CHAPTER 82: – JEALOUSY –

Viviana walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom wrapped up in a towel. Another message popped into her phone and she picked it up, frowning.

For two days now, Emilio had been bombarding her with messages and even after she’d blocked his number, he would still contact her with a new one.

She stared at the messages.

Maybe she should feel anger, or hatred for him. But what she felt was disgust and irritation. The need to never be reminded that this man existed. And she’d had enough.

This nonsense was ending tonight.

Gritting her teeth, she typed back :See me at the cafe down the street in thirty minutes. We need to have a word.

She added a location below.

Tossing the phone on the bed, she threw on a shirt and one of her pants. She didn’t even bother combing her hair, but grabbed her phone and left the room to leave the apartment.

"Where are you going?" Nikolas asked, getting up from the couch with hands pocketing his slacks. He was shirtless. But her gaze didn’t linger.

She met his eyes, saying coldly, "It’s none of your business, Nikolas." She stepped out and slammed the door shut.

He stood, face expressionless and eyes dark. He looked impassive, but his head was pounding.

Who was that man?

Was she going to see him?

What had happened while he was gone?

.....

Viviana pulled over, parking the car right around the corner. She stepped down and looked over to the café which thankfully was still open.

Walking over, she pushed the glass door over. And just as expected, there wasn’t a single customer inside. It was the least popular café in the area, but even still, the owner wasn’t shutting it down.

She enjoyed their coffee though since she moved here with Nikolas. Her thoughts drifted to him but the ringing sound of the door sailed into her ears\. She spun on her feet and there he was.

Emilio.

Black hair left not too long nor short. He was staring at her with those brown eyes she’d come to hate. The eyes that’d looked at her once as if she meant the whole wold. The eyes that had made those promises while he made promises of how he would stay and they’d...elope.

Viviana felt like laughing.

Elope?

What had she even been thinking? This wasn’t some love story that was rainbows and sunshines. But she’d been too naive back then.

Dragging a deep breath, she stormed over to him. He lifted his hand to touch her, but she smacked it off.

"Viviana—"

"Don’t you even dare," she warned, and plucked out her phone to swipe into his messages. "Did you spend all these years learning the art of harassment?"

"Viviana, it’s not like that." Emilio shook his head at her, gaze begging. "These...these are how I feel about you. I’m not lying to you, neither am I trying to harass you. I’m not that kind of man."

He shook his head at her.

"All I’ve wanted since I came back was to see you, but you never give me the chance. All the while I was in Chicago, you were truly all I was able to think about, the only thing that occupied my mind. And heaven knows how many times I ached to come back to you, but I was tied down. It wasn’t against my will."

"Against your will?" She found him laughable.

Emilio balled his hands by his sides. "I know. I know what I did. And I know that it’s shameless of me to stand here and beg for your forgiveness. But you were Lady Di-grassi, a woman who I couldn’t reach, not even she let me. I wasn’t deserving of you. I felt uncomfortable, I didn’t like the fact that you were the display of someone I couldn’t have, not at the level I was. I wanted to stand on the same block as you, to be proud to lift my head and look into your eyes. I felt...insecure."

"And that’s why you stole from me and ran away, huh?" Her lips curled into a cruel smile.

The man swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I let my insecurity get to me, I know, and it’s not an excuse. It’s just...even when you say you loved me, you wouldn’t let me touch, not even something as simple as a hug. You wouldn’t let me kiss you, and they were getting to my head. Did you not love me, was I not good enough or was it because I was below you? But I can see that wasn’t the case."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Meaning what?"

Emilio stepped into her space and before she could react, he grabbed at the collar of her shirt, yanking it down her shoulder. She smacked his hand away, expression going furious. "What do you think you’re doing?"

"You let him touch you," he said, voice riddled with disappointment. "I know you hate physical touch, Viviana, but this man, you let him touch you like this. You even let him put marks on you. But I don’t get it. How better than me is he? Why does he get to do things to you you’d never let any other man on this earth do to you? Why do you let him so close to you when you wouldn’t even allow me a hug even as you claimed you loved me?"

He flickered his eyes. "Was I not your type? I’m not as handsome as him, right? Is that why? You’re smitten with him too, huh? So you let him get close and—"

Her palm landed against his face in a slap that caused a deafening silence between the both of them.

Viviana pulled up the shoulder of her shirt and took a deep breath. "First of all, you have no right to stand here and speak to me however you please. Whatever relationship we had was in the past and it stays there. I want nothing to do with you, Emilio and you better stay away from me. And as for this, maybe I just didn’t feel so comfortable with you like I do with him."