Chapter 767 - Saying Goodbye (1/2)
Ah ... why am I thinking about this? Nicolae scolded himself. He shouldn't think like this because, after all, he and Marie will not meet again. Tomorrow he would return to Grosetto and change his current identity. Then he would disappear completely from Marie's life.
Their meeting this time was serendipity, a pleasant coincidence, and they gave comfort that the other needed during their own hardsh.i.p.s.
Marie happened to be in need of a man who could pretend to be her husband to make her mother happy before she passed away, while Nicolae needed a woman who could heal the wounds in his heart.
Thanks to Marie, he was able to let go of Aleksis from his heart. Evidently, this morning he could make love with a woman who was not Aleksis, and he could make peace with his broken heart. Nicolae felt that he was now on the road to recovery, and for this, he would forever thank Marie.
Each of them had fulfilled the purpose of their meeting, and now it was time to return to their own lives. Tomorrow, Nicolae would erase his tracks, and Marie would never be able to find him again.
He could feel how much Marie liked him and even began to fall in love with him. But Nicolae knew that it would be unfair to Marie if he gave the girl a little hope ... He was not ready for new love until he could find himself again and healed completely. If he gave her hope, he would only make Marie his rebound, and she didn't deserve it.
The lovely nice lunch ended two hours later. It was obvious that Altair and Vega still wanted to play and talk with Marie, but Nicolae reminded them that they had to finish their homework.
”Professor Tillman will blame me if you don't send the essay he asked you to do,” the man said, patting Altair and Vega's shoulders alternately.
”They are writing ESSAY ???” Marie asked in surprise. ”Aren't they too small for such things?”
”Uhm .. they are not regular children,” Nicolae explained. ”They don't go to school like other kids, so they have to be able to study independently with a private teacher. After all, the essay isn't difficult. They like the subject, don't you Kids?”
He looked at Altair and Vega alternately, and the two children reluctantly nodded.
”Yeah, I do...” Vega sighed. He really liked studying botany.
”You don't want your mother to think that I don't take care of your education properly, right?” Nicolae asked again.
The man was always conscientious about ensuring that within the one year he had with Altair and Vega, the two children's education and wellbeing were well maintained. He did not want them to lack anything, even only a little.
”Of course not,” said Altair, nodding in agreement. He immediately remembered that tomorrow he might have to really say goodby to Daddy Nic, and that made his heart feel sad.
Finally, they got up to go back to their apartment.
”Thank you for lunch. It was nice talking to you,” Nicolae said before they left the restaurant. ”Are you going to be okay?”
”Well ... I'll be fine ...” She lied through her teeth and then raised her face, smiling, as if he was the happiest woman in the world. ”You're welcome. Don't forget to let me know when you are back in Singapore. My flower shop is across the street.”
She pointed to the end of the road across the park and rose from her chair to wave to them.
”Goodbye, Auntie Marie.”
Marie just stood there, watching Nicolae and his two children leave. When they were already far enough, her smiling face turned sad. Marie was disappointed that Nicolae didn't treat her differently from yesterday. At first, she thought after they made love passionately this morning, something else happened between them, and sparks flew.
Before, she thought that when they met again, the man would look a little awkward, like herself. Or maybe, he would even treat her more sweetly or with some intimacy. After all, this morning they made love like they were in love, like real husband and wife.
Marie smiled bitterly as her heart spoke truthfully, that the truth was, she had fallen in love with the man, and now she was hoping that their fake marriage could turn into a real one.
Ahh ... she was so naive.
People say men can have s.e.x with a woman without love, while women will only have s.e.x because of love. There was so much truth in that saying, Marie admitted. She realized that even though he and Nicolae had s.e.x, her feeling had been one-sided. She had to accept the fact that her love was unrequited.
***
It was a beautiful sunny day, and the atmosphere in Nicolae's apartment was quite busy. They had been packing their belongings for the last time since morning.