She dropped her head into her palms. There have been no good choices right here. Stealing the portray now felt like the final word betrayal, however she couldn’t consider what else to do. Emma felt virtually overwhelmed by guilt and unhappiness. If she may have simply slipped again into mattress with Patrick, she would have finished so in a heartbeat.

Emma glanced on the time on her cell. No less than it was solely two within the morning. There was nonetheless loads of time to exchange the portray earlier than Patrick woke, so long as she was quiet. That appeared like the one stroke of luck she was going to get.

As quietly as she may, she slipped out of the lavatory, tiptoed throughout the lounge, and returned to the elevator. A key card sat on a small shelf close to the door. Emma vaguely remembered Patrick utilizing it within the elevator the day earlier than, so she took it and put it in her pocket.

The whirring of the elevator felt horribly loud. Emma saved glancing over her shoulder, half anticipating Patrick to emerge from the bed room, bleary-eyed and confused. A part of her even needed to be caught simply so this entire charade could be over. However he didn’t come out, and he or she acquired within the elevator and rode it all the way down to the foyer alone.

A brand new doorman had changed Carl in some unspecified time in the future throughout the night. He gave Emma a pleasing nod however didn’t ask any questions as she walked confidently throughout the foyer and entered the lavatory. She returned to the identical stall as earlier than and retrieved the portray from behind the ceiling panel.

On the rest room door, she hesitated. If the doorman noticed her stroll by with a portray case, and Patrick later reported Aurora as stolen, it might definitely level suspicions her approach. But one more reason why I’m not made for the world of artwork heisting.

After a second’s consideration, Emma took off her sweater and draped it over the portray. It was nonetheless a really suspicious bundle, however not less than it didn’t look as very like a portray case anymore.

She hurried again throughout the foyer. To her immense reduction, the doorman was absorbed in his telephone and didn’t lookup as she walked previous.

Again in Patrick’s condominium, she returned to the lounge and leaned the forgery towards the wall. Then she paused to pay attention for any sound from the bed room. Nothing.

Emma took a deep breath and opened the portray case. The forgery inside appeared even flatter and fewer skilled subsequent to the true factor. Nonetheless, there was no different choice.

She rigorously eliminated Aurora from the wall. Over the previous couple of weeks, she’d developed a plan to take away and switch it with out damaging the portray in any respect. Now, she put that plan into motion. After some work with the body, Aurora was safely stowed within the portray case and the forgery was held on the wall in precisely the identical place as the unique. Emma stepped again to soak up her work. At first look, it may go for Aurora, however upon nearer inspection, it was clearly totally different.

Patrick would discover.

And hopefully, when he did, he would additionally discover the tiny message she’d left for him.

However by then, Emma would have given the portray to Aleksander and could be completed with this job. Maybe she’d even transfer to a different metropolis. Sure, that appeared like the very best of the unhealthy choices that remained.

Emma closed the portray case and lifted it into her arms. She solid one closing have a look at the forgery, then on the bed room the place Patrick was nonetheless sleeping, blissfully unaware of what was happening proper below his nostril.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

Then she left his condominium and made her approach into the darkish evening, the Aurora by her facet. Final evening had been her first with Patrick — and her final.

CHAPTER 14

PATRICK

One thing was off.

Patrick woke to daylight streaming by means of his bed room window, which was uncommon in and of itself. He normally woke earlier than daybreak to the sound of his alarm. At this time, there hadn’t been one.

And Emma was gone. Patrick acquired away from bed and appeared across the room as if anticipating her to leap out of the closet.

“Emma?”

There was no reply. Patrick left his bed room and walked by means of his rental. Possibly Emma had gotten as much as take a bathe or make some espresso. However the rental was empty, and he or she was nowhere to be seen.

He paused for a second in entrance of Aurora, as he did every morning. The portray appeared to reflect his personal emotions of strangeness and fear. One thing was a bit off about it, however Patrick wasn’t within the temper for artwork appreciation in the mean time. He was too anxious about Emma.

What had occurred final evening should have made her uncomfortable. Patrick thought again to how good it had felt to carry her in his arms, to kiss her, to lastly hear just a few fragments of her historical past. For him, it had been an ideal night and an ideal evening. The thought that she hadn’t felt the identical approach was like a kick to his intestine.

In spite of everything, for her, it had been an evening spent with the CEO of her firm. Possibly she was anxious about how this could look to her colleagues or if it might have an effect on her standing at work. Or perhaps opening as much as him had felt uncomfortable for her.

Patrick accomplished his loop round the home, however his hopes of discovering Emma within the rest room or the kitchen lowered considerably with every step he took. She had left. She should have slipped out late final evening or early this morning.

He took a deep breath. It might be superb. He’d see her in an hour or so at work. He would ask her to step into his workplace for just a few moments, after which they’d be capable to discuss. He may reassure her that the time they’d spent collectively had no affect on her work and that he’d by no means announce their relationship to anybody except she needed him to.

And he may inform her how a lot she meant to him. Possibly that had been the issue, too. Possibly Emma thought he needed a one-night stand. A couple of weeks in the past, he would have mentioned he didn’t need something extra. In spite of everything, Patrick had organized his life to keep away from vital romantic commitments since he was in highschool. Even when he’d first met Emma, he’d tried his finest to not get entangled along with her.

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