Page 22 of His Beautiful Revenge
Tears pouring down her face, she fled down the street, hailing the nearest cab. Giacomo had arranged this all. She was a mere pawn in his and Tara’s twisted game.
Her chest felt like it was being ripped open and she bent double, trying to drag air into her lungs. The cab driver cast worried looks in the mirror. “Hey, now, are youokay? Do you need to hurl?”
“No, I’m okay. Just, please, get there fast.”
At Zulika’s apartment, she barely made it into the room before collapsing to the floor and sobbing her heart out. Zulika, terrified, couldn’t get a coherent answer out of her. Instead she managed to wrestle her into her bedroom and put her to bed, encouraging Ziggy to lay next to his weeping mistress.
Giacomo turned up at the apartment an hour later, but Zulika wouldn’t let him in. “Giacomo, no. She doesn’t want to see you.”
He looked devastated. “Please, Zul. I need to explain what really happened to her.”
Zulika felt like she had been refereeing her best friend’s love life for months now. “Just give her some time.”
He had agreed, but Zulika could see the pain in his eyes and knew he was genuine. “I love her. Please just tell her that.”
“I will,” she whispered before closing the door.
Norah was in her room, knees hugged to her chest. “Was that him?” Zulika couldn’t stand to hear the break in her voice.
“Yes, honey.” She sat down and stroked her friend’s hair. “He’s a mess.”
“He lied to me. He used me.”
Zulika didn’t know what to say. She understood why Norah was reacting this way; at the same time, she thought this was more about Norah’s fragile trust being broken than what Giacomo had done. Zulika didn’t believe for a moment that Giacomo had seduced Norah out of a need for revenge. But since the rape, she didn’t think Norah had processed her feelings, instead blanketing it out with her affair with Giacomo. Maybe she did need some space to reflect and heal.
It had been a week since the row, and Giacomo, desperate as he was, had managed to stay away. Now, though, he couldn’t wait any longer.
As Giacomo walked into the bookstore, Norah looked up. Zulika greeted him warily.
“Hey, Zul.” He half-smiled at her and looked over to Norah. She looked away and went out into the back room, closing the door behind her. Giacomo sighed.
“Give her time,” Zulika said in a low voice. He nodded, his eyes heavy and sad.
“Do you want some coffee?”
He hesitated, looking back at the closed door. He shook his head. “No, I …” His voice broke and he turned and walked out. Head down, he strode across the road, clearing his throat and trying to relieve some of the tension and misery. He got into his car and headed for Orlando’s home. He needed someone to talk to now; Sebastien, usually his sounding board, was annoyed with him.Rightly so,Giacomo thought now,how could I have been so stupid?
He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d lost her forever and the thought made him want to scream and scream and never stop.
Zulika let herself into the back room, knocking lightly on the door. She saw Norah, dry-eyed now, cleaning the tile floor with harsh, angry movements. She didn’t look at Zulika.
“You okay?”
Norah didn’t answer her. Zulika saw the tearstains dried on her face and the red of her eyes.
“Honey …you should give him a break.”
Norah looked at her with a hard expression. “Should I?”
Zulika nodded, trying to smile at her. “He’s devastated. Truly. He’s hurting. Badly, Norah. Really badly.”
“Really?”
Zulika nodded. “You know he is.”
Norah’s jaw clenched. “And yet somehow it’s me who gets screwed once again because a man can’t keep it in his pants. How ironic.”
Zulika looked down. Norah slammed down the mop on the floor, scrubbing the mess away.
