(NFTMB)Chapter 37
Victoria
(Retrace My Steps)
“How are you holding up, Victoria?”. Grace asked sympathetically over the phone.
I watched as her brows drew closer to each other in worry and pity.
“I’ll be fine. How is Simon? Any word from him? Has he found a new job?”.
“Yes. He just got accepted into a company. He’s doing fine, Victoria. You’re the one we’re worried about dear. Are you sure he’s treating you well?”. She asked once again for the sake of clarity.
I knew she didn’t believe a word that came out of my mouth. She knew more than anybody else that Alessandro Rossi could never treat anyone fairly not to talk of treating me well.
“Yes. I’ll be fine here”.
“And the baby?”.
“My baby will live. He’ll never hurt me because I’m carrying his child. He loves his children more than anything. I’ve seen it with matteo”.
That was true. Alessandro might be a monster and a sadistic beast but when it gets to his children, he doesn’t play with them. He loves his children so much.
He would practically do anything for his little boy.
He is so proud of Matteo that he always refers to him proudly as his heir.
“And what about after you have the baby? What will become of you? You can’t use the baby as a shield anymore by then. He’ll hurt you. He isn’t a nice man, Victoria, you and I know that”.
“He won’t hurt me, I promise. I’ll be fine, Grace. Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself”.
“How can I not worry about you?! This is all my fault. I never should have found you that gig. I never should have made you work there. I can’t stop blaming myself for all the things you’ve been through. Please forgive me”.
“Don’t blame yourself for anything, Grace. You’re not to blame for me getting pregnant for Alessandro. That is my fault. I screwed up. I messed up my life and got myself tangled up with him. I brought this upon myself. This is all on me”.
I was on the brink of tears.
“Anyone would have fallen for Alessandro’s charms. It’s not your fault. I can’t vouch for myself that I wouldn’t lose my morals and jump into his bed if he propositions me. Don’t wallow in regret. It’s not good for your health”.
“It’s just different now. Everything is very different now”.
“What do you mean by that? Is he hitting you? Tell me, Victoria”.
“No, he’s not. He’s not hitting me”. I lied.
I couldn’t endanger her life by telling her. Me telling her that he had raised his hands on me before would make Grace enter mother bear mode and come for Alessandro. She wouldn’t take it lightly with him.
We all know how that will end. He’s the king of the mafia anyways. He’ll kill her without a second thought.
I can’t live with that guilt.
“Are you telling the truth or are you covering for that man, Victoria?”.
“No. I would never lie to you. He doesn’t hit me. Please believe me”. I begged her to reason with me.
“Okay. If you say so. But the moment he raises a hand on you, let me know and I’ll come for his ass. I’ll drag him all over the media. I don’t care who he is. No one is above the law and good looks don’t make up for nasty behaviors”.
Oh no. This is all the more reason why I can’t let her know about anything. She’ll cause her own death.
“Okay”. I said in a small voice.
Grace’s eyes looked at my miserable form suspiciously before throwing a question that caught me off guard.
“Victoria”.
“Yes?”.
“I want to ask you something and I hope you answer me truthfully and don’t lie to me”.
My heart beat twice as fast at her serious expression and tone. She wasn’t joking and that’s how I knew that whatever question she was going to throw at me that I had to be careful in answering.
“Victoria, you’re scared of the very sound of this man’s name. You tremble at the thought of invoking his wrath. If you’re this afraid of him, how did you sleep with him? Are you sure that night’s events were entirely consensual?”.
The other shoe had successfully dropped.
Now I couldn’t answer her question because lately I’ve been trying to retrace my steps and think back to that night. Was it really consensual?
I could only remember that it was never on my bucket list to end up pregnant and miserable like this.
He threatened me till I had no other option than to submit to him. He didn’t leave me any choice.
I remember saying no and stepping back but he wasn’t someone who takes no for an answer.
He forced me into having sex with him. He didn’t use brute force but he didn’t sweet talk me into it either.
He just threatened me and asserted authority over me till I caved in. Plus, I was carried away by how handsome he is.
Looking back at it now, why didn’t I notice that that was not how it was supposed to happen. It was nothing romantic, it was nothing fun. It wasn’t even a memory I liked to remember. It was my first time and he was my first but he didn’t make it feel like that.
I covered my mouth with my hand as it all came crashing down now.
That night was wrong.
“Victoria! Talk to me! Why are you taking so long to respond? I’m right, aren’t I?”.
I remembered Grace was still here with me on the line. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to Facetime Victoria. She can basically see all my facial expressions.
“What happened!”. Grace demanded over the phone as I shook my head frantically in response. I couldn’t tell her the truth.
I was about to deny it before a loud voice started yelling downstairs.
“Where the hell is that woman, Sandro!”.
“You’re creating a scene, mother”. Another voice said. I don’t recognise that voice.
“I don’t care! These women are using you for your money, Sandro! And you’re falling for it because you can’t control yourself! Look at you!”.
“Mother, that’s enough!”. Alessandro yelled.
“What the hell is happening, Victoria. Who is yelling?”. Grace asked.
“I’m sorry, I’ll call you back. Sorry, forgive me”. I said before immediately hanging up on her without hearing what she was about to say.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm my flushed and sad appearance.
I headed downstairs to meet the woman who seemed to already hate me before meeting me.
My breath hitched in my throat as I came face to face with the whole Rossi clan.
“So you’re the woman who claims to be pregnant for my son.
1150 Number of words