Undercover: A Romance

Chapter Eighteen

Days passed and turned into weeks. I sat in my living room most of the time, too broken to move. Dan came by a couple of times to check on me. Of course I had to tell him what was wrong. The first night that I had told him what was wrong he stayed the whole night holding me while I cried. The second night he brought me food and forced me to eat it seeing as it had been a couple of days since I had eaten anything other than ice cream or chocolate.

I knew my training for the CIA was going to hell with me sitting there being weak, but I couldn't bring myself to move. I was taught to be heartless and cold. But I couldn't bring myself to be like that right then. I wanted to feel the pain. I wanted to feel the hurt that this heart break had caused. It made me feel human.

As a teenager I had never felt what a normal teenage girl had felt. I had never been in love or had a crush on anyone. It was always my passion for the job I was raised to do. It was never guys. It was always guns. Being raised the way I was I thought it was normal not to feel anything emotional like the kids on T.V. So now, I welcomed the feeling. I didn't feel like a robot. I now knew what it felt like to love and lose. I finally felt human.

Blake Matthews P.O.V

I sat in my living room staring into my fireplace. I didn't know what to think of Nikki's, or Ariabella's, confession. I guess I have to get used to calling her Ariabella since that is her correct name. I wanted to call her. I wanted to go to her, but I didn't know what to say to her. I didn't know if I could trust her now. She lied to me about herself. I risked my job by falling for her. I don't even know how she got into the school.

It had been a couple of weeks since she had turned up on my doorstep and I haven't seen her since. It's Friday and she hasn't been back to school and I was beginning to wonder if she was even coming back. I remember the hurt on her face when I told her to leave. She looked so broken when she turned around and told me that she loved me. I wanted to believe her, God I wanted to. But how do you get over someone lying to you about who they are? For all I know every little thing she she said was a lie, her favorite color might not even be green.

The doorbell ringing brought me out of my deep thoughts. I got up and slowly walked to the door. Half of me wished it was her coming back to beg my forgiveness, but the other half of me didn't know if I wanted to see her or not. I sighed and opened the door.

In front of me stood a man, about in his forties with graying brown hair and piercing blue eyes. I didn't know who he was. He looked at me as if he knew exactly who I was. "Yes?" I asked. He stared at me for a while longer before he spoke in a deep baritone voice. "You must be Blake Matthews. I need to speak with you about a woman."

I was confused, but I nodded and ushered him into my living room. I offered him something to eat or drink but he declined it respectively. I sat down in the arm chair across from him and waited for him to say something.

After a minute or two he looked into my eyes and spoke. "She's heart broken you know." I knew exactly who he was talking about. "Ariabella." I said matter of factly.

He nodded, a solem look overtaking his eyes. "Let me tell you something about that woman. She's never been in love. She's never let anyone besides me and her parents get anywhere remotely close to her heart. And believe it or not, I'm closer to her than her parents are. I've been with her since she moved to the United States. I've watched her grow up and let me just tell you the world was blinded to her emotions, she made sure of that. She was born and bred to be shut off from the world emotionally. You are a lucky man to be allowed even the smallest glimpse of her heart."

He stopped and took a breath, obviously trying to calm down. I could tell he was getting angry and I remained silent for a moment. "What do you mean she was born and bred to be shut off from the world emotionally?" I asked. I had no idea what he was talking about. She seemed just fine opening up to me at the beginning of the year. Granted she did refuse to answer most of my questions, but eventually she became more comfortable answering my questions.

He shook his head, a scowl plastered on his face. "You would know what I meant if you had let her explain herself to you. Do you know anything other than her real name?" He asked me, his tone hard.

I shook my head. "No. I was to angry and hurt to hear anything else she had to say." I said quietly. "You don't understand the situation she has been in since the beginning of the school year. There are things that you don't know and you won't know until you talk to Ariabella. She didn't lie to you during those many conversations you had. She loves you. Maybe more than she loves me. And that's a lot." He said with a wink.

I chuckled a little. "Who are you to her exactly?" I asked. He smiled and stood up, making his way to the front door. "If you decide to let her explain herself, she'll tell you." With that, he walked out the front door closing it softly behind him.

I sat back in the arm chair staring into the fire place like I had earlier. I thought about what he said about me being a lucky man for her to let me in. I did feel lucky that she opened up to me. I know I love her too.

I sighed. I had to talk to her.