Without You [Daniel Ricciardo]

13. you took my heaven away

Zoe stayed silent, though her lower lip trembled at the sight of Romain behind her. All she could think about in this moment was Daniel. Her Daniel who finally was learning how to live his life. She pulled him out of the dark and she'll throw him back there. They propably won't see each other again. He'll be looking for her, but he won't be able to find her. He'll never know about what she did. She wasn't waiting for applause. She just wished to say i love you for the last time, while getting lost in those amber hues. "What are you waiting for, Egle? Get dressed". Romain turned his head towards Lithuanian. "What?" She looked at him with puzzled expresion on her face. "I said, get dressed. I don't want to have Daniel and Nico on my tail tonight, so put on the fucking dress!". Egle shivered, while he screamed at her. "Will you move or should I go on a holiday to Lithuania?". He rushed her. Egle swallowed hard and without another question started to prepare herself. The air hitched in Zoe's throat when she saw that Egle was about to wear the same dark blue dress she just got her into.

"My sweet Zoe". Romain pushed her blonde hair to the side and put his hands on her shoulders. He gave them a light squeeze, while his nails dig painfully into her skin. "You're the best and the worse thing that ever happened to me. Now, where is it?".

As first wave of surprise washed over Nico, he didn't waste any moment and sank into the crowd of invited by Egle guests. He felt like fish in the water around people and Daniel was glad he could celebrate this day in such way. His brother reintroduced Daniel to a few people who reportedly attended also his birthday party. He didn't remember them. He only remembered one person from that day. The main entrance of the mansion was decorated with gold ornaments, while red carpet was spread on the floor. A huge main hall was turned into marvelous ballroom taken out straight from the fairy tales. Daniel must admit that Egle truly went beyond and tested her own imagination.

For the first time since New York, Daniel felt light as a feather, like nothing could possibly go wrong now. Zoe Taylor was the one. He knew it. He felt it. Whenever the word future appeared in his head he saw her and nothing else. Nevertheless, he was a bit surprised that he didn't see Zoe and Egle so far. He kept searching for her, knowing that he should focus on a dress matching his dark blue suit. When an hour passed and there was still no sign of Zoe, Daniel started to worry, but suddenly he caught a glimpse of dark blue silk in the corridor. He left Nico without a word, while he his brother was talking to somebody and followed the dress. Finding someone in this crowd was quite hard, so Zoe was propably stressed out. He knew it will be a bad idea to arrive separately, but of course Egle knew better. He managed to catch her on the entresol, but from the first moment he touched her shoulder, he knew something was wrong. The woman turned around to face him. Although her face was covered with a mask, Daniel already realised he was tricked. Eyes that looked at him were green, not heavenly blue. The hair wasn't gold as the rays of sunshine, but light brown covered under some silver ornaments. Daniel thought he was going to faint. His heart was about to stop. This couldn't be happening, not again. Romain proved himself before, so why he would do that again? With his heart hammering in his chest, he reached to take the mask away from woman's face. Deep down he stupidly hoped it was just a dream and Zoe will magically appear before him. Instead, he stood face to face with Egle.

"I'm sorry, Daniel". Egle stammered under his gaze, but her words didn't reach him. Daniel moved away, running towards the stairs and he saw his brother coming his way. Nico stopped dead in his tracks, seeing the terrified expression on Daniel's face. His heart skipped a beat when Egle followed him, wearing Zoe's dress. Suddenly, he felt numb. Everything now seemed to be crystal clear. No woman would want to date a man about whom she knows nothing, yet Egle did. He thought it was her bravery, but it was Romain. He got to them long before he stepped his foot on New Orlean's ground. He loved her. Nico never loved anybody, but this love stabbed him in the back. He swallowed hard, nodding at Daniel to move. If Zoe was with Romain, they needed to act fast.