The Price of Freedom

Chapter 15: Other Women

DINAH

After our surprise encounter with Henri, we all head out to see our new apartment. Serena was gushing about all the amenities it had, but all I needed was a place to stay. I was surprised at how much she sounded like Lily sometimes.

We arrived to an old building, which had me worried a bit, but once we entered all my worries vanished into the ether. The inside was very modern and freshly renovated that gave me hope that we didn’t end up making a huge mistake.

We went up to the third floor where our apartment was located, that Liam insisted on calling a flat and the second floor. I don’t understand why they have to call the first floor the ground floor and the second floor is the first floor, shouldn’t the first floor be the ground floor, but I digress.

The previous owner of the flat met us at the door to give us our keys and show us around before she left to spend all the money she just came into. Luckily, we purchased the place fully furnished, so we wouldn’t have to worry about doing it ourselves.

“Oh my god Dinah I love this place!” Serena squealed as she looked around with eyes sparkling in wonderment. She was so excited for this new change, but the excitement has yet to hit me.

“Well you should you picked it out,” I responded as I dragged my suitcase into my room with Liam behind with the rest of my luggage.

He hasn’t said anything since my meeting with Henri, and throughout the car ride, he just looked out the window as we drove into the heart of London.

“Don’t be a smart ass and just enjoy it,” she chastises me from the other room.

I walk back out into the living room and look out the large window and into the park just outside. The view is breathtaking, no wonder it cost us so much. “Yeah it only cost us a pretty penny, what if this doesn’t last?”

She comes back out to stand next to me and throws her arm over my shoulder, “nothing is meant to last.”

I can’t help but roll my eyes at her response, she is so nonchalant about everything. “Don’t get philosophical,” I tell her.

“What it’s the truth, if we don’t like it, we can always sell it and find a new place,” she retorts. She continues to find everything so easy; Serena just needs to grow up and realize that life comes at you fast.

“That easy huh?” I question raising my good eyebrow at her.

“That easy.”

During our little conversation, we had forgotten that Liam and Sacha were still here. We haven’t gone grocery shopping, so we can’t even offer them food for all their help. I don’t think any amount of food would be thanks enough for all their help.

Liam comes to stand in front of me, and for the first time I can’t tell how he’s feeling. I can usually look into his eyes and automatically know if he’s upset or happy, or anything, but right now his face is giving me zero emotional signals.

“Who was that guy at the airport?” He asks me, his gaze still and unmoving.

How do you tell the guy that you’re starting to like and maybe love about a guy you just saw after years who I was actually mildly in love with and was crushed when I found out he had left?

“He was just a fri-“ I start.

Serena genuinely does not know when to keep her mouth shut and interrupts me before I could finish my somewhat omission of the truth. “Oh Henri? Wasn’t he the cutest! He was Dinah’s first love; she already had their wedding planned out and everything.”

“Serena can you shut the f**k up,” I yell at her louder than I should.

She is taken aback by my outburst and quickly continues her blabbering. “What? Oh... Sacha let me show you my room,” she says dragging Sacha away.

I turn back to Liam and he isn’t even looking at me anymore, he’s looking out the large window, “I’m sorry about her,” I apologize.

“Who was he?” He asks again, not meeting my gaze.

I c**k my head a little before answering him with another question, “Are you jealous?”

Is it bad that I hope he’s jealous, that was never my intention, but a girl can hope that a man she likes shows a certain level of possessiveness over her.

“Should I be?”

“Henri was a friend from high school and I may have had a tiny crush on him, but that was years ago,” I answer somewhat truthfully. I think I can omit the fact that I was in love with him, especially since the feelings were not reciprocated.

Liam finally turns to look at me, his face glowing from the sunlight emanating from the setting sun, “He seemed more than friendly.”

“We’re just friends,” I try convincing him, and that is definitely the truth. It’s a bit difficult building a relationship with someone who left the country and never tried contacting you.

“He seemed more friendly than just friends,” he says unbelievingly.

Yes, our introduction, did seem like a bit much, but Henri has always been overly friendly, confident, and he was my best friend at some point.

“I haven’t seen him in years, he may have just been surprised to see me,” maybe he was hit with a sudden sense of nostalgia and couldn’t help himself. I’m not really sure what goes on in the male brain.

Liam takes a few steps closer shortening the already nonexistent distance between us, “Are we ‘just friends’?” His jaw tensed as his clear blue eyes set on me cutting right through me and leaving me exposed to the world.

“I don’t know what we are...” I tried to respond, as I thought of words that could articulate what I felt for him as well as the fear I held.

Except in the next second, his hand was cupping my face and my body was inadvertently giving into his touch. Willingly.

I didn’t flinch, I didn’t tremble, I didn’t even feel uneasy. The only fluttering was happening in my pants and the only shivering was in my shirt as my body reacted to his chaste touch.

Liam brought his face closer to mine and I could feel his warm breathe on me, “I don’t know about you, but you weren’t just a quick f**k. I knew it the very moment I laid eyes on you.”

I scanned his face looking for any sings of lies or deceit, but there were none. This man standing right in front of me was being completely honest. Either that, or I am terrible at reading people.

“Don’t say stuff like that Liam, once you get tired of waiting, you’ll leave too,” I whisper as I try to choke down the uncertainty that has made a home in my heart.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he reassures me, and for a second, I am inclined to believe him. The reality is that he is gorgeous, and he won’t wait forever, no man would.

“That’s what you say now, but when some blonde hottie gets your attention, you’ll just run off to her and then to the next and then to the next.” I take a step back trying to be logical, I need to be sensible, practical, I can’t keep becoming a puddle of hormones every time he simply looks my way. I feel like a touch starved puppy eager for my next hit of cuddles.

“If I just wanted s*x, I would have asked one of the dozens of women that show up at my doorstep every day,” he groans as if he’s tired of having this conversation. Honestly, I would be tired too if I had to deal with someone like me, sometimes I’m just too much.

“What women?” I ask more angry than surprised.

He sighs and runs his hand through his golden hair, “women tend to show up at my door when they find out where I’m staying, I just had to hire extra security to keep them away from you when you were staying with me.”

I am not shocked in the least, if women are anything like that girl at the airport, then I can definitely see him being chased around like the last drop of water in a desert.

I’m annoyed that women have the gall to go after him like that. Yes, he’s single, but not single enough. I cross my arms over my chest in a huff just imagining women showing up naked in a bow for him.

“Dinah, I like you, and if I have to compete against other men for you, then I’m game. But I would like to know what I’m getting myself into,” he tells me bringing me out of my toxic thoughts of fighting another woman for a man. What has gotten into me?

“I’m not some prize to be won,” I try playing off the obvious frustration in my tone.

“You’re right, you’re more than that, but the reality is that you’re beautiful and intelligent and you’ll have men knocking on your door to have you. Let me know when you’re ready for that date,” he tells me before calling for Sacha and walking out the door.

“That was intense,” Serena remarks plopping herself down on the couch.

“You were eavesdropping!?”

She just shrugs her shoulders.

******

We got acquainted with the neighborhood fairly easy, the most difficult part was knowing how to use the tubes, but everything seems to be within walking distance. I get winded out walking to the grocery store.

Come to find out they don’t provide grocery bags here and I had to walk back home with fruit hanging around in my purse and tugging along a carton of milk and cereal boxes in plain sight. I refuse to go grocery shopping ever again, I’ll just order takeout or go out to eat, I’ll even starve if I have to.

The down side to having to walk everywhere is probably my ankle at the moment, I can’t walk far without it beginning to throb, so I have to pace myself.

Serena is enjoying London so far, she’s elated that she starts working with Catarina in a few days, and that’s all she’s managed to talk about.

I’ve tried to stay indoors as much as I can so far, I want to start fresh and I can’t really do that if people just stare at me because of all the visible injuries. They don’t ask but I can tell they are silently trying to figure out what happened. It isn’t the random passerby on the street that look at me weird, they could care less, they are just trying to get to their destination. No, it’s the small old lady at the grocery store that wonders if my significant other beats me, or the young girl at the clothing store that walked in on my trying on a shirt.

“Let’s go for a walk in the park across the street,” Serena asks me trying to get me to leave the apartment.

It will still take me some time to remember the small things, like the that it is called a flat here, and not an apartment, or that the subway system is called a tube.

“Yeah okay,” I respond being bored out of my mind from staying in. I quickly put on some clothes that will cover me up. It’s a bit difficult considered it is hot as f**k outside, so I either drown in sweat or let people so the damage.

We walk around the park for a while talking about everything and nothing at all. Apparently, Catarina has a store that she works out of on Oxford Street, so Serena will be meeting her there in a few days.

“Oh my gosh that’s Elsa Ivanov,” Serena whisper screams in my ear stopping me in my tracks.

“You have to stop saying people’s names like I’ll know who they are.”

I look up at the woman Serena is referring to and she is a tall leggy blonde, her hair is a platinum blonde that shines in the sunlight and her figure is to die for. She is wearing a pair of large sunglasses that cover her face, but even then, I can see her defined features.

“That’s Liam’s ex Dinah,” Serena mutters making my breathe hitch in my throat.

“She is gorgeous,” that’s all I can say, because she is in fact stunning. Why would he not be with her right now and stop wasting his time with me. I certainly would if I were him.

“We should turn around she’s coming this way,” Serena tells me grabbing my arm trying to get me to face the other way.

I simply take my arm out of her grasp before she can yank me away, “What? Why? She doesn’t even know me, and besides it’s not like Liam and I are anything.”

“She might.”

“What do you mean she might?” I say turning away from Elsa Ivanka or whatever, and facing Serena. I try giving her a stern look, but when someone towers over you, it is a bit difficult to invoke fear.

“PaparazzitookpicturesofyouwithLiamattheairportandtheyareallovermagazines,” she lets out in one breathe.

“What?” I ask not understanding a single word she just said.

“I said paparazzi took pictures of you with Liam at the airport and they are all over magazines!”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” I exploded not realizes how far my voice would carry.

“Because I know how you are and you would have freaked out like you’re doing now,” she quipped.

“Of course, I’d freak out what do you expect me to do, just accept it?”

“I mean yeah...” she mumbled, “don’t turn around she’s coming, maybe she’ll just walk past us,” she tells me as she puts on her biggest fake smile managing to look like the Cheshire cat.

Elsa doesn’t walk past us, in fact I can sense her presence right behind me, and she’s towering over me. I’m terrified to turn around. Wait, why am I scared?

“Hello,” she greets us in a thick Russian accent.

Well there goes any chance I had at claiming obliviousness, that was clearly directed at us. I turn around to face her and I notice that her sunglasses are lifted up giving me a full glimpse at her beautiful face.

Damn, why did she have to be so pretty?

“Your Liam’s little friend,” she asserted emphasizing the little part.

It isn’t my fault I wasn’t blessed with unattainable looks and legs for days. Lily really f****d me over on this one, Serena definitely took after our dad.

Serena stays quiet for the first time ever, I would to, this Elsa demands attention and respect without having to ask for it.

“Hello,” I finally greet her.

“You’re smaller than I thought.”

I can’t tell if she’s being a b***h or not. I mean who just says that to someone they barely know?

“I’m sorry, how do you know who I am?” I question her as my patience begins to dwindle.

“I thought I recognized you from the magazine photo, I wasn’t sure it was you, once I got a closer look, I knew it was you Liam was holding hands with at the airport,” she replies pointing to her face implying that she recognized the bruises.

Fuck it must be a bad picture.

“Oh,” is all I could say.

What else could I say in this situation? I was not intending on introducing myself, I didn’t even know of her existence until a few seconds ago. What was I supposed to say, like ‘hey, I’m not really dating your ex, but I definitely f****d him’. I don’t think that would go over well.

“Well, I’ve got to leave before the paps spot me, you know how it is,” she remarks before wearing her sunglasses again.

“No, not really,” I fake chuckle.

“I hope Liam finds the time for you,” she sneers with a smile still plastered on her face.

I feel Serena tense beside me, but before either of us could respond, Elsa was off.

What does that even mean? ‘I hope Liam finds the time for you’ who says s**t like that? I get that she is his ex or whatever, but that doesn’t mean she has to hate me. I wasn’t even around when they broke up for whatever reason.

I kind of want to call Liam and ask him about his somewhat bitchy ex, but I don’t want to sound whiny either. Whatever happened in their relationship is none of my business.

I am majorly annoyed right now, and it was a simple interaction, but the way it went down made me feel like she wasn’t completely over him. What if she wants him back? What if he wants her back? What if as soon as Liam sees her suspiciously beautiful face again, he wants to take her back. Am I just another woman to him? 

A pang of jealousy hits me hard and all I want to do is curl up in bed and never come out of my cocoon of blankets.

“I need liquor.”