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I smile down into my cup of tea, enjoying the fresh herbal scent. My belly is full of scone, and I’m listening passively as Daniel explains the ins and outs of some new philosophical theory that he’s learning about for his class.
I don’t really care about it, but it’s nice to hear him think through something about which he’s passionate. It’s really a gorgeous day – the sun is shining in little pieces through the grape leaves that wrap around the pergola, and I lean my face back to enjoy the warmth on the soft skin on my cheeks.
Next to me, I hear Daniel laugh a little. “Are you even listening to me anymore?” he says.
“No,” I reply, smiling. “But that’s okay, it’s good to hear you talk.”
He laughs again, a soft thing, and then takes my hand.
“It’s nice, Fay,” he says, and I open my eyes to look at him, seeing him smile at me. “That you enjoy listening to me, even when you’re not hearing my words.”
I squeeze his hand and return his smile, considering him.
It’s funny – I was so in love with him for the few months that we were dating. Or, at least, I thought I was. Maybe “obsessed” was a
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more appropriate term, but either way, I couldn’t stop thinking
about how handsome he was or how much I wanted to kiss him.
Just to kiss him, small, chaste things. But I had wanted so badly
for him to treat me gently, love me, be kind to me. To treat me like
his treasure.
But now? After everything I’ve learned about his life–our life? It’s all just… gone. All of those feelings have disappeared.
Instead, I view him now completely as my best friend, my ally in this crazy world. I want the absolute best for him and know that he feels the same about me, but the romance has been totally wiped
away.
It’s a bit sad, really- the end of a love. I wonder, passively, when the next time I’ll have a crush again, feel that delicious buzzing of
emotion in my stomach.
I push back against the first thought that comes to my mind, ignoring it. Ridiculous.
Luckily, Daniel helps to disrupt my thoughts.
“Are you all right, Fay?” he asks.
“Daniel,” I say, running my thumb lightly over his fingers, thinking about what my father said to me earlier. “Are you happy here?”
He frowns at me, slightly curious. “What prompted this?”
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I shrug a little. “Curiosity, mostly, I guess. You just seem… such a mismatch for this world, most of the time. I guess I wonder why
you’ve never left. Never just… bailed on it.”
He shrugs, a little uncomfortable. “It’s my home, Fay. My family, my world. I guess I don’t really have anywhere to go.”
“But you’ve got all the resources in the world,” I say, leaning forward. “Honestly, aren’t you ever tempted to just steal, like, one of his cars, sell it on the black market for whatever you can get, and take the money and just run?”
His mouth falls open at the idea.
“Or,” I continue quickly, “you offered me millions to keep my mouth shut the day we broke up – if you have access to that kind of cash, why not just take it for yourself? We could go! We could
run away to the French Riviera, change our names, spend the rest
of our days just drinking wine and writing books! About whatever
we want!”
He laughs softly and gives my hand a squeeze before pulling his back to reach for his teacup.
“It’s a beautiful dream, Fay,” he says softly. “But it’s impossible.”
“I think we could do it,” I say, my face eager. “I think we could go.”
He looks at me seriously then. “You mean that, don’t you?”
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“Daniel,” I say, pleading. “We could do it.”
His face is still hesitant, but I can tell that he wants to say yes.
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“Daniel, if we don’t do this,” I say quietly. “We’ll end up like Fiona.”
His eyes go wide as he looks at me then. “You – you know about
Fiona?”
I nod quietly, not explaining any further. He wonders how I knew- what I knew – but he doesn’t ask me now. I can tell him more when we’re lying on a beach in San Tropez.
His eyes dart around the patio, as if he’s looking for someone who
is listening.
“If I agreed to even think about this,” he says, “what would the plan look like?”
Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Father
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