Page 44 of Forget-Me-Nots

Whoa. I had never seen anyone who was so fast at these things. Now we were getting married? No. No, it was not something like that. This was not even a real relationship. This was just… I didn’t even know what this was, but it was not a relationship.

We had a deal. Gabriele was going to kill me at the end of this.

Right?

“It is not something serious like that, Priscilla.”

Her face turned into the saddest I have seen her. All her light and smile were gone. “Is it because you are Russian?”

The question came like a slap to me. I was Russian but never thought that was something that could affect my relationship with Gabriele. We were not Italian and Russian; we were simply… friends.

Or more.

It never mattered because it was temporary. It was just a brief reality. But in the outside world, it mattered. It mattered too much. Even if I didn’t want to die anymore, this was not forever. Gabriele and I could never be forever.

If he didn’t free me with death, I would live with a broken heart. Even though I never thought about death last night, it was still my only chance at happiness. Gabriele could not give me more than what we had right now.

I could not let him make me want to live because this wouldn’t be the life I would live.

So, Priscilla was right. I nodded and said, “Yes. That is the reason.”

“Oh, Kira,” she said and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back because I needed it. But I couldn’t let her hug me for long because it reminded me of all those truths. I wanted my brief happy reality. I wanted to go back to not knowing. So, eventually, I pulled back and said I was hungry.

I just knew it was all going to be better when I saw Gabriele.

And it did. When we got into the kitchen, he was not there, but after a few seconds, I heard the elevator doors opening and excitedly turned towards it.

There was Gabriele, his hands full. I went over to him and took the coffees. “Oh, you bought us coffees!”

“You hate the one I make at home,” he said and leaned in to kiss me but froze when his eyes focused on something behind me.

“Go on, go on, I don’t mind,” Priscilla chirped from her spot in the kitchen.

I giggled but felt myself getting red again. This was always something so private for us and someone else knowing it made me blush like a teenage girl. I suppose it was only natural, considering I never had any kind of real relationship.

Gabriele saw me blushing and kissed my cheek instead of my lips.

I took the coffees from him and realized he was carrying another bag. “What is that?” I asked, pointing at it.

“Oh, that,” he murmured and looked towards the kitchen again.

“All right, I go take a shower but there better be breakfast when I come back,” Priscilla said in annoyance, but I could hear the amusement in her tone.

When she left the kitchen, we moved there, and I put the coffees on the island. Gabriele took out the little surprise from the bag. It was a small wood flower pot, and inside there were little blue flowers. Forget-me-nots.

I looked up at him from the beautiful blue flowers with shining eyes. “You bought it.”

“I said I would.”

He did say that, and I did believe him. I knew he was going to buy one for me, but I was not expecting him to buy it this morning. He couldn’t even wait a day to keep his promise to me. “You left early to buy this?”

He came a little closer, probably because of my weak voice. His nose brushed my temple. The pot of flowers was standing between us. “I wanted to choose it myself. I didn’t want you to wake up to an empty bed. I am sorry.”

A happy tear slid down to my cheek, and I smiled like crazy. “You are so stupid.” Then I kissed him. I kissed him like he was the best thing that happened to me because he was. When I pulled back, my hands came to the little pot. “This is amazing, Gabriele.”

“Good,” he said and brushed away the few tears from my cheeks. “Now, you won’t forget me.”

“I can’t even if I tried to.” And it was the truth. I could never forget him, and even though it sounded romantic, I knew it was only about pain. There was no way I could have him if I stayed alive. Death was my only happy ending, so I could not let go of that.

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