The Lover My Brain Chose to Forget

The coffee beans scattered everywhere, but Nico offered nothing but a cold, remorseless smile. "Oops. My hand slipped. Please clean that up, Ms. Mancuso."

I didn't argue. I went to the back, grabbed a broom, and began to sweep.

Just as I was about to push a pile into the dustpan, Nico kicked them, sending the beans rolling even further across the floor.

I looked up, confused. "Signore, please. If you could just take a seat, I can finish cleaning this up quickly."

He scrutinized me again, but this time, a flicker of pity softened his gaze. "Elena, this isn't you. The woman I knew was sharp and vibrant, and wouldn't stand for even a hint of disrespect. If someone had done this to you back then, you would have flipped the table on them without a second thought. Yet, you don't even get angry now? Why?"

My fingers tightened around the broom handle.

He was talking about the past again.

I looked at him in confusion. "Signore, do you know me?"

Nico paused, his throat bobbing as he looked at me with a searing intensity.

"The first time we spoke was at your birthday ball. You were wearing a dark green dress and that pearl necklace your mamma left you. When you walked down those stairs, every eye in the room was on you. But you only had eyes for me.

"After we got together, we started planning our escape. You said your family would never allow us to be together, and you couldn't stand the war between our families anymore. You told me you wanted to go somewhere where there was no gunfire, and we chose a town in Alpen."

Small town. Fresh flowers. Laughter.

I didn't know where the images were coming from, but they surfaced in my mind, blurry and fleeting.

Nico watched me closely, searching my face for an answer. "Do you remember any of that?"

The harder I tried to grab the memories, the harder the eraser in my head worked to wipe them away. The pain in my skull intensified.

I had to give up. "I'm sorry. I really don't."

Nico stared at me, his eyes swirling with hatred and mockery, yet something beneath the surface seemed to be breaking.

He whispered, almost to himself, "It's been three years. When I woke up in that hospital bed, Bianca told me you had run away."

Bianca? Was that the woman holding his arms yesterday?

His gaze lingered on my face for a moment before he looked away. "I thought about looking for you."

He swallowed hard. "But I asked myself, if I found you, would I kill you? Or would I take you back to make your life a living hell?"

Nico let out a short, hollow laugh that sounded more like a sob. "Then I thought… you knew I couldn't swim, yet you pushed me overboard anyway. You must have loathed me. I thought that it would be better for both of us if you stayed hidden forever. Yet here I am, standing right in front of you. Fate is a cruel joke!"

He began to clap slowly and laugh loudly. "Elena, I won't forgive you. Since you want to play this game, let's see how long you can keep up the act."

He turned and stormed out of the restaurant, leaving me to finish sweeping in a daze.

During my break, I opened my memo app and typed, "The man named Nico seems to know me from a long time ago."