Undeniable

Ch. 20

My head was reeling from the words Adonis yelled at me. It seemed as if every person in this city knew about this surprise engagement except me. Anger flowed through me with every step I took closer to the hotel room. It wasn't until I swung the door open to face Tommy that realization hit .

"You are not to leave my side, do you understand ? If you get out of my sight ever again you will not be happy with the consequences, Emilia."

Those words echoed across my mind alittle too late. Thomas was awake , he had pulled on his pants from last night, and now his bare chest was still exposed inside the unbuttoned shirt he wore. He was sitting in the lounge chair near the window , head leaned back puffing away on his ciggerate. My once strong streak of courage had faded into nothing and my words were getting harder to conjure.

"Goodmorning , Tommy" I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

"Where were you?"

"I just went to get coffee but I forgot my purse."

"That's funny because I woke up and thought maybe you had gone to get breakfast, but when I went to check you weren't there." He looked over at me, "Not in the lobby and not at the shop down the block."

Sweat beaded onto my forehead and I tried to plan my next move. It wasn't that I wanted to lie to Thomas about the meeting, I just didn't want him to start trouble. If I could get him to wait until we were safe in Birmingham,  then I could tell him everything.

"I ran into an old friend. We got to talking back at her apartment, I must have lost track of time."

"Do not fucking lie to me."

"I'm not lying, Thomas."

He stood abruptly and walked over to where I was standing. For a moment he scanned over my body as if he was looking for any signs of my fib.

"Im gonna ask you one more time. Look me in the eyes and tell me where you have been."

I forced my gaze into his , staring hard as to put up a facade that I'm definite in my anwser. Part of me knew Thomas already knew the truth but I pushed that side away so I could attempt to fully convince him.

"I ran into Gemma at the coffee shop, she told me about her new place and insisted I come over for awhile. I figured you'd be sleeping anyways so I might as well catch up with her. Tommy, why are you so angry that I spent time with a friend?"

He said nothing. Only shook his head and chuckled, bringing the ciggerate back to his lips. I watched as he turned around and looked out the window of the hotel, peering down at the busy streets and street vendors. For a second I could imagine what he was like before all of this , when it was just regular Thomas. When he was young and war hadn't touched his skin or scrapped his brain. When he ran through the streets with his brothers and his only care was getting back before Polly noticed they were missing. Part of me craved to know that side of him just as well as i knew him now.

My thoughts were interrupted by him turning back around and letting out a long sigh.

"We leave in the morning so I figured we could spend some time in the city today,  just us." He spoke softly.

"Of course. Suppose I should learn more about you before the ceremony" I mocked unable to hide the accusation any longer.

"Listen, Emilia. It's not what you think."

"That you were going to force me into a marriage that somehow helped your business?"

"You think I would force you to marry me?" His words though quick were soaked in sincerity.