Shadow of Love (33 page)

He knew Sophie well enough to know that, once he broke it off with her, she would move on to someone else, writing him off very soon. God knew, she deserved to be taught a thing or two, but he didn’t have the drive to do so any longer. It had been lost somewhere in the dusty narrow alley in the souk, when he realized that the girl who came running into his arms like a frightened bird finding its way home was worth more than any revenge ever could be.

And he couldn’t wait to tell her that, even though it would have to wait until he broke off with Sophie cleanly and properly. Because then he would be free to show her what he felt, hoping that she would find it in her heart to forgive him and start their relationship again, properly this time. Waiting for it, with impatience burning him more than the flames of hell licked the condemned. Maybe that was the punishment he deserved.

His fate had been sealed on the rainy day twelve years before, when he looked up the long hospital corridor and saw Emily’s tear-streaked face, time stopping long enough to change him forever.

‘
Well, you’re home early.’ Sophie’s voice sounded genuinely surprised and just a tad uncomfortable, as she eyed Emily bustling around in the restaurant’s kitchen. ‘I thought you were supposed to come back tomorrow.’

Sophie had arrived at the restaurant early, something she had never done before, and was amazed to see Emily already there, working furiously in the kitchen. They had to get ready for the party the next day, which Emily hoped would keep her sister happy just to have her back without asking too many questions. She was wrong, as usual.

‘
Things changed.’ Emily moved around the spice rack, her fingers playing idly with the swiveling little containers. She didn’t dare to look Sophie in the face, afraid of what her sister might find in her still-stunned features.

Because she was stunned, ever since the morning when James announced they would be going home early, his business concluded ahead of schedule. She didn’t dare to ask what happened to them having a look around, as he was suggesting before they came to Alexandria. Obviously, it wasn’t on the plate anymore, his eagerness to leave as soon as possible silencing her quite successfully.

She wondered what had happened in the salon after she left the previous evening, and had hoped to find a clue in his grandmother’s face. But the older woman looked genuinely happy as they bid their goodbyes, her cheerful waves mimicked by the rest of the clan.

So they arrived home on Thursday, their plane landing on Heathrow’s black, rain-stained tarmac in the middle of a cold, dreary late autumn afternoon. She listened to James’s polite excuses as he dropped her off at her house, taking off before she even got the chance to ask him if he wanted to go in.

She preferred to believe that he rushed away worrying about being seen with her in the unlikely event Sophie or Marlene were around. It was easier to swallow than the fear that he might have, some way or another, realized that her feelings for him had changed in those last two days.

It was embarrassing to contemplate the possibility that he had noticed how she clung to him in the last forty-eight hours and had reacted in the only way possible. Putting distance between them was certainly a clear message that she should remember what brought them together in the first place; any romantic motions she might have harbored being something she would have to get over as soon as possible.

As she took a shower in her small bathroom that evening, she couldn’t stop tears from falling, her hands shaking as she worked her shower gel into a rich lather. She looked down at her legs and noticed how tanned she had gotten in the last two days. Most probably the tan would last longer than her relationship with James, she thought miserably, her tears falling even faster. It might be the only, slowly fading, memory she would have of what happened after he was done with Sophie and her. A memory that would weaken with each passing day, until it, too, slipped into oblivion.

‘
Jesus, Em, stop that.’ She didn’t notice she was twirling the spice rack until Sophie finally lost her patience and steadied her fingers with an irritated gesture. ‘What’s wrong? You’re miles away, sis.’

‘
Nothing. I’m just tired. Where’s Mom? How is she doing?’

‘
Great, as far as I can tell.’ Sophie shrugged, her blue eyes narrowing. ‘But I was busy in these last two days as well, so we didn’t get too much time together.’

‘
What were you doing?’ Emily asked, dreading the answer. Most probably planning her engagement party, she thought, waiting for Sophie to say it aloud. She was surprised as silence followed, her sister’s unusually subdued expression finally making her realize something was wrong.

‘
OK, Sophie, what is it? Tell me.’ Her stomach tied in nervous knots. She had the sinking feeling that it must have been something serious, the dark rings under Sophie’s eyes cleverly disguised by makeup, but still visible when she looked closer. What was keeping her from sleep? She wondered, her heart pounding.

‘
It’s too horrible to talk about.’ Suddenly, Sophie was crying, her blue eyes overflowing with tears that spilled down her cheeks, leaving two lines of mascara, black and dramatic. ‘God, Em, I don’t know what to do.’

She must have found out about James’s plan, was all Emily could think, trying very hard not to hyperventilate. She leaned against the wall, too shaken to trust her own feet.

‘
Tell me,’ she repeated, quietly, resigned. The sooner they got through it, the better.

‘
It’s Peter, Em.’ Sophie was sobbing now, her voice interrupted with hiccups. Which was very much unlike her, Emily thought dazedly; Sophie’s usual attention to detail making her cry in the most attractive way possible.

Suddenly she froze, Sophie’s words finally reaching through the haze of fatalistic expectations. Did she say
Peter
? Peter, as in the man she had dumped for James? She blinked, almost afraid to dig any deeper.

‘
What did he do?’ He wasn’t smart enough to really snoop around and find out the truth about James. But he must have done something to cause the hysterical response, she thought as she watched Sophie search for a hanky and give up, wiping her face with her sleeve. Another first, she thought, mystified.

‘
He didn’t do anything.’

She had to listen close to understand her sister’s slurred words, her sobbing making it almost impossible. Sophie was rocking back and forth, her miserable face hidden in glorious curls the color of old gold.

‘
He’s in the hospital, Emily.’

‘
I know, he works there.’ Was that it? What mischief could he cause in his workplace that affected any of them? She watched her sister shake her head impatiently, her eyes overflowing with fresh tears.

‘
No, Emily. I mean he’s there as a patient. He was in a car accident, the day after you left. God, it’s all my fault.’ She wailed again, utterly defeated.

Emily was absolutely speechless. Why was Sophie acting like that?

‘
What kind of accident? Is it serious?’ She didn’t ask the most burning question, too dazed to articulate what was the strangest part of the story. Yes, Peter in an accident was bad news, but since when did Sophie care enough to be upset, let alone cry as if her heart were breaking?

‘
It was serious enough for him to need a transfusion,’ her sister explained, her lips quivering. ‘He lost a lot of blood, apparently. Thank God, they found him right away; some passerby called 9-9-9 and saved his life. He could have bled to death, for all we know.’

‘
How? I mean, how do you know all that?’ She had to find out, she thought, the fog that prevented her from putting two and two together finally lifting. Apparently Sophie knew more than would be expected from an ex-girlfriend engaged to someone else.

‘
His parents called me.’ She calmed down for a moment, her voice almost matter of fact, as if it were the most natural thing under the sun for them to contact her, of all people.

‘
But why? Why you?’ Maybe she was daft, but it didn’t make too much sense. Not once, so far, had she heard James’s name in the conversation; Sophie’s attention was devoted to Peter and Peter alone.

‘
Well, he asked for me.’ She sounded almost embarrassed, her sudden shyness so unlike anything Emily was used to in all the years she knew her.

‘
He woke up in the hospital and asked for me, the first thing.’ Was there pride in her voice? She sounded softer and somehow less confident now, her blue eyes pensive. ‘You see, after you left, he came over to talk to me again. I… I was horrid to him, something I will never forgive myself for as long as I live. He left very upset and drove off, and the last thing I heard was him telling me that he loved me, no matter what and forever.’

Emily felt that she needed to sit down, instantly and preferably somewhere near enough to see Sophie’s face very clearly as she continued. Otherwise, she might have thought she had imagined all that. Her sister’s words were so unexpected and shocking, it was hard to believe it wasn’t just her wishful thinking.

‘
So, he left, Em. He drove down that awful, steep road out of town, I guess to cool down or something.’ Sophie looked at her woefully, her face smeared with mascara. ‘He crashed into a pole, his car smashed to bits, he was going so fast. It’s a country road and all, with little traffic at the best of times. He was very lucky that someone came along and saw him right away.’

She shivered, hugging herself as she waited for Emily to say something.

Only Emily had nothing to say; thousands of thoughts were going through her mind with the speed of a bullet train. She hoped Peter would be all right, was the first, most automatic, one. But, what did it really mean to Sophie? Did she just feel guilty for making him so upset, or was there more to it? And if there was, what did it mean to her engagement to James?

‘
I ran to the hospital right away after his parents called me, Em.’ Sophie was whispering now, and she had to lean closer to catch her words. ‘He was awake, looking horrible with all these cuts and bruises, his arm broken and one of his legs, too. I was terrified he would yell at me to go away, which he had every right to do. But he didn’t.’

Suddenly a brilliant smile spread over her face, making her more beautiful than Emily remembered. It looked as if some inner light added radiance to her lovely, but cold, features, warming them into a picture of perfect beauty.

‘
He smiled instead, Emily.’ She looked up at her, swallowing. ‘He smiled as if he was happy to see me. As if I was the only person he wanted to see. I’m telling you, Em, that was the most wonderful moment of my life.’

She was officially dreaming, Emily thought as she watched her silently, her mouth hanging open. What had just happened here was absolutely impossible, Sophie’s words hanging between them in the silent air.

‘
I thought I lost him, Em.’ Sophie smiled again, a watery, shaky smile that didn’t disperse any of the sadness in the depth of her blue eyes. ‘I thought I was too late. All the way I was walking down this corridor leading to his room, all I could do was pray I wasn’t too late. I don’t think I have ever prayed so sincerely in my life.’ She laughed, shaking her head in amazement. ‘To think of it, I have never wanted something so badly, Emily, as to see Peter alive.’

Emily had to answer, if only to prove she was listening. But what would be the right answer to her sudden confession? Asking about what James thought of it all came to her mind, only to be dismissed instantly. Instead she probed gently, afraid to upset Sophie even more.

‘
What does Mom think of all that? Does she know?’

‘
Of course, I know.’

They both had failed to notice Marlene, who entered the kitchen smiling. She looked much happier, Emily thought, confused, noticing the spring in her step and the almost exuberant way she looked at her daughter.

‘
Darling, I just spoke to Adele.’ Emily saw Sophie’s eyes widen and wanted to ask who it was, only to be informed by Marlene, who added softly: ‘That’s Peter’s mom, of course. She just called to let you know, he is much better. The swelling went away, his concussion less dangerous than they expected. And he’s asking for you all the time, dear. Honestly, Adele is getting desperate.’

They both laughed, Sophie’s voice still shaky and carrying the remnants of her tears. Emily was too speechless to do anything but stare, resisting the urge to pinch herself painfully enough to wake up.

‘
I don’t understand anything,’ she said finally, unable to stand staying in the dark any longer. ‘What’s going on? And where is your fiancé fitting into this whole thing?’

Sophie’s smile vanished as if blown away by a sudden gust of wind, her face uncomfortable. She looked at her mother for reassurance, before turning to Emily and explaining.

‘
Well, that’s the worst part of it all, except for Peter’s accident, of course.’ She bit her lower lip, visibly nervous. ‘I… I need to have a chat with James, I know that. He was out of town for the last two days, unfortunately.’

Emily found herself watching the pattern of the metro-style tiles on the backsplash of the kitchen, her eyes carefully following the lines of the simple white rectangles. She couldn’t look at Sophie, she thought miserably, not when she was as much a liar as anyone else.

‘
I’ve realized something in the last two days, Em.’ Sophie had noticed nothing strange in her silence, too preoccupied with her own unhappy thoughts. ‘I was absolutely mad to even consider this engagement, sis. I guess I got swept off my feet with his good looks and charm. That’s the only thing I can find to explain this madness.’