chloe?

My mouth stays open as if a bird is about to make a nest inside and hatch some eggs.

"I'll get his name for you," she says.

"No, no. Please don't. I'm sure it's not the same man. Chloe wouldn't know a man like that."

Sure.

It's not like she's not traveled the globe and doesn't speak five languages.

How could she randomly run into this man?

In a club?

And what was he doing in that club?

Well, he knows the owners.

James, Lex, Ed, Tiago, and David.

I'm sick to my stomach.

Was that the same man who dropped off Chloe in front of my house?

It appears so.

"I'm sure I'll remember his name. I can ask Ed," Thea says.

"No. Don't ask Ed. And don't try to remember his name either. It's not important. Truly, it isn't."

"Okay. But he's invited to my wedding, and she's attending too. So, we'll figure it out then."

I smile dryly.

"Maybe. It's really not important. It was merely a curiosity of mine. I'm not sure there's a connection between them. I'm sure there isn't."

She straightens in her seat.

"If that's the case, we'll find out at the wedding."

"We will," I say, tense, regretting that I had to bring it up.

If he is Chloe's man, I'm bringing unnecessary attention to him and her, and Chloe will not appreciate it in the slightest.

"All right. How much do I owe you?" I ask, reaching into my backpack.

"Nothing. It's my treat."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It was my idea anyway. I'm happy we had the chance to talk."

"Me too."

We leave the place, and a car pulls up in front of the pizza shop.

"Did you call him?" I ask, noticing the chauffeur behind the steering wheel.

A smile tugs at her lips.

"I didn't need to. I told you he's following me around."

The man exits the car and rushes to open the door for her.

"Hop in. I'm taking you home," she says to me.

"How do you know I didn't drive my car?" I ask, sliding in."Terry?" I go on while she takes a seat next to me and tells the driver where to go.

"Yes. Terry. She told me about the oil change and tires."

"Oh, my. I can't believe her. I could've gotten home all right without her meddling in my business."

"How did you get home last night?"

"I took the bus."

She cocks an eyebrow at me.

"I love riding the bus," I say.

"And I love eating noodle soup, but I'm not doing it every day."

"Point taken. I'll fix my car."

Laughing, she kicks back.

"You won't. One of these days, you'll need to find a limousine like this one with a driver who can safely drive you around town."

My first thought is that she's hinting at David, which would be crazy.

I surreptitiously shoot her a suspicious look.

She seems oblivious to my dirty secret life, and the voice inside my head has a good laugh, rolling and kicking her legs like a spoiled brat.

I hate her sometimes.

"Sure. I'll get a driver when I write a bestseller."

We both have a good laugh.

Apparently, this is the funniest thing I've said the entire afternoon.