Chapter 6 - The Enemy Sitting at Roman’s Table
Coffee became lunch.
Lunch became another coffee.
Then nothing for three weeks.
Nora controlled the pace.
Roman never complained.
The change was almost unsettling.
He no longer sent cars.
He no longer solved problems she had not asked him to solve.
When Nora mentioned that her apartment heater was broken, Roman started to call someone, saw her expression, and slowly put his phone back into his pocket.
“Learning,” he said.
“Slowly.”
“Very.”
She laughed.
That was the first time they laughed together.
The legal proceedings continued.
Roman provided evidence against former associates and accepted responsibility for financial crimes connected to businesses he had controlled.
The newspapers called his cooperation astonishing.
Nora called it overdue.
Roman agreed.
Then came Michael’s case.
Nora sat in court while prosecutors presented evidence proving Victor and Elias had targeted her brother.
Michael had discovered their theft.
He had tried to warn Roman.
And they had used Roman’s reputation as camouflage.
The cruelest part was learning how carefully Elias had manipulated Nora.
The unlocked door.
The fabricated ledger.
The edited recording.
The frightened advice.
The escape route.
Every step had been designed.
Elias had not saved her from Roman.
He had used her disappearance to destabilize him.
When the proceedings ended that afternoon, Nora stepped onto the courthouse stairs.
Reporters shouted questions.
“Ms. Bennett!”
“Do you forgive Roman Vale?”
“Are you two together again?”
Nora kept walking.
Roman stood near the bottom of the stairs.
He did not approach until she nodded.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Want company?”
She considered it.
“Yes.”
They walked.
No limousine waited.
Roman had sold most of his luxury vehicles.
They ended up in a small diner six blocks away.
Nora ordered fries.
Roman ordered coffee.
“You hate diner coffee,” she said.
“I’m broadening my horizons.”
“You once sent back coffee because the cup was too cold.”
“I was insufferable.”
“You remain insufferable.”
“Progress.”
She smiled.
Then her expression became serious.
“Roman.”
“Yes?”
“What happens when all this is finished?”
He knew what she meant.
“With us?”
She nodded.
Roman stared into his coffee.
“That’s your decision.”
“No. It’s ours.”
He looked up.
Nora continued.
“I won’t return to the penthouse.”
“I sold it.”
She blinked.
“When?”
“Last month.”
“Why?”
“Too many ghosts.”
Nora understood.
“I won’t live around men who solve problems through fear.”
“Neither will I.”
“I won’t disappear into your life again.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to.”
“And if I ever feel unsafe, I leave.”
Roman nodded.
“No argument.”
She studied him.
“You’ve rehearsed these answers.”
“For three years.”
That hurt in a different way.
Nora reached across the table.
For the first time since returning, she placed her hand over his.
Roman went completely still.
“This isn’t forgiveness,” she said.
“I know.”
“It isn’t forgetting.”
“I know.”
“It’s a beginning.”
Roman looked at their hands.
His eyes closed for half a second.
“A beginning is more than I expected.”
Outside, snow began falling.
Inside the diner, nobody recognized Roman Vale.
Nobody cared.
For the first time Nora could remember, he looked relieved by anonymity.
But one final piece remained.
Michael.
Nora wanted something good to survive him.
May you like
And six months later, she knew exactly what it would be.
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