*Bruno*
I walked to the restroom immediately after Lucia left. A smile tugged on my lips. Lucia liked this place, too. It brought more joy than I ever thought it would bring me. The chatter hasn’t reduced even a bit. I had seen someone sitting behind us. Whoever it was had his eyes pinned on us all the time, and I saw Lucia tender when she noticed it.
Though she claimed to be okay, I was sure she wasn’t. I pushed open the door to the restroom and walked in. After doing my business, I returned only to find our seats empty. Lucia wasn’t back. I squinted my eyes. She was supposed to be back.
I walked back to the restroom. My shoes clicked loudly on the tilted floor with each step I took. I had a bad feeling about this. But this restaurant had one of the tightest security, nothing could happen to her, and she should be fine. And she knows how to defend herself, she is no kid.
Except…
I didn’t want to consider that possibility. There was no way she would be with him. And I convinced myself that I had imagined whoever I saw to be Jason. Jason couldn’t be here; he had no reason to. And even if he was, Lucia wouldn’t be with him. She came here with me as my woman. There was no way she’d be with him. No way.
There was no back door at the end of the hallway, which meant that Lucia was probably still in the restroom. I had passed the restroom earlier, and I had to turn around as I had passed it.
I hadn’t stepped in front of the door when I heard Lucia’s voice. I couldn’t figure out what she said. I walked closer, immediately I stepped in front of the room, I heard the voice of a man and pushed the door open immediately.
In the dimly lit restroom, Jason had his hands around her waist. He was pulling her closer to himself while she tried to wriggle away from his hold. “What do you think you are doing?” Her eyes met mine as soon as I was in view and they widened. She kept trying to free herself but Jason wasn’t letting her go. It seems he hadn’t noticed my arrival in the room or if he noticed, he was best at ignoring.
The atmosphere grew heavier when Jason finally turned and met my gaze. I narrowed my eyes as I took in the scene. I didn’t wait to be invited or wait for Lucia to start speaking when I took heavy steps further. Seeing Jason hold Lucia ignited a type of fire I didn’t know existed within me.
I would rip him apart.
“Son of a bitch,” I cursed loud enough to be held; holding him by his shoulder where I shot him, I whirled him around. His grip on Lucia loses, and she takes the chance to step back. I punched Jason on his face immediately he turned. “I’ll kill you,” I roared, my voice cutting through the air. I never knew how much I never wanted any man around Lucia, and their image kept making me want to flush his head down the toilet.
He took two steps back and steadied himself.
“He spat out blood to the side. Lucia moved away from him; I walked to Jason. I’ll punch him till he goes unconscious. I’ve always wanted to beat him up, and he just presented the opportunity.
I held him by the collar. He didn’t try to pull himself away; I raised my hands and sent a blow to his gut. His head slanted back, but I held him in place from moving back, “how dare you touch her?” My anger soars by the second, and I send another blow on him.
He moved back and hit the washing hand basin.
A small grin crept up his face as he swiped the side of his mouth with his hand. “So much for being in love with her, you bastard; she’s mine,” Jason said and punched me in the face. His blow was sharp and enough to tell that he had climbed up the ladder to wherever he was with his teeth and nails. But it will take more than a few punches from him to keep me down.
There was a little commotion outside. I had locked the door from the inside, not wanting to be disturbed. Maybe someone wanted to use the restroom. Well, whoever it was could wait.
I raised my eyes to see him land another punch on me, “Lucia and I never broke up; she’s not yours,” Jason yelled. Lucia panicked, seeing us. “Stop,” she said, but I wasn’t ready; I couldn’t listen to her, not today, not now, and Jason wasn’t ready either. He raised his hand to land a blow, but I sucked and landed one at him. If I didn’t know that I shot him in his left shoulder, I would not know he was injured.
The commotion in front of the door stopped. Whoever it was must have figured that some other business was held inside and decided to return to where they came from.
From the corner of my eyes, I could see Lucia taking slow steps towards us. The last thing I wanted was for her to interfere with whatever was going on between me and Jason. I didn’t need her as any middleman. I will handle Jason without her interfering like the last time.
“Stay back, Lucia,” I warned my voice sharp.
“You don’t tell her what to do,” Jason yelled.
I smirked. “It’s none of your business,” I said before sending him down to the floor with a kick. He fell flat and I stepped on his chest with my boots, tears flooded from Lucia’s eyes. Again, she was crying because of another man. My anger flared. That gave me more reason to do what I see fit.
I pressed down on his chest, “tell me why I shouldn’t kill you?” I asked coldly. He let out a low groan, and I pressed harder.
“Please let him go this once, Bruno,” Lucia pleaded, but I was reluctant.
The commotion in front of the door resumed. It was louder this time. The door was being hit. With each sound, I pressed harder although he pretended and foreign to be strong, I could see a fickle of tears run down his cheeks. The door soon flew open. Lucia was standing next to the door, she must have opened it.
“Okay, split it up, both of you!” A bouncer who was probably the one banging the door earlier said. He held Jason to the side, keeping him away from me. There were a few people in front of the door. All the ladies kept peeking inside. It felt as though their restroom had been violated.
Only maybe it was the restaurant.
Jason, breathing vigorously, turned to take a quick look at Lucia. “If you keep looking at her, I’ll pop out your eyes,” I warned, and he understood that I meant everything I said. I would make him pay.
Jason, presently controlled by the bouncer, shot a glare at me, ” This isn’t finished,” he spat, before being escorted out of the bathroom. We were also led by the bouncer out. Those who had gathered earlier moved to the side giving me a chance to walk past. My hands were wrapped tighter on Lucia’s arm as I pulled her out.
The intensity of what had just happened earlier lingered in the air. My jaws were clenched, anger rippling between me. I had no words, nothing to say or maybe I had but didn’t want to speak for fear of bursting out on Lucia. It wasn’t practically her fault, either. He’d seen the way she struggled out of his grip. But she was too weak for him. Thinking about it made me want to punch Jason again in the gut.
Lucia kept stealing glances at me as we walked to the car. I opened the door for her, and she stepped in. I knew she wanted to speak, but she was trying to see if it was the best time to do so. If I was in the best mood to listen, and I certainly wasn’t, she’d always be an exception.
My hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“I promise there is nothing between us, Bruno; everything was a misunderstanding. He suddenly came into the restroom and wouldn’t go out, no matter what I said. I wanted him out but he didn’t let me go out and suddenly he grabbed my waist and I fought him off and he it was…” she took in a deep breath pausing her blabber.
I looked at Lucia, who wasn’t even done speaking, “I trust you,” I said before she could say anything more; her head shot up, and she stared at me. Lucia let out a breath she didn’t think she was holding. “I was scared you must be mad at me for being with Jason,” she said. Her voice is soft. There was something about her that made me want to lock her up in a room and keep her hidden from the world forever.
Lucia was mine and mine forever. I felt angry at myself for not breaking a bone in Jason’s body. Maybe one or two will do to keep him away for good. I wouldn’t mind ending his life, but I knew that would not go well with Lucia, and the last thing I wanted was her crying over another man.
“You don’t have to worry about Jason. I won’t speak to him anymore. The last thing I wanted was an outsider coming in to break off my relationship with you,” she said. I released my grip on the steering wheel. She was right; Jason might have been her ex, but he was still an outsider.
Lucia was staring at me. I smiled when my eyes met her. We assured each other through our eyes. “Thank you for trusting me.”
********* ~
*Lucia POV*
The ride back home was quiet afterwards. I threw my head to the side, resting it on the window. When I saw Bruno at the door a while ago, different thoughts went through my head. I half expected him to drag Jason outside and beat him up, but he had passed my expectations by fighting him there. And though Jason had tried to put up with him, he couldn’t. Bruno was just too strong.
Sigh.
I attempted to place my fingers on my lips but stopped halfway. Maybe I have been too lenient with him. Maybe if I tried to make myself clearer to him, he would stay as far away from me as possible. Maybe I was just worried for his safety. Or maybe I was just being paranoid.
Too many maybes.
Right now, all I want to do is rest. I shouldn’t be thinking about him. The last thing I wanted was to find him dead. Bruno would waste no time in blowing his skull; at least, he had made that much clear the day he shot his shoulder.
“What are you thinking about?” Bruno’s voice broke into my thoughts. I pulled away from the window moving my hands that were supporting my head from the frames too. “Nothing important. I had forgotten to take the chocolate cake and it has been paid for,” I lied.
“That shouldn’t bother you,” he said. “We could always go there,” I don’t think I wanted to return there. The incident today has kind of ruined the fine image I had seen when I walked through the doors for the first time. All that was left was the fight.
“I don’t think I want to go back there,” I said looking around only to realize that we were back. Bruno pulled up at the side. “Let’s go inside,” he said. I was about to go down when my phone beep on my lap. I picked it up, taking a quick look at the message as I got down. It was the last message I expected to see. But I knew immediately who sent it.
Unknown: Let’s meet.
What trick is she trying to pull this time?