My loud voice resonated in my ears and rang around the room. I never swore. Ever. And I had never been this mad before. I was seething, my heart pumping fiercely with the need to extract revenge on the woman standing in front of me.
How dare she?
She not only insulted me, but Alessio also. She insulted what Alessio and I had. Our relationship was not perfect, but our feelings for each other were pure. I wasn’t going to stand there and watch someone else taint it.
Nina’s face was covered in chocolate cake…my favorite cake, actually. Lena had baked it for me, and for a moment, I felt a pang of sadness that it got spoiled, but the anger—my body was shaking with it. I was blinded.
All I could hear were Nina’s horrendous words.
She tried to reach for me, but I quickly stepped out of the way and reached for her hair, wrapping my fingers around the strands that weren’t spoiled by the cake.
“Let go of me!” she yelled. My fingers only clenched tighter.
“Don’t you ever speak about my relationship with Alessio like that,” I hissed in her face. “You are so wrong and so blinded by your hatred to see what Alessio and I have. Maybe if you open your heart just a little, maybe then you will understand what love is and how pure it is.”
“Love is stupid. And you’re stupid to think Alessio loves you. He can’t love. He doesn’t know how to love,” she snapped back.
“You are wrong again.” My fingers fisted in her hair, and I pulled her face closer to mine. “Everyone says he’s heartless, but I have seen the man behind the cruel monster. He might be hard and ruthless…” I paused, thinking about Alessio and his confessions. I thought about all his sweet words, kisses, and gentle caresses. Looking back into Nina’s furious eyes, I continued, “But he can love. I believe in him.”
“And that will be your first and last mistake,” she replied, her harsh laughter ringing in my ears cruelly.
My patience had been hanging on the end of a small thread, but it just snapped. I was blinded by a sudden rage that tasted bitter but surprisingly satisfying.
“My mistake would be listening to your hateful words.” Before she could say anything else, I was dragging her out of the kitchen, pulling her by her hair.
“Let go of me!” Nina screamed, her voice loud in the estate.
Nina’s fingers wrapped around my wrist, her nails digging almost painfully into my skin. I winced but didn’t let her go. She scratched me, and when a stinging feeling spread across my wrist and arm, I knew she had drawn blood.
Ignoring the burning sensation, I finally reached the main doors, which were thankfully already open. I dragged and pushed Nina out, releasing my grip on her hair.
She tripped and fell down on her knees before quickly standing up again. Turning to face me, she was seething with anger. Her body was shaking with it.
“Don’t come back again, and stop sprouting your hate and insecurities on others. You have not only insulted Alessio and me, but you have also insulted yourself in the process. Be with a man who can love you and make love to you. Not with someone who will only fuck you and then leave you to sleep with other women. That’s nothing to be proud about.”
At my words, I saw Nina somber up a little, just a little. It was for but a fleeting moment. Her lips twisted ruefully, and even though her face was covered in cake, I still saw the glare she was sending me.
“Oh please, I don’t need your lectures. What are you? A saint?”
Shaking my head sadly, I let out a small, remorseful laugh. She was hopeless.
“No, I’m not a saint.” I paused, my own words catching me by surprise. It was true. I was no saint. I was a liar, betraying the trust of the only man who made me feel something. I was betraying the trust of the family, who in many ways adopted me.
The guilt was almost unbearable, my heart aching with it. I almost ran inside to go and tell Alessio everything, but my feet stayed rooted in the same spot.
The fear of the unknown was something bitter and scary.
“No, I’m not a saint,” I repeated, looking at Nina. “But I do know the difference between love and hatred. Pain and love. Kindness and cruelty. But you don’t understand. You chose hate above love and kindness.”
Giving her a final look, I took a step back so that I was inside the house again. “Don’t come back. And Stay. Away. From. Alessio.” I punctuated each word, trying to make her understand that I was serious.
“What are you going to do if I don’t?” she taunted.
Sending her a glare of my own, I crossed my arms over my chest. “I will do worse than throwing a cake in your face and dragging you out. Don’t test me. I don’t know my own anger and what I can do. You don’t want to be an experiment.”
“You are useless. Mark my words. Alessio will come back to me,” Nina growled, hoping her words would be a slap in my face.
But they didn’t hurt. I knew the truth. I trusted Alessio.
“Alessio doesn’t want you. He chose me.” Taking a deep breath, my lips tilted up in a small smile at the thought of him.
Without seeing her reaction, I closed the door in her face. A sigh escaped my lips as I turned around but stopped at the sight of everyone standing there.
Viktor, Nikolay, and Maddie were standing in the living room, staring at me in absolute shock. Maddie had a huge smile on her face, and she was practically bouncing on her toes.
Viktor shook his head, a smirk in place, and it was obvious he was trying hard not to laugh. “Remind me to never piss her off,” he said with a fake cough. “Damn, the kitten has claws.”
Nikolay simply nodded, his face expressionless as always.
“That was epic!” Maddie squealed. “Oh my God. Yes! I feel like a proud momma. My girl has grown so much.”
As Maddie squealed proudly, I stared at my hands in astonishment when realization finally dawned at what I had done.
I was still reeling from my encounter with Nina when Maddie came over and hugged me. “You were amazing and definitely showed Nina her place.”
What was I supposed to say? “Umm…thank you?”
Maddie laughed, shaking her head at my obvious bewilderment. Viktor sent me a nod before walking away, Nikolay following closely behind him.
Maddie started to pull me toward the kitchen, and that was when I noticed Lyov and Isaak standing on the stairs. Lyov’s eyes were focused intently on me, following my every move.
I shivered under his intense gaze. Lyov and Isaak weren’t staying in the estate, and I barely saw them. But whenever they were here and we came across each other, I always felt their eyes on me, watching me. Sometimes, it felt like they could see the real me, like they knew who I really was.
I could see and feel the distaste in Lyov’s gaze. He hated me, although I didn’t understand why.
Quickly looking down, I avoided looking into their eyes and hurried into the kitchen. Whenever they were in the house, I stayed far away. As far as I could, without drawing attention to myself.
“Poor cake, though. It got spoiled on her ugly face. The cake didn’t deserve it.” Maddie’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I looked down at the mess.
“Do you think Lena will be mad?” I asked, pushing the thought of Lyov to the back of my mind.
“Oh, I don’t think. I know Mom will be mad.”
Uh oh.