'I want to talk. We need to talk. I'll pick you up at lunch.' -L
Emi read from the bouquet of flowers that had been delivered to her bakery in the early morning. She scoffed at his gesture, chucking the card into the bin. He wasn't stepping foot in her bakery that was for sure.
She picked up the flowers placing them on the counter next to the till. As Emi served her customers she gave each lady a rose from her bouquet along with their orders.
Luciano stood outside the bakery deciding wether or not he would risk going in. He knew she wasn't bluffing when she said she would have him arrested.
Luciano huffed annoyed that he was actually following her rules. Glancing around he spotted a bench where he sat as his jacket shut to shield him from the cold.
As Luciano sent emails on his phone an elderly lady hobbled out of the bakery with pastry and a red rose in hand. Luciano's head snapped up at the sight, immediately recognising the flowers.
Luciano stood up quickly pocketing his phone and rushing to the window.
His jaw dropped when he saw his bouquet of 35 roses was now just 6. Of course she would do something like that to spite him.
At that moment she looked up at him noticing his angry stare on the bouquet. She moved into his line of sight giving him a fake sweet smile.
Luciano was angered by her mocking smile, his hand moving to the door handle ready to go in and confront her. However, she was quick to notice his movement picking up her phone and giving him a warning glare.
Emi watched as his face morphed into one of disbelief. "Try me." She mouthed watching him remove his hand from the door handle and retreat to the bench. Emi smiled in satisfaction.
20 minutes later Emi closed the bakery ready for lunch. She went into the staff room hoping to get Loai only to find him cuddled asleep on the sofa in front of the tv.
Instead of waking him up Emi grabbed his blanket and wrapped him up carrying him in her arms. She moved stealthily as she pulled on her jacket before collecting her keys and heading to the front of the bakery.
Emi stepped out locking the doors whilst holding Loai close to her as the autumn wind blew past her. Luciano stood up upon seeing hearing Emi's keys jingle.
"Ready" Emi said quietly as she walked towards him. Luciano nodded and began walking as she followed him silently.
The next five minutes were spent in a comfortable silence, the only noise being the cars driving by and Loai making little noises as he slept.
"I'm sorry." Luciano admitted quietly disrupting the silence that surrounded them. Emi nodded in response as Luciano watched her longingly.
"If you want me to apologise I don't regret anything I said yesterday, so I have nothing to apologise for." Emi said nonchalantly whilst shrugging. Luciano nodded sensing Emi's hostility.
He admired her intently as she shifted Loai into her other arm clearly growing tired at holding him. He wasn't as small as he used to be. Luciano sighed reaching out and taking Loai out of her arms.
Loai groaned before falling back soundly asleep in his arms.
"Thank you." Emi said as she arranged Loai's blanket making sure he was all warm.
"What happened?"Luciano asked breathlessly as they aimlessly walked around.
Emi took a shaky breath before she began to explain her side. It hurt her heart to revisit such a painful and depressing time in her life.
He watched as she painfully told her side, noting how when it was hard to talk about she would rub her arm up and down in comfort. The quivers and breaks in her voice acted as a testament to her ordeal.
"It was all Eliza's doing" Luciano gritted out angrily upset that she had been through so much because of one bitch.
She had ruined and damaged so many things in his life. His relationship with his children and now his relationship with someone he cared for deeply.
"How so?" Emi questioned hoping Luciano would confirm her suspicions.
"She threatened Geoffrey's family and so he did her dirty work. I went on a business trip. That's why I didn't come back to the hospital. I told you but you were drugged up on medication. When I searched Geoffreys room to see if he hid anything else I found a letter supposedly from you. So I never bothered looking for you."
"What did the letter say?" She asked sadly.
"You chose to abandon us." Luciano summarised turning to see Emi's reaction. Her face scrunched up before she turned to look at him.
"You truly believed I would do that." She scoffed, her voice rising an octave before looking away in disbelief. He shrugged keeping his eyes ahead of him.
Emi was hurt that he thought she would ever stoop so low.
"You know I love those children with all my heart. I love them like they're my own." She confessed causing him to tell an immense amount of guilt.
Her head snapped up to Luciano staring him. Tears filled Emi's eyes as she asked him the question that suddenly came to mind.
"Do they think I abandoned them too?" Emi said her voice shaking as tears pooled in her eyes at the upsetting thought. Her heart would truly break if she had caused them such pain.
Luciano stayed silent as he thought of the answer. She had no intention of waiting for him to think of an adequate response. It required a yes or no. She stopped abruptly reaching out for his arm turning her to him.
"Answer me." Emi pleaded. Luciano shaking his head quickly in response as he saw her grow upset. "They think you went on holiday." Luciano admitted as he shifted Loai onto his other arm.
Emi let out a shaky breath of relief.
"How painful was it? He asked genuinely curious as to how she got through it all.
"I don't know." Emi answered truthfully letting out a strained laugh when she saw the confusion on his face.
"It's more emotionally draining than painful." She admitted as memories of her treatment swarmed her mind.
"The meds had me asleep majority of the time and the little time that I was awake for was spent wondering if my next nap was my last. I was scared to sleep." Emi confessed glad that Luciano was just listening.
"I still am scared to sleep." She whispered lowly the comment not quite reaching Luciano's ears.
"Chemo after the surgery was painful and I felt selfish and ungrateful for wanting to give up. I felt that they didn't understand that the pain it brought was insufferable and I was diminishing into nothing but a sack of bones. I was scared of my own reflection."
Luciano nodded listening as Emi spilled the hardships she endured when she underwent treatment.
"I know I sound so horrible complaining about it like that when others have it worst." She sighed scolding herself for sounding so spoilt.
"I'm sorry." Luciano blurted out before he could stop it. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there." He admitted guiltily.
It had weighed heavily on his mind that he chose to go on a business trip instead of staying by her side when she felt as if she was walking on the tightrope between life and death.
Emi softly smiled showing her gratitude at his apology.
"Do you think we could go back to how we were before?" Luciano hesitantly asked.
She sighed noticing they had walked in a circle and had almost reached the bakery.
"Looking back now we barely had a relationship. Communication and trust weren't there." Emi answered thoughtfully. She had thought about their 'situation-ship' before.
"But the children loved you you were a mother to them." Luciano countered.
"Key phrase. The children loved me. Did you?"
Luciano pursed his lips as he thought about her question. Truthfully he had no answer. He didn't know wether what he felt for her was love or if he just feared losing her.
Was it just a matter of convenience. No one had cared for him for a long time yet she came along and did. Was that what drew him to her?
"See." Emi said sadly trying her best to hide her disappointment at his lack of response.
"We need to figure out our feelings." Emi concluded as she reached for Loai.
Luciano handed him back unhappy with how their conversation had ended. "I had two years to figure my feelings out Emi." He murmured lowly as they stood in front of each other.
"Your tantrum the other day told me that in two years you decided I was a whore who was on the same level as your ex." She said quietly not missing the disappointment on Luciano's face.
He knew she was right. Nothing he would do would erase those words he called her. She may forgive but he knew she wouldn't forget.
Emi grabbed his hand intertwining hers within his. She hated to admit she missed the feeling. She noticed how he still wore the same rings that he wore before.
She squeezed his hand lightly before letting go.
She walked towards the door unlocking it and stepping inside.
"Wait here I have something for you." She told him not checking to see if he had listened and stayed put.
Emi place Loai back on the sofa so that he would continue napping before making her way to the kitchen. She opened one of the cupboards gathering the boxes she wanted to give him.
Emi rushed out seeing Luciano sitting at one of the tables in the bakery. He was busy sending emails most likely for work. She approached him quietly placing the boxes down.
Luciano looked up from his phone at the noise smiling lightly. "You won't call the police?" He teased watching as she gave him a sarcastic smile back.
"Some goodies for the children."she told him pointing to the boxes awkwardly. Luciano peeked inside noticing how two of them contained pancakes. He opened the third one snorting when he saw its contents.
"Are the cannoli's for them too." He feigned confusion. Emi kissed her teeth before walking back to the kitchen. "Switch the sign to open on your way out." She shouted as she disappeared behind the door.
Luciano picked up the boxes making his way out and changing her sign. He sighed as he stood in the busy streets boxes in hand. He smiled down at the box on top.
A box of his favourite treat all for him.
As Luciano walked back to his office he reminisced about their conversation.
She was right. They would have to take their time to figure out their feelings. Two years had passed. They had grown as their own people. Was the pull they felt all those years ago lust or love?