Fiorella tried hard to listen to the conversation and Christal was just watching with interest. First Mo Ye, now Kael. Who are these people, she thought.
Flashback
"Fi! Fi!" She could hear him clearly but she was tired, she wanted to get out of here now.
She walked up to him. "I knew you were an assassin, it was clear. I heard your conversation, but witnessing how you killed a minister without remorse… why? He was innocent. He sponsored kids from the orphanage," she said painfully, "I was one of the kids he sponsored. L'Ombra, how dare you kill him."
She raised a shaky finger. "That man had a child, he had people who depended on him," she shouted. "So why, why, why?"
He didn't answer at first, so she made a decision to die there, or to walk away.
"L'Ombra, I will walk away. I don't want to be near you anymore. Or you can just kill me to silence me. That way you can keep your dirty little secret."
End of flashback.
She smiled bitterly. She told him to let her go, and he did.
Fiorella blinked back from the flashback, sweat prickling her neck even though she hadn't moved. Christal caught the shift in her face. Weird.
"You just zoned out," Christal said, leaning on the bench. "What was that about?"
"Nothing, mademoiselle." Fiorella tied her hair tighter, her hands trembling.
Across the gym, Edwin hopped off the treadmill, towel slung around his neck. The guy he came with was stretching, casual, like he owned the space. Edwin waved him over as he strolled toward the girls.
Edwin grinned wide. "Let me introduce myself to you ladies."
Her stomach twisted. The voice. The hands. She forced herself to look up, bracing.
"My name is Edwin. You seem familiar," he said, pointing at Fiorella. "Are you perhaps acquainted with Mo Ye?"
"I am Christal, and this is Fiorella. Nice to meet you," Christal said.
"Mo Ye is a distant friend," Fiorella cut in fast.
"Ahhh, then we must get to know each other. If you wouldn't mind, can we have coffee?"
Fiorella nodded. She led the way to the café opposite, Christal leaving with a knowing smirk.
When they sat down, Fiorella didn't waste a second. "How is he? Is he eating, sleeping where is he?"
"Woah, calm down. Let's order first." He signaled the waiter. Two coffees. Then he leaned back. "To answer your question, miss Mo Ye is in good health. Just a little shaken, that's all."
"Why shaken?"
"Don't ask me. He never told me why. But he has traveled," Edwin said.
"Where did he go?"
He laughed. "Don't think I'll answer. I can't give away his location. For all I know, you might hold a grudge and want to kill him."
Fiorella grumbled under her breath, "As if killing him is possible. I'd rather build a rocket ship."
Edwin barked out a laugh. "You must've been close to him to know that much. I'll tell you where he is."
"Tell me fast."
"Aren't you eager? Drum roll, please ....Mo Ye is in his hometown."
"Hometown? Where is that?"
"I thought you were close. You should know his hometown."
Fiorella sighed. "If I knew, I wouldn't be this confused. Mister, he has three names how the hell am I supposed to know his hometown?"
"You should. You know him, so you should."
"What! mister just tell me," Fiorella snapped, annoyed.
Edwin looked at her, eyes amused. "China. That's all I can say. Figure the rest out."
The word hit harder than she expected. China.
Her chest tightened, the coffee in front of her suddenly became useless. She hadn't even touched it. Her fingers curled against the table, nails pressing into the wood.
China. The place she swore she would never think about again. The place that stole him from her.the place that made him like this,
Edwin was still watching, sipping his coffee like this was casual talk. Like he didn't just pull the floor out from under her.
Fiorella forced herself to breathe, but it came shallow, shaky. "So he went back."
Edwin tilted his head. "Sounds like you already knew."
She laughed once, bitter, and shook her head. "No. I didn't know. I only guessed."
Her stomach flipped. All those nights, the dreams, the arguments that weren't even real. She thought she was running forward. Turns out she was circling back to him. Always to him.
She stood abruptly, chair scraping across the floor. "Thanks for the coffee."
"You didn't even drink it," Edwin said, half smiling.
"I wasn't thirsty." Her voice was flat.
Then she walked out with a stagger,the air suddenly felt sharp in her lungs, her pulse was also too loud in own her ears.