"How long?" asked Annabelle.
"Oh, about twenty years. Ever since I first laid eyes on her at Oxford. I'd never met anyone like her, so brave, so clever, such a huge heart. She'll fight with anything she's got for what she believes is right. And, on top of that, she's witty and extremely beautiful." With that, he fell silent, realising how much he got carried away. Not necessarily by means of words, but the intense, heart-felt emotions he lent them.
"That's essentially what I have heard about her," Annabelle smiled. "So where's the rub?"
"You mean why are we not together?" he assumed and she nodded. "She's with someone else. You see, there were five of us at Oxford, we did research together…"
"… which is where you all got your 'magical properties', I presume."
"Yes. And all of us fell in love with Helen. She got engaged to one of us, but his 'magical property' was of the murderous kind and he spun out of control. Some time later we lost touch, I have been too encompassed in my research – and the next thing I know she's in a relationship with another one of us. To be fair, I don't know how serious that is; I'm inclined to believe they're very close friends, but nothing more. Still, it doesn't matter, to be frank with you. I am not the kind of person for serious relationships. I couldn't make her happy, I could never give her all she deserves – and she deserves the world to crawl at her feet, trust me."
"Even you to change for her?" she asked, perfectly aware of how much he hated her for that question.
"My work is too important, Annabelle. Helen is happy – and I will survive the heartache of living without her. I always have. Which doesn't mean I'm not grateful to you for leaving her in my care for the weeks to come, of course," he smiled and the sparks settled back in the depths of his eyes.
"So you love her, but you don't want her."
"No. I don't know. It's complicated," Nikola shrugged evasively.
"And you won't make any effort to make it less complicated…?" Annabelle shot another one of her provocative questions.
"Well, it hardly depends solely on me, does it?" he retorted sourly.
"No, but you seem very comfortable with loving her from afar."
Nikola sighed. He felt cornered, and in a peculiar way, he felt like she was subjecting him to a cunning sort of psychotherapy – getting him to describe his emotions towards Helen as accurately as possible.
"You know what, Annabelle, I don't really feel like being judged by your grace," he made an attempt at fighting back.
"I'm not judging you, Tesla, I'm just curious."
"Well, don't be."
She laughed. "Look, I'll tell you how I see it, and you'll tell me if I got it right, how's that?"
He wasn't particularly sure he wanted to hear her insight. He knew it would be painfully accurate and it would make him ashamed of himself.
"You do love her," Annabelle went on in spite, "but you two being together would not make you happy. There would always be something missing, something you would sacrifice for her happiness, because you would want to provide her with anything and everything she could wish for. But you'd get very frustrated at not dedicating enough time to your research and the things you'd still want to give humanity. She is a scientist too, but your focuses have long since parted and you feel there is no way to reconcile them anymore. How am I doing so far?"
Nikola shot her a poisonous look.
"Well, you will see how you will both feel about this in a few weeks," she shrugged. "Do you hate me too much now?"
"No. I just wish you didn't make me feel like such a despicable character."
"You're not despicable, Nik, and certainly not evil. You're just torn between two objects of dedication, both extremely precious to you. And you know you couldn't serve one fully without neglecting the other. But Nik, it might not be like this forever. You both have centuries to live; there might come a time when being together will seem the right thing to do," she smiled at him encouragingly.
Nikola laughed out, amusement mixed with resignation. "Meanwhile, all I wanted was a single kiss."
"You can kiss her now," Annabelle suggested.
"Shut up."
"Just saying," she shrugged playfully.
"Be quiet, you devious creature."
"I will. As soon as you tell me where I can lay my head for the night. I am quite exhausted."
"You can take Helen's room," Nikola offered. He went over to one of the armchairs and shamelessly ransacked Helen's purse for her room key, which he found soon and handed over to Annabelle.
"There you go. Room 406. Will you manage on your own, or shall I walk you?" he wished to know.
"No, no, you stay here and watch over your angel," she refused his company. "Good night, Nikola."
"Good night, Annabelle," he smiled.
And then she was gone and he was left standing in the semi-dark suite, watching with loving eyes the beautiful woman asleep in his bed.