Lost Wife

Chapter 2

Rea had been at the reception counter when she saw him - the ghost from her past: Nicolas Al Simien. 

"Shit!" She had uttered before running at top speed into the kitchen, trembling in fear. What the hell would she do now? It'd been almost two years since she hadn't seen her ex-husband, and now, here he was, literally walking back into her life! What the hell was he doing in New York? He'd never really liked the states that much... What was he doing in a place that wasn't the best anyway? Was it that he knew she was still alive? Rea gasped. No! That couldn't be! She'd hid herself so well, destroying her identity and coming up with a completely new one with the help of one her cousins working at the FBI. She'd chosen a place so obvious that he would never even try to find her there. 

Besides, why would he be looking for her if she was dead, right? Right? Rea couldn't stop the questions and mingling fear from invading the free space in her mind. Ugh! There went 5,000 bucks of therapy right down the drain, Rea thought cynically. She'd never recover from this. 

"Aren't you supposed to be out there now, Claire?" Leo scolded with a slight frown. 'Claire' was the name that went along with her new identity. Only Chelse and just a few others new her real name and life. Most of her family and friends knew her to be dead. They were all somewhere in California, anyway. It was one of the reasons she'd chosen New York. 

"Um, Leo, I can't go in right now. See, there's this"- 

"Nope, Claire, you've made up enough excuses since you started here. Just ignore sleazy men and call security if you absolutely have to. Besides, the desk is one of the easiest posts. Get your butt out there now." His voice and expression left no room for argument, so Rea slowly crept out, furtively grabbing a pair of sunglasses she had spotted on her way. They looked a lot like the new ones Chelse had gotten the week before. 

Her heart caught in her throat as she walked toward the empty desk where Nicolas was waiting with an impatient look on his face. After deftly sliding on the shades, she tried to slow her pulse and breathing, failing in both. 

"Um, welcome to..." Her voice came out in a weird pitch she'd never exerted before, but she told herself that was fine. It would disguise her more if he didn't know it was her already. But her mind froze after that. She forgot everything in his presence. 

She could only stare at him with her mouth half-open, drinking in every detail of him. Details she remembered perfectly from the six happiest months of her life spent with him, and from the dreams and nightmares she'd had every night since his absence in her life. She quickly noticed that behind the irritation he was showing toward her speechlessness, his eyes looked tired. The natural glow they always held seemed to be missing in them. 

Her vision blurred as tears obscured Rea's vision. A tidal wave of sorrow for leaving him threatened to drown her as she instantly regretted hurting him so. She could imagine the pain he'd been through. She felt the urge to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him in for a hug and caress his hair, and she used to before. And then, just minutes after, he would slowly, torturously slowly, bring his lips to hers... 

Suddenly, long-repressed desire pricked her nerves, bringing fire to her veins. Hmm, she'd definitely missed him... 

"Welcome, sir. It's an absolute pleasure to have such a great presence in my modest restaurant." Her thoughts were cut off when Leo blocked him from her view with arms open wide. The smile he wore told her quickly that he was trying to impress him. Well, of course he would, Rea thought. It wasn't every day you met an actual goddamn prince. 

Then Rea realized that yeah, he was a prince. Which meant that other girls would throw themselves at his feet every day of his life. Not that he needed a crown to get that effect; he was incredibly handsome after all. Her head lowered subconsciously as she realized he probably had moved on and been with several women. Maybe he had even married that old king's daughter... Rage threatened to take control of her when Rea suppressed it. She had been the one to leave anyway.