As I was on my way to the kitchen, the house’s door slammed loudly. I looked in that direction, and before I could react, Gio rushed toward Marion.
Gio clenched Marion’s collar and punched him so hard that Marion was sent flying to the other corner of the room.
“If you think you’re getting out of my house alive, sorry to fucking tell you, but I’m going to kill you here,” Gio threatened.
I was also shocked and frozen by what Gio had said. His voice was filled with a unique kind of anger. His fist was pulsating through his arm. His aura radiated pure rage, to the point where you could feel his intent to kill and see how bloodthirsty he was.
~*~
“I can’t do that, ma’am. I was the one who contacted Sir Gio. I knew this is what would happen to the man. Neither of us can do anything about it.”
My eyes widened in disbelief. Dario had reported toGio! “Why would you do that?”
“Even if I didn’t tell Sir Gio, the moment that guy entered the house, Sir knew. The entire premises are equipped with cameras, and Sir Gio has control over all of them.”
My lips quivered, unable to believe what I was hearing. I looked again at Marion, who was nearly sprawled on the floor, repeatedly pummeled by Gio.
I ran towards Gio. His eyes were vacant, as if he were not himself.
“Gio, stop that!”
I grabbed his arm, thinking I could stop him. But, he was too strong. No one could restrain him.
“Gio, please.”
Gio pushed my hand away. The force of it sent me to the ground. I also accidentally knocked over a flower vase, which shattered on the floor, cutting me.
I winced in pain as I felt the stinging from the cut on my hand. I held my bleeding hand and noticed that the wound was quite large.
I looked up and saw that everyone had frozen. Gio, who had seemed completely out of control a moment ago, was now looking at me.
“Please, let him go, Gio.” I managed to speak, trying to downplay the wound.
Mariana and the others quickly left, including Marion, leaving just the two of us behind.
I sat on the bed while Gio knelt in front of me. He held my injured hand and examined it closely, probably checking for any remaining shards before cleaning the wound.
I just observed Gio, uncertain of how to feel. Was what he did right because he saw another man in his house? But Marion and I weren’t doing anything wrong. I only helped out.
I winced softly when Gio touched my wound, which I couldn’t see. He looked up at me.
“Does it hurt? Bear with it for a while. I need to clean your wound.”
I still didn’t say anything. There were so many thoughts racing through my mind. I didn’t pay much attention to this before, but now, I didn’t know.
Did Gio do this to Marion out of jealousy? Because he had feelings for me, or because I was his wife and he saw me as his possession that he didn’t want anyone else to touch?
He applied something to my wound before bandaging it. I waited for him to say something about what happened earlier, but… nothing. He acted as if he hadn’t nearly beaten Marion to a pulp.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” I couldn’t hold back any longer, and the words flowed from my lips.
Gio looked at me. I tried to see if there was even a trace of remorse in his expression, but there was none. The remorse I hoped to find in his eyes was nonexistent.
“I’m sorry you got hurt,” Gio said before rising from his kneeling position. He placed the medical kit on the side table and removed his blazer.
“Is that all?” I asked. I wasn’t taking sides between Marion and Gio. I had no allegiance to either of them. Perhaps I was wrong for allowing Marion into the situation, but what Gio did also didn’t seem right. He exacerbated the man’s condition even though he was already injured.
“What else do you want me to say?” Gio turned to me, one hand resting on a countertop while the other loosened his tie. He unbuttoned the first three buttons of his dress shirt, and rolled up the sleeves to his elbows.
Noticeable on his attire were a few splatters of blood, likely from Marion earlier. I furrowed my brow and stood up. “Aren’t you going to apologize for what you did to Marion? You almost beat him to death, Gio!”
“Why are you protecting that man? He had it coming! He entered my house, so I’ll do whatever I want with him.” I could tell Gio was trying to contain his anger, though I noticed the veins on his arms bulging.
“He’s my friend, Gio! Why are you so enraged at him?”
“You can’t be friends with your ex!” he asserted.
I closed my eyes at his words. We were now arguing. This wasn’t us, but I needed to make him understand that his jealousy was uncalled for.
“Marion is not my ex, Gio! We agreed to be friends, and that’s it. I didn’t marry him, so we have no other relationship except friendship. You didn’t need to hurt him. You should have just asked him to leave instead of resorting to violence.” I sighed after I spoke, but I couldn’t condone his actions.
Before, I might have teased him, but when things escalated to violence, I couldn’t just stay silent.
“Why are you jealous, anyway?” I averted my gaze from him and sat back on our bed, cradling my hand because I could still feel the pain.
“I am your husband. You’re bound to me. Isn’t it natural for me to get jealous?” He threw my question back at me. So, that was his reason for being jealous. I had accepted that long ago. He himself had admitted he couldn’t love.
“But jealousy is for someone who has feelings for another. If you don’t have any feelings for me, Gio, you wouldn’t be jealous. Or maybe it’s just your pride. You say you’re jealous, but in reality, maybe it’s just your pride getting hurt whenever other men talk to me, thinking they can take me away from you. Am I right? It’s your pride, not jealousy, isn’t it?”
It hurt when I realized it. The jealousy I’d been holding onto for this man wasn’t even real. What if it was just his pride all along? Bitter as it felt, I had to accept it. It would be better if my system could adapt to the possibility that Gio’s actions were driven by pride. This way, I wouldn’t be as hurt if it turned out to be true.
“Let’s stop talking about this nonsense,” Gio said as he entered the walk-in closet.
I exhaled into the air. I knew I wouldn’t gain anything from continuing this conversation, so I let Gio be. I lay down on the bed and pulled the blanket over me. Was this normal? It felt like Gio and I were always arguing.
I hadn’t spoken to Marion since, even though I wanted to apologize. It was for the sake of our peace with Gio. I remembered what happened to him. His nose was broken, and the wound near his eye worsened. He couldn’t even open his eyes when he was dragged out of the house.
Gio and I talked, but we both avoided discussing Marion. Whenever we broached the topic, it would only lead to another unpleasant argument. The last thing I wanted was to argue with Gio again because of his unwarranted jealousy. He was so possessive!