07
The moment I got a clear look at the person approaching, my mind went blank. I was convinced that I’d had one too many drinks and was hallucinating. It was only when that individual stood right in front of me and the familiar scent, long tucked away in the recesses of my memory, started to linger around my nostrils again that I realized everything before my eyes
was real.
I asked, “You’re back?”
He nodded and replied, “I’m back.”
Instantly, my eyes welled up with tears, as if all the grievances had found their release at this
very moment.
Seeing that I was crying, Victor Pisano quickly raised a hand to wipe away my tears and said, “Don’t cry. I’m back now. Aren’t you supposed to be happy?”
Hearing that, I stopped crying and broke into a smile, claiming, “Yes. I am.”
I raised my gaze and looked straight at him. Slowly, his features aligned with the face that had been fading in my recollection but was now sharpening into focus. It was truly him. The very one I had placed my utmost trust and dependence in.
He met my eyes and offered a sincere apology, saying, “Sorry. I’m late. All these years, you’ve
had it rough, huh?
“No. I’m good.
“Really? Look who was sitting there all by their lonesome, knocking back the drinks and having to listen to all that crap from those folks? It’s all my bad. I promised I’d be with you every step of the way, and then I went and let you down. Don’t sweat it. From now on, I’m gonna be right here, and we’ll make those je*ks who messed with you pay up.”
I stood there, gazing at him in a daze, completely at a loss as to what he intended to do. In the recesses of my memory, he had always been an enigma. Although we had been together for the better part of our childhood, aside from those shared moments and his name, I was in the dark about everything else concerning him. He was like a gust of wind, brushing past me softly when he arrived and vanishing without a trace when he departed.
Originally, I had thought that if I were to see him again, a torrent of words would come flooding out. But now, with him right here before my eyes, I found myself at a complete loss for words. All these years, I never stopped looking for him, yet there was never any trace of his whereabouts. I had a hunch that his background must be rather complicated. Still, I was desperate to know where he had been all this time. I couldn’t hold back my confusion any longer and blurted out the questions lingering in my mind.
He didn’t seem hurried to respond. He simply gazed at me, a gentle smile playing on his lips as he slowly replied, “Dora, just wait a bit longer. When the time is up, I’ll tell you all.”
D Waiting again. It was the same old story. Claudio told me to wait for the divorce before, now that Victor had returned, when I tried to get some answers out of him, all I heard was to hold my horses. At this point, waiting seemed to be the only option left for me. But luckily, I had grown accustomed to biding my time. So, I would just heed his words and wait it out. I nodded my head
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as he slowly replied, “Dora, just wait a bit longer. When the time is up, I’ll tell you all
Waiting again. It was the same old story, Claudio told me to wait for the divorce before, and now that Victor had returned, when I tried to get some answers out of him, all i heard was to hold my horses. At this point, waiting seemed to be the only option left for me. But luckily, thad grown accustomed to biding my time. So, I would just heed his words and wait it out. I nodded my hand slightly and murmured quietly, “Alright, I’ll wait for the day when you’re ready to disclose the truth to me.”
Once I’d parted ways with Victor, I made my way home. After getting myself freshened up, I tucked in early, fully expecting that Claudio wouldn’t be coming back that night. Little did I anticipate that he’d come storming back at two in the morning and barge into my bedroom, completely losing his temper. He yelled, “Dora, tell me. What’s all this about?”
He yanked me out of my slumber and flung several photos at me without so much as a
second thought.
I groggily pried my eyes open, glared at him, swallowing my anger, and said, “Mr. Falcons, it’s the middle of the night. I was sound asleep. Can’t whatever you’ve got to say wait till tomorrow? need my sleep, for crying out loud.
“No way. I need to know right now. What’s your relationship with Victor?”
I
The instant Victor’s name came up, I was jolted fully awake. My eyes fell on the photos he’d
flung at me, and they were all scenes of me chatting with Victor. What’s more, two of them
looked especially affectionate. In one, Victor was gently wiping away my tears, and in the other,
he was carefully draping his coat over me.
I responded in a nonchalant tone, “I know him. He’s my friend. But it has nothing to do with
you, huh?
“Are you kidding me? How can you say it’s nothing? You’re still my wife, for God’s sake. You’ve
been hanging out with that guy Victor, getting all cozy and whatnot. What do you think people
will think of me when they see that?
“Mr. Falcone, let me be clear. First off, Victor and I are just friends. Second, we haven’t done
anything out of line. And last but not least, before you come barging in here to grill me, you ought to get your own affairs in order with that Alessa.
“Dora, you changed. You weren’t like this before. Back in the day, I was always your top
priority. Anytime I needed you, you’d be there in a flash. Your eyes were glued to me all the time.
But look at you now…”
He shook his head dejectedly, as if I’d done something to wound him.
Still, his words did yank my mind back to the seven years we’d shared. All through those
years, he was just like a kid who couldn’t bear to be away from his mom. If he didn’t lay eyes on me for ages, he would start crying and throwing a tantrum. At mealtimes, he would only eat if I fed him. When it was time to sleep, he needed me to lull him to sleep. And even when playing games, he would demand my company. Whenever someone was mean to me, he would ju. right in front of me, scaring those people off with a fierce look. Then he would turn around, all coy and cute, begging for praise. It was precisely his constant protection over those seven years that
made me feel a rare trace of warmth in the otherwise cold Felcone family. And those memories
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But look at you now…”
He shook his head dejectedly, as if I’d done something to wound him.
Still, his words did yank my mind back to the seven years we’d shared. All through those years, he was just like a kid who couldn’t bear to be away from his mom. If he didn’t lay eyes on me for ages, he would start crying and throwing a tantrum. At mealtimes, he would only eat if I fed him. When it was time to sleep, he needed me to lull him to sleep. And even when playing games, he would demand my company. Whenever someone was mean to me, he would jump right in front of me, scaring those people off with a fierce look. Then he would turn around, all coy and cute, begging for praise. It was precisely his constant protection over those seven years that made me feel a rare trace of warmth in the otherwise cold Felcone family. And those memories of us together were still as vivid as ever in my mind.
Yet the past couldn’t offset the harm he inflicted upon me after coming to his senses. He went all out to belittle me for Alessa’s sake, not caring about the setting or the circumstances. When he was engaged in that ambiguous dalliance with her and they were spotted frequently entering and exiting hotels, trending all over Twitter, I was left to endure the taunts and whispe of the crowd. He would throw extravagant amounts of money just to please her, reducing me t a pitiful joke. What’s more, he resorted to crafty tactics to manipulate my family’s company, c whenever he was in a foul mood, he would lay stumbling blocks in our way. There were just to many things, far more than I could even begin to count. And every single one of them was hi doing, leaving me with nothing but wounds.
