Chapter 43

• A whole week had passed since the last time she had seen Leonardo, and it was so strange that she felt a stupid desire to laugh: she missed him as if she had known him forever, although it was only months ago that she had discovered that this blond man existed. Emma loved him, of course she loved him, and her heart felt hurt, because she really would have liked that they could have something, and they could, but his jealousy would end up suffocating her.
• He was more insistent than she had been able to imagine; he had called her, he had written her, he had knocked on her door, telling her to open it, that she couldn't hide from him forever, that he wanted to see her, that she needed him, with his broken voice, Leonardo had sat in front of the closed door of the place where Emma lived and had told her: "You can't break up with me, you are the only person who has managed to reach my heart", those words had almost convinced Emma to open the door for him, to tell him that everything was forgiving him and to offer him one more chance, but then she remembered that fight, she remembered Leonardo's fists nailed on that guy, they made her feel scared that he could do something like that to another person, to Liam for example, with who he had been too jealous, despite she had made it clear to him that he was just a friend. "They always say like that; just a friend" remembering Leonardo's words was bitter, she felt that he distrusted her, that was why he was so jealous of her, maybe he thought she was the kind of woman who would go with any man, despite having a boyfriend, and that made her feel deeply offended, but what could she expect? She had been lucky enough to be noticed by one of the most eligible bachelors in that city, did she really believe that there was any chance of being happy next to him? She was deluded.
• She felt so lost, a week, seven days, that one counted eight, it had been almost eight days without seeing him, she had heard him standing against her door, knocking on it with desperation, as if among his intentions was to break it. Emma's stillness hadn't stopped him, he had been explicit in saying, "I know you're there Emma, please open up, almost a week without seeing you, are you breaking up with me? Please, we need to talk" desperation and more desperation, his voice was hoarse, yesterday, while Emma was lying on the floor, Leonardo had spent more than five hours sitting on the other side of the door, waiting for her to open. He went from not caring about her presence, to needing her, how stupid he was, it had all been his fault and it was just that what was suffocating him so much, he felt too guilty, like a child who breaks his favorite toy.