Alessio
“How are you doing?” Mena asked, grabbing his right hand.
Mena’s naive personality, her goodness, made her blind to Gian’s tactics. The look in his eyes was pure evil, one even I couldn’t compete with.
This time, as a chuckle of disbelief escaped from Gian’s lips, I had to force myself to interfere.
“Mena, let’s go,” I reached for her arm, but Gian was quicker and pulled her closer, wrapping his hand around her wrist.
“How am I? This is all your fault, you dumb, brainless bitch,” he spat, his voice filled with nothing but pure hatred.
“W-What?” Mena stammered.
The room around me seemed to freeze, and, same as in the warehouse, my legs couldn’t move anymore.
“Your little boyfriend did this because your fake little boyfriend threatened him. Your psycho baby daddy is with the Baldinis now,” he revealed as if it was nothing.
Even though it was already too late, I reacted by smacking his hand away from her. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s confused, let’s go,” I grabbed her arm, trying to pull her away. Mena released herself with an aggressive jerk, her eyes shooting daggers at me as if I had betrayed her-and I did.
“No, I want to hear what he has to say,” her voice trembled. “Is it true?”
Her eyes searched mine for an explanation, anything that could deny Gian’s accusations.
I stuttered, “I-”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Gian joined in from the bed. “Your man put a tracker in your ring. I bet he didn’t trust your lying, scheming ass from the get-go.”
Ashamed of the situation, I looked at those present in the room, but they all avoided my gaze. I didn’t think it was appropriate to discuss this, not now. Certainly not with my cousins present.
“A tracker?” Mena scoffed, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. “Is it true?”
I couldn’t find the words to respond because there were only two things I could say-both of them pathetic. Yes or I’m sorry.
Determined to avoid either of those words, I shook my head.
“None of that matters right now. We’ll talk about it later, okay?” I whispered carefully.
Mena scrunched her face as she removed the ring from her fingers and threw it at me. I dodged, watching the ring fall to the floor. The room was so dead silent, no one could miss the sound of its impact.
Gian snickered loudly, his reaction only adding to my anger.
“None of that matters right now?” Mena threw back my words.
“No-there are more important things going on at the moment than me hurting your feelings for a good cause,” I tried to explain, but my words came out all wrong, sounding dismissive and insensitive.
“So my feelings don’t matter?” she shot back, raising her tone.
“That’s not what I meant. What I’m saying is that there are more important things-” I began, but she cut me off.
“Yes, I heard you the first time!” she snarled. “I begged you not to get involved, and you looked me in the eye and said you wouldn’t, while you already had!”
“Jimena…” My voice trailed off as I looked around the room for a second time. This time neither my cousins, Levi, nor Donni tried to deny the fact they were watching us. She might as well have put us on a damn stage with the scene she was causing.
“Are you really not going to say anything?”
“Let’s discuss this later. I’m not in the mood to explain myself right now,” I said, hoping she would give me some time to gather my thoughts. Perhaps not in front of everyone.
“You are not in the mood?” Jimena’s voice cracked, and this time tears rolled down her cheeks. “Oh my god, you’re so selfish,” she spoke, shocked. “You’re the worst man to ever step into my life.”
“Oh?” I chuckled, confused by her clearly wrong accusation.
I was the one trying to protect her, I was there for her-and this is what I got in return? A lowly comparison?
“You came all the way to this city to run from that psychopath who used to beat you, and decapitated my uncle-but I’m the worst man to ever step into your life? Are you hearing yourself?” I couldn’t believe she was comparing me to him, to that monster.
I knew it was a low blow to call her out like that in front of everyone-but I couldn’t stand there and take it any longer. Especially not after Uncle Stefano had been so brutally taken from us.
Gian chuckled, raising his thumb. “My job is done here-now I can die in peace,” he yawned as if our pain was his entertainment.
Mena and I locked eyes. In her gaze, I could see the pain I had caused her, but I wondered if she knew that she had hurt me as well.
“What do you want from me right now, Jimena?” I asked in the calmest way possible, expecting the same level of calmness in return.
“Right now, I just want to take my daughter and get the hell out of here,” she said, making it seem as if I was too terrible to be around.
Her words made my blood boil. She couldn’t leave. She couldn’t run because of one little argument, especially not with Anson walking free. I turned to Levi, “Take her home, and make sure she doesn’t leave the house under any circumstances,” I instructed, my voice more of a command than a request.
“Got it,” Levi said, but Mena had already turned on her heel and left.
My gaze moved to my cousins. The thing about the engagement, Anson, and just about everything that went down could not reach our family yet under any circumstances. “And you two-”
“We didn’t hear a thing,” both Sal and Jay said at the same time.
“Good,” I said. “Then we’re done here.” I finished as I also left the room. I was relieved Gian was breathing, but his face was the last face I wanted to see at the moment.
No worries, though, I would get him soon enough.
Devastated, I leaned against the door. Mena and I had reached a point I never imagined, and now, on top of everything I already had going on-I could add relationship drama to my list.