14. Chapter 13 (1/2)

chapter 13

"... please,

child, don't cry... it's terrible to see you both apart but it's

even more terrible to see you crying so desperately like you are

now..." judith spoke, caressing monica's hair. all day long, the

little angel couldn't manage to concentrate on her daily tasks and

nothing she tried to do seemed to work on that day. a week had passed

since she had turned down andrew's proposal and living under the

same roof as him and working at the same place only made things

worse. he was cold, distant, merely spoke to her and even spent more

time at the agency just to avoid her presence.

that afternoon wasn't different. while he remained at

work, monica decided to leave and rush back home, feeling tears of

sadness pricking her eyes. feeling like a mother who was always ready

to help her children, judith arrived home some time later and it took

monica only a minute to burst into tears.

and now, lying on the sofa and resting her head on the

old woman's lap, she listened to her advice sobbing quietly,

feeling as lost as when she woke up at the hospital, with no memory,

a few months earlier. then she spoke, a trembling voice that showed

how much she feared to lose andrew's love forever, "... i don't

know what to do, judith... imagining andrew away from me hurts so

much... so incredibly much... it's worse than when i realised i had

lost my memory..."

moved to see her suffering, judith sighed deeply, also

fighting the tears in her own eyes, "monica... my dear monica...

you're like a daughter to me, you know. and all i want in this life

is your happiness, dear."

"... andrew

is my happiness... i know that now... why is it that only when it's

too late we realise what really matters in life?"

the old woman shook her head, "no, dear. it's not

too late for you two."

"he doesn't

want to see me, judith! he barely speaks to me here or at work, and

when he does it's about work... i don't even know if he still

loves me..."

"oh, my

goodness! of course he loves you!" she replied, as if hearing the

most absurd thing. then, a slight smile appeared on her face, "and

i know a way to fix things between you both!"

still sniffling, monica sat up straight and looked at

the woman with sceptical eyes, "you do?"

"yes!"

"but... what

if andrew tells me that he... he doesn't want us to be together

anymore?"

"trust me,

monica. he won't do that because i love him the same way i love

you: like my child, and as a mother i know what's in his heart.

it's exactly what's in your little heart, dear. it's pure

love!"

"... it's

okay judith, i'll be there by 7 p.m. is mr williams a new client or

do you know him?" andrew wanted to know, on the following day, when

judith told him he should go on a business dinner that evening. they

were at the travel agency and monica was away with a group of

tourists and wouldn't be back anytime soon.

"oh...

well... i... in fact, i know him quite well, he's... a very good

friend of mine... a very nice person... but we've been having

problems to communicate lately and need to talk to him urgently."

"are you sure

i should be the one to go? i mean, if you know him..."

"oh, i'm

sure you'll two get along just fine and arrange everything, andrew!

besides, i'm feeling a bit tired, you know. i'm not at your age

anymore!" she joked, finally seeing a slight smile appear on his

handsome face.

"don't

worry, then. i'll take care of it for you," he spoke, placing his

hand over her shoulder.

"thank you,

andrew. how... how are things with monica?" she dared to ask,

knowing it was a delicate issue.

the way his expression changed told her everything, "i

guess you can have an idea, as you've been the closest person to us

all this time..."

"it's all

so sad..."

"i didn't

cause it, judith; she was the one to refuse my proposal and didn't

even tell me why... although i can imagine the reason..."

"if you're

both not talking to each other how come you know all the reasons?"

the blond angel sighed deeply and lowered his head,

"it's... still too painful to talk about it..."

"... because

you love her very much, right?"

"yes..."

he spoke, turning his eyes to the old woman again, "...

unfortunately she doesn't feel the same about me..."

what

he didn't notice when he left the room was the mischievous smile on

the woman's face.

andrew

didn't see monica for the rest of the day, and at night, when he

left for the business meeting, he assumed that she was locked inside

her bedroom, avoiding to see him again.

and

that simple thought alone was incredibly painful.

when he arrived at the restaurant, however, the

receptionist showed him to his table and, instead of an old business

man with grey hair and full of wrinkles on his face, he realised that

the person sitting across the table waiting for him was monica.

"m-monica?"

he spoke, with a confused expression on his face. his first reaction

had been an intense feeling of anger, but it didn't last more than a

second: he loved her so much to be mad. with tears threatening to

fall from her dark pools, the little angel took a deep

eath,

decided to go on with the plan but clearly fearing its consequences,

"andrew..."

"i... i don't

understand... judith said that the dinner would be with mr

williams..."

"there's...

there's no mr williams, andrew..."

"no?"

andrew frowned, not understanding her words and the reason for her

presence. he sat down in front of her and only then did he notice her

trembling hands, showing that she was afraid of something. "then...

why did she lie? what's happening?"

"she told you

to come here because... because i need to talk to you..."

he was surprised, that was evident in the way his

expression changed, but he wasn't less hurt, "i see... i thought

that you had said everything already..." the tone of his voice was

cold but when a tear rolled down her cheek, his first impulse was to

hold her tightly and tell her how much he loved her.

"i'm

sorry..." she spoke, biting her lower lip and struggling not to

eak into tears, "... i... i came here to say i'm sorry about