CHAPTER 81

“We're a thing, I just don't know what we are yet”

Sharon said, pacing up and down in her room. It didn't seem like the same place she had grown used to since she arrived in Italy.

Suddenly her own space felt alien to her, like it wasn't something she owned. And she couldn't look at the bed the same way

“Ughhh”

She expressed, as she recalled the activities that transpired the previous week. She had never been that close to a man before, at least not by consent. It made her feel open, vulnerable, exposed. But not in the way that traumatized her. Luca made her want to be exposed to him

He was right, she invited him in—

In fact she enjoyed every moment of it, and that thought scared her

Sharon would have never anticipated the day where she would crave his touch, and it was still new to her

She couldn't explain the feelings she was having. And she had just one way of dealing with it—

Avoiding him

Because it was the most logical thing she could think of

When he invited her for breakfast, she declined. When he suggested a trip, or a walk, she gave random excuses

And somehow, he understood that she needed time and space. Luca didn't push, didn't insist. But she still felt like she owed him something. Maybe an answer to the question he asked her

“What are we?”

He was right to ask, because they hadn't defined the terms of their relationship yet. They were strangers first, then somehow they became friends

Friends?

Friends didn't make out in the bathroom, friends didn't occasionally sleep on the same bed. And if Luca was just a friend, he wouldn't crawl into her bed in the middle of the night and do things to her—

Things that would drive her insane for the next week

So they weren't strangers and they weren't friends

But they weren't lovers

So what exactly were they to each other?

Until Sharon was able to answer the question, she was going to stay the hell away from Luca

Her sanity depended on it

There was only one person she could possibly talk to. Only one person that could could understand what she felt.

It was Claire, and Sharon didn't know if she had forgiven her yet.

In all of her thoughts, she deduced that Claire wasn't ready to have that conversation with her.

But Sharon had no one else, she had known no one else. And she desperately needed a friend, she needed her best friend—

Because she didn't understand what she was feeling anymore

So for the first time in months, she dialed Claire's number. She half expected her to decline the call, infact she didn't expect her to pick

But her doubts were cleared when she heard Claire's voice at the other end of the line

“Hey Sharon, I‘m glad you called”

******************

“It's a call—

From Sharon”

“Well, take it”

“I don't know what to say, I don't know where to start. She's going to hate me when she realises what I've done”

“She probably will

Although, I feel like this isn't the right time to tell her”

Arman said

He was at a crossroads.

The right thing to do was tell her the truth, but Arman knew what it would lead to

It was like a fabric of secrets and lies. If one string was pulled, the whole garment would loose, eventually.

Telling Sharon what Donald's objective was from the start would expose the Pavilochenki's real motive. It would also expose the real reason why Luca was made to marry Sharon

Not good for someone who went as far as organising a trip to Italy just to clear his faults and attempt to make her fall in love with him

Then, if Claire decided to blur Donald's faults, and make it seem like she did all the things she did on her own accord, then she would look like the villain

Not good for someone who's mental health was in shambles, who had endured various stages of abuse, who was traumatized as fuck. Who would straight up harm herself if Sharon happened to feel pain because of what she did

Someone who was just beginning to heal, to feel love from someone who didn't want to abuse her—

Who had woken up in his shirts for the past six days, because he somehow managed to convince her to live with him, after giving her a bath

“I think you should just start the conversation with good morning”

“Oh Claire I've missed you so much. I have a lot to tell you. Of course I was skeptical about calling but scratch that

I really miss you”

Tears spilled out of Claire's eyes.

“I'll give you some privacy”

Arman said, as he slowly walked out of the room

“I missed you too Sharon, I'm sorry”

“You didn't do anything wrong”

“I—”

Claire remembered what Arman said to her, and decided against telling her anything

“Donald and I— we broke up”

“Really, I'm so sorry”

There was a short silence that followed.

As though Sharon was taking her time to think about what went wrong, and Claire was regretting all over again

“It's okay, I guess it was for the best. I've sorta found someone else now”

Sharon made a high pitched scream, like she was praying for the day

“Who's the guy, who is it?”

“You're gonna scream if I tell you”

“Ughhh, the suspense is killing me!”

“Tell me about you, how's your marriage life going?”

Sharon smiled

“You'll never guess who my husband turned out to be”

“Who?”

“Tell me who your new guy is—”

“How about we say it simultaneously”

“Good idea”

“One”

“Two”

“Three—”

“The one night stand asshole!”

“Arman!”