[Author’s Note: Sorry, since this is Noah's POV, some content may overlap with Elena's part from the chapter 35.]

Noah's POV

When she woke up and saw me, those wide blue eyes went even wider.

Good!

Let her be surprised.

Let her remember that I could show up whenever I wanted, that this villa, this room, this bed—it was all mine.

And so was she.

"Tomorrow. Sunday. My friend Nicole is back in New York. She invited me to meet her at J&M Cafe at eleven."

There it was. The request I'd been ...