The tension in the air was so thick that it was almost suffocating. Ximena just sat on the couch with staring at everything else but the two people sitting in the room with her. But how was she supposed to feel or act? The situation was rather awkward. On the one hand, Amanda almost destroyed her marriage and on the other hand, her and Adriano were lovers. He had been with both of them, and the thought of it made her skin crawl.

Amanda cleared her throat, eyes flicking over to Ximena before settling on the coffee table in front of her. “I’m not going to ask how you found me because I know you have connections. I’ll save us all some time and tell you how it all started,” she began and Adriano took out his phone, going to the recording app. Amanda looked at him in incredulity. “Do you have to record this?”

“Of course, I do. You would do the same if you were in my shoes,” he shrugged casually. His nonchalance was beginning to irk Ximena but she kept it under control. Shouldn’t be angry or at least show a bit of passion? Why was he being so calm with her, like her presence didn’t bother him as much as it ought to have?

Amanda sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I met your father via one of my clients. She had invited me to an event and he was there. At first, I thought he was a creep, the way he’d been eyeballing me all night sent shivers down my spine. It’s like he was undressing me with his eyes-,”

“Spare me those disturbing details, will you?” Adriano coughed indignantly and Amanda rolled her eyes before continuing her story.

“Okay. So, he approached me, at first, I thought he was hitting on me but he wanted to discuss some delicate matters with me. I was kind of tipsy at the time so I agreed. Little did I know he was going to make an absurd proposition to me regarding his son. I wanted to turn it down but the money he offered was too tempting to deny. I knew I’d never get that kind of money ever so I sold my soul to the devil and agreed.”

Ximena scoffed internally. So, it was for the money? Typical. It seemed people were willing to do just about anything for money these days. Amanda caught her derisive glare. “Not everybody can just depend on daddy’s billions, sweetheart. Some of us have to get our hands dirty for that kind of lifestyle,” she snarled at Ximena.

“Watch how you talk to my wife!” he fired at her furiously, making her scoff.

“It’s the truth. Yeah, maybe at first, I was on a mission to make you fall in love with me and the money made my life remarkably easier but I actually fell in love with you. That was not a part of the job. I screwed up big time and was depressed for quite a while. That was, until daddy unleashed me to wreak havoc on your oh so wonderful nuptials. I have to hand it to Humberto, he knew that you’d fall for this trap so easily,” Amanda said with a wicked laugh, as she leaned forward and looked at both of them.

“You think I regret what I did? No, I don’t. I have loads of money in my bank account. I broke the trust between you two with mere lies and maybe I didn’t end up winning but I had you Adriano. You were mine for a little while, whether you like it or not. I had you before she had you, and that’s satisfactory enough for me. And maybe you do get your happy ever after, but… you will never forget what I did to you,” she added and the cackled madly.

Ximena stood up and then made for the door. “I’ve had enough of this,” she said in a wobbly tone and then yanked the front door open and dashed out. She could hear Adriano calling her but the blood rushing in her in her ears as her feet collided with the floor. She didn’t bother to take the elevator and just went straight for the stairs.

Amanda was sick, very mentally ill. Man, I shouldn’t have come here in the first place, she chided herself as she went further down the staircases. But what had she expected, an apology? Or maybe a part of her had been hoping it was all a big joke. News flash, it was all real. All thanks to Humberto Dos Santos. She couldn’t for the life of her fathom why a father would do that to his own son. If she was feeling that terrible, then she could only imagine how crappy Adriano was feeling. She had been so blindsided by the anxiety attack she was about to have that she didn’t stop to think about him.

When she got to the lobby, panting like a deer she found Adriano already there and looking for her probably. In spite of the pain in her chest and legs, and the slight blurring of her vision she ran up to him just as he caught her in his arms. “There you are! I was worried that you’d run off into the streets and that I wasn’t going to find you. Are you alright? I shouldn’t have brought you here in the first place,” he said soothingly to her, rubbing her back as she struggled to catch her breath.

Ximena pulled away from him and cupped his face. “Are…you o-okay?” she asked him in a hoarse voice and he smiled at her before leaning his forehead on hers.

“I am, precious. I need you to calm down for me, alright?” she nodded her head at his words. Once he loosened her hold, he wound his arm around her shoulder and began to make his way out of the building. “Let’s get out of here.”

***

The car screeched to a halt on the driveway and the engine was switched off a second later. From the window of his prized Ferrari, Adriano stared up at the place of his misery; his childhood home. All the neglect, harsh words and ill-treatment he’d received from his father flashed before his eyes and made his grip on the steering wheel tighten, bringing out the white in his knuckles.

“This place is beautiful,” Ximena commented as she canvassed the area. And yes, it was a gorgeous mansion but it wasn’t a home. It was the habitat of the abominable snowman himself. Adriano’s jaw ticked as he tried desperately to swallow down his growing rage. It had all be leading up to this point and now that he had gathered all he needed, there weren’t any inhibitions left.

Ximena placed her hand on his thigh. “You’re not going to kill, are you?” she inquired, concerned by his silence and the steely determination in his glazed over eyes. This was a man who had been hurt countless times and there was no point of return. She was sure he’d not live the compound without blood on his hands. “You know what, I’m coming with you…”

“No!” he yelled a little bit too loudly, making Ximena cower back. He closed his eyes and held her hand. “I want you to stay in here. You’ll wait for me right here. This house is a place I hate, and I don’t want you to become a part of that. I’ll settle this and we will be on our way,” with that, he kissed the back of her hand and exited the car.

Squaring his shoulders, he exhaled and went to the front door. He didn’t bother knocking, as he was well aware that his father knew he was there. Upon entering, he was informed by the maid that Humberto was currently having lunch outside by the pool, with Samara and Carlton. Oh, what fun the confrontation would be with those two around. He hadn’t quite forgotten about their treachery either.

Humberto looked up from his plate once he noticed his son. “Hijo, what are you doing here?” he exclaimed, putting down his utensils.

Adriano slowly walked towards the table, hands tucked in his jean’s pockets and his face as impassive as granite. He shrugged. “Well, I was in Orlando earlier and thought I’d drop by here as well.”

“Orlando? What were you doing there? Shouldn’t you be going over last-minute details for your divorce?”

He finally reached where his father was sitting, bent down so he was eye to eye with him. The smile that played at his lips made him look so much like his father that in that precise moment they could have been passed off as twins. He cocked his head to the side. “The divorce…about that; it’s not happening.”

Humberto blinked, before his eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean by that?” his tone held an underlying note of malice, intrigue and indignation.

“I mean just that. I talked to Amanda and she told me everything. It seems your pathetic plot went awry at the final point. I’ll hand it to you, Humberto…It was almost perfect BUT only one thing stood in the way; the truth always comes to light. Did you really think I’d not figure it out? I had an idea of your so called ‘scheme’ months ago but I was too naïve to think you’d do anything like that,” Adriano spoke coldly, making everybody at the table freeze in their spot.

He straightened up once more and circulated the table so that he was standing in front of all of them, passing derisive looks at each member at the table. “I bet Carlton helped you with this, might be another factor as to why it backfired. Did you know that your loyal puppet is hooking with your dotting girlfriend?” he asked rhetorically and laughed when the color drained from both their faces. Humberto looked at them in pure shock. “I found that out about two months ago and was looking for the perfect time to let you know that you’re surrounded by traitors…” he trailed off with snort.

Samara hid behind her well-manicured hands as she sobbed crocodile tears. “H-he’s lying! I would…I would never do that!” she shrieked at a last-minute attempt to feign innocence.

Adriano turned to Carlton. “Am I lying, little Carlton? Correct me if I’m wrong, but you two met way before my father started dating her. I bet you put her up to this so that he’d marry her and have access to Humberto’s money, only to divorce a couple of months later. Easy money. It’s all about the damn money in this house!” he yelled at him, but Carlton remained quiet, lips pursed together.

“You know what dad, as much as I’d like to understand your reasoning I just can’t. I don’t know why you’d do all this to your own son-,”

“Because I want nothing but the best for you-,”

His son laughed sarcastically. “So, signing me off in a corporate marriage deal is what’s best for me? Setting a woman in my path to destroy the relationship I share with another woman is what’s best for me? Do you even hear yourself? I think you’ve finally lost it!” he exclaimed incredulously.

“You might not understand it, but I do want what’s best for you. I love you son-,” Humberto didn’t get to finish sentence due to the fact that Adriano’s fist had unexpectedly collided with his face, making him fall back onto the ground along with his chair.

And it didn’t stop there. Soon, the younger Dos Santos had grabbed the elder by the collar and looked down at him. “Don’t effing talk about love like you know what that is. You don’t know what love is, and you never will. Mum left because of you. You pushed her away with your despicable behavior and now you wanted the same to happen to me and Ximena.”

Humberto shoved off his son and smacked him across the face as well. “Your mother was just an unnecessary disturbance in our lives. Look at what she did to you; she made you a gullible fool who believes in love. That stupid Dos Ramos girl should have died in that accident!” he roared bluntly, and then all hell broke loose shortly afterwards.

The anger Adriano had felt over the years poured out into the beating he was giving his father. All he could see was red, both from his lividness and the blood that was spluttering all around him. It wasn’t like Humberto didn’t put up a fight as well, but he was clearly no match for his son. Samara and Carlton had tried to pull the two apart but to no avail. If the fight didn’t stop, one of them was going to die.

“ADRIANO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP, YOU’RE GOING TO KILL HIM!” A scared voice emerged from somewhere. It was faint and slightly familiar. Adriano felt small hands trying to drag him away from his almost unconscious father. “PLEASE STOP,” the voice sobbed violently and only then did he stop when he recognized it as Ximena’s.

When he looked up to her, her face was flushed and contorted in anguish. She looked scared and horrified at what she had just witnessed. He hadn’t meant for her to see that; he had wanted for a to remain in the car for that same reason. He could only imagine what was going through her mind. For sure she would think he was some kind a psychopath.

He got up and wiped the blood from his nose. She continued to look at his father. “Is he dead?” she asked in a small voice, still gazing intently at his semi-lifeless form. Carlton had already fetched his phone to call an ambulance and Samara knelt down beside Humberto to check his pulse.

“No, I didn’t kill him even though I really wanted to,” Adriano grumbled gruffly. The adrenaline rush was yet to subside. He couldn’t stand to see the pity running through Ximena’s eyes as they flickered between him and his father. Running his hand through his disheveled hair he began to walk away. He didn’t look back and he didn’t feel the need to check if Humberto was alright. He didn’t care about him anymore. In fact, he wasn’t planning to see him ever again after the incident.

Once out at the front again, Adriano paused beside his car and stared at his bloodied knuckles. Oddly enough, almost beating his father to death made him feel absolutely nothing. No pain. No remorse. No satisfaction. Just sheer numbness. He was brought out of his thoughts when Ximena grabbed his hands and studied the damage. “Are you alright?” Even at his worst, she still cared for him.

He nodded with a small smile. “Why don’t you get us out of here?”

Her eyes sparkled as her gaze momentarily landed on his Ferrari. For a second, he was starting to wonder if she loved the car more than she loved him. He took the keys out of his torn jacket pocket and handed them to her. He was actually giving the car to her forever since hers had gotten damaged, but he wouldn’t tell her that yet. For now, he just wanted to distract her from the freakshow she had just walked in on not even ten minutes ago.

The way she excitedly clutched the keys made him laugh despite himself. “I haven’t driven in such a long time,” she admitted earnestly.

Adriano went over to the passenger’s side and opened the door. “Don’t worry. I trust you.”

_____________________

❤