A man sees his girl.

Thomas
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Thomas led Rina into his office and held open the door, beckoning her to sit.

She looked somehow lovelier, wiser. As if motherhood had morphed her into an entirely different creature. No longer could Thomas see the girlish youth she had held within her features those years ago; and that thought brought misery into his heart.

Rina took a seat on the edge of his desk, crossing her legs and looking about the photos he had perched on top.

He walked nonchalantly towards her, with his hands tucked inside his trouser pockets. As he neared her, Rina lifted her head and their eyes met in an instant. Her warm, brown eyes seemed calm, but he could not read them past that. No matter how desperately he yearned to.

"Thomas Shelby," Rina said, at last, her voice seemingly out of breath. "What a lovely house you have."

He nodded. "Yeah, it is." A pause.

"So you got everything you ever wanted, then." She said.

"Not everything," Thomas said.

A blush swam to the surface as Rina forced herself to look away for a moment. Thomas could then see that her hair was shorter than when he saw her last, as the nape of her neck was exposed. He wanted to kiss her there.

"And your boy? I hear he looks like his father." Thomas mentioned, changing the subject.

Rina's rouge lips pulled back in an easy smile.

"Dimitri has Alfie's features, yes, but I like to think of him as more Italian than anything." She said, her voice full of pride. "I suppose that's because we live with my family in Chicago. They all simply adore him."

She then reached into her clutch and pulled out a photograph and held it out to Thomas. He took it and leaned against the desk beside her, eyes glued to the picture.

It was of Rina and her son. She held him on her lap wearing an expensive looking dress and a soft smile on her face. She looked like that of a woman with both elegance and class, breathtaking. After a while Thomas looked at the boy and saw that he indeed appeared as his father, sharing the same straight nose and full mouth. His eyes, however, were the same dark shade of his mother's.

"I had it taken especially for you," Rina admitted. "Something to remember us by."

Thomas looked up from the photograph and nodded. He would cherish it forever.

"Thank you." He said.

There was an intimate pause after that, as the two former lovers simply stared back at one another, thinking the same thing but neither of them willing to say it out loud.

There was a knock at the door.

"Mr. Shelby?" A voice called out.

"Yes, Mary. Come in." Thomas replied, a bit too quickly.

The older woman entered the room with a tray consisting of a teapot, two cups, milk, and sugar.

Rina slid off the desk almost immediately to pour herself a cup once the woman had gone. Thomas knew she would reach for the milk to pour into her tea, as he had personally requested Mary to include it onto the platter.

Rina brought the cup to her lips and sipped it carefully, sighing afterward. Her eyes fluttered open in the most exquisite manner and met his.

"You remembered how I like my tea, did you?" She grinned, knowingly.

Thomas shrugged.

"How could I forget. I think about you everyday." He said.

There, he had said it. Thomas knew he could not take it back now, and nor did he want to. He knew how he felt about her, and although ample time had passed it seemed to have Rina here made him realize real love never fades.

Rina blushed scarlet.

"Thomas--" She warned, but he had already crossed the floor to her.

"What could possibly stop us now, eh? You had the kid, you're not married to Alfie Solomons, you're here now. What is it, Rina?" He demanded.

Rina didn't look at him for a long while and he could tell that she was trying to hide her tears. Thomas gently lifted her chin towards him and with his thumb wiped the moisture away. It was the first time he had seen her cry in a long while. It broke his heart.

"This was a mistake, Thomas." She said, quietly.

His heart sank.

"I should go. My son needs me."

Thomas dropped his hands from her face, silent. He watched Rina gather her things.

His sad eyes looked to the teacup she had left and seen that it was half empty, with the shape of her lips stained onto the rim. He turned around to face her, determined.

"I need to see you again." Thomas said, "I'm driving to the stables tomorrow morning to see the horses. I'm bringing my son, and you can bring yours. I can pick you up free of charge and show you the beasts. Brown-Eyed Chicago's filly is there. I know how much you liked her."

Rina paused for a moment, her back turned to him. After some consideration, she turned to face him. There was a pained expression on her face.

"Alright, then." She agreed, crossing the room to him. "But only because my son adores those animals."

Thomas nodded. A ghost of a smile on his face.

"My son adores them, too." He said. "Are you sure that's the only reason?"

Her brown eyes looked up at him in warning.

"Yes, I'm sure." Rina huffed, but her eyes betrayed her.

The corners of Thomas's lips twitched upward.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow morning. Bright and early." He said.

"Bright and early," Rina replied. And off she went.

⚜️

The night was dark and ominous when Rina and her boy arrived at their flat in London. The air was heavy with the promise of rain and shortly after, mother nature delivered.

"Dimitri darling, why don't you put away the toys your father gave you and join mama for a bath." Rina hummed, peeling her thick navy blue coat from her back.

Dimitri's blond hair shimmered gold in the soft lamplight as he nodded his head and ran away to his room squealing; with the nanny hot on his heels. A sheepish grin found its way upon her face as Rina watched her son bound the stairs with the vigor of a foot soldier. There was no doubt in her mind that he was Alfie's boy, as she figured that's how he was when he was Dimitri's age. She almost felt sympathy for the misses.

All around Rina could hear the constant tap of London rain in the evening as she traveled to the kitchen for wine. With a practiced hand Rina poured the red into a fine crystal glass and allowed her mind to wander to those icy blue eyes she could never quite forget.

So Thomas thought about her, yes, but was that it? To think about someone and to actively seek out a person were two completely different things. What did he expect from her? For Rina to drop everything as she had before and praise a fish for swimming? She was a mother now, a package deal as was he. The only difference between them was that she chose him, and tragedy chose for Thomas.

Rina huffed and downed the last of the wine. Regardless, Rina had already met another man back in Chicago who knew what he wanted and wasn't afraid to show it. Given that he was the son of a family friend who grew up around the mob as she had, Gyp was a gentleman who treated Rina and her son as such. The only issue was that she hadn't told Aflie, or anyone for that matter, that there was another man in her life. For Rina knew Alfie better than he knew himself and she knew that if he caught wind of another man around his boy he would explode in a fury.

Chills ran down her spine at the thought.

Gently wiping the corners of her mouth, Rina then made her way upstairs to see Dimitri sleeping facedown onto his bed. The nanny offered an apologetic smile.

"Forgive me miss, but he was just so terribly tired that by the time I had cleaned up he was dreaming." She said.

"Nonsense." Rina sighed, crossing the floor to plant a kiss against her boy's forehead. "Children are unpredictable, Louise. If I had spent the day with Alfie I too would've fallen asleep the second I arrived home. I'll simply bathe on my own."

With a grateful nod, the nanny left to her quarters. Rina stood a while after she left to gaze onto her son sleeping soundly in his room. The most rewarding part since becoming a mother, Rina thought, was knowing that her son was safe and most of all, loved.

Rina carefully shut the door and readied herself a bath. After a while of resting her head against the tub, Rina wished she had brought the wine along with her. It was quite funny how she found it hard to be sober in England. Maybe it was the people. She let out a chuckle.

"Miss?" The nanny then called from outside the door.

"Yes, Louise?" She replied, "Come in if you must."

Rina rested her arms along the tub and watched the door open and reveal Louise holding a small brown box in her hands.

"This just came for you, Miss." She said, handing it to her.

Rina furrowed her brows at the sight of it. "Why, who is it from?"

"A mister Thomas Shelby."

Her brown eyes shot up to Louise's blue ones. Of course, it was.

"Thank you, Louise, that'll be all." Rina dismissed, as she wanted to be alone when she opened Thomas's package.

Louise nodded and shut the door behind her, leaving Rina staring curiously at the box in her hands. She immediately recognized the handwriting to be his, as he addressed her by name. No longer able to contain her curiosity, Rina slid her fingers beneath the folds and tore the wrapping paper apart until a velvet black box appeared. Rina scoffed. Was Thomas really trying to win her over with jewelry? But upon closer expectation, there was a letter peeking out from the box. Rina's fingers itched as she opened it and saw the rare beauty that was inside.

Her mouth dropped at the sight of the sapphire sitting pretty in velvet. Her trained eyes knew it must be worth a fortune. So why give it away? Needing answers, Rina read the letter aloud to herself:

My dearest Caterina,

I send you this gift on my behalf in hopes you will wear it to the charity dinner alongside me. You are the only woman I know capable of the beauty of this gem and still shine brighter than it. Please do me the honors.

Yours always,
Thomas Shelby

Shocked, Rina stared off into the distance rereading his letter in her head. Thomas was much more daring than she remembered, that's for sure. But he is going to have to try a lot harder than showing off his wealth if he was going to win her trust again. So without another glance at the blue gem beauty, Rina snapped the box shut and dressed for bed.