Chapter 23: BOOM!

Antonio's POV

"What the hell were you thinking!" I slammed the door to my master bedroom and locked eyes dangerously at Melissa.

"Antonio! She hit me first!" She defended.

"What are you, a high-schooler? If I hadn't walked in on the two of you, you might of strangled her to death!"

"I wouldn't of."

"Can I believe that when you had your hands wrapped around her throat! She's defenseless and you were causing her more injuries."

"Antonio...."

"Just stop it! Sometimes I really wonder if you're with me because of love or you're just here because of the life I could provide for you!

Anna is pregnant! Don't you get that? She's pregnant with my baby and you're not so don't you ever put your hands on her again."

"So I was just supposed to stand there and take her slap?"

"I saw you slapped her before and she never lash back."

"I don't know how longer I could keep up with this Antonio! I agreed to let her move in so someone could keep eyes on her and I wanted to stand by you through this.

You cheated on me with a maid and I'm still trying to stand by you but you don't want me to."

Melissa was crying now. I felt like the world's biggest asshole for lashing out like that again. Something had came over me when I saw Anna's eyes rolled to the back of her head and Melissa's hands wrapped around her throat.

I snapped.

"Look, if you want to leave Melissa, I wouldn't stop you anymore. I'll understand."

She shook her head and looked heavenward. She exhaled heavily and wiped her eyes before looking over at me.

"Do you have feelings for her Antonio?" She mumbled but I heard her clearly.

"I'm not going to lie to you. I do have some feelings for her despite the baby."

"Do you see yourself being with her or me?"

"Melissa, of course I see myself being with you. You're my wife."

"Lets forget about marriage for once because you're not behaving like a husband. Do you want to be with her or me?"

It was a dreadful question. The question I don't have an exact answer for because of the confusion between my heart and my head.

"I don't know." That was my answer and it was as if I had pulled Melissa's heart out of her chest.

She smiled. Not the golden smile but the smile women does when they've finally discovered the truth about someone.

"That's all I needed to hear," She said, "That's all I needed to hear."

"Mel, just please give me some time to get my head on straight. I don't want to give up on our marriage."

I quickly dodged when she threw a vase at my head.

"What fucking marriage, Antonio? Huh?
A marriage where you're not committed to one woman and can't fight an easy temptation of a lowlife maid?
A marriage where you'd rather pick sides than stand by your wife's?"

That's not what I want anymore Antonio. I tired, I really did tried BUT I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!"

"I'm sorry." Nothing better came to my mind and the guilt made me feel terrible.

Melissa packed.

She packed up everything and left that same night.

_________________

The next morning, there was a loud knocking on the front door. I skipped downstairs the stairs and came face to face with the man who raised me, my father.

He walked in with his hands sticking inside his pants pockets. Then he turned towards me.

"Your mother just wasn't in the mood to come here and knock some sense into you son." He took his hands out his pockets and found a seat.

"Dad, I'm really not up for this. I've had a sleepless night and I'm exhausted."

"Oh, and while you're dealing with your domestic affairs, your presence at the company is at a minimum."

"Ughh! Dad, everything is fine! That's why companies hire COO, CFO and vice presidents. You worry too much."

"That's your problem Antonio! You don't worry about anything. You just do crazy things and see the consequences later on, like with your wife for example.

Why'd you get a maid pregnant?"

"It's really none of your business!"

"It is my business because you're my business! You're going to tarnish your reputation and the company I built from the ground up over some former maid?"

_____________________

Anna's POV

I heard yelling and immediately made out Antonio's voice coming from the living room.

I got out of bed and slide into my wheelchair. I wheeled myself slowly out of the room and towards the living room. I stopped right between the path that led to the living room and from there, I clearly heard the heated conversation between him and someone else.

"Yes she's pregnant with my baby Dad and I'm not going to neglect my child!" Antonio yelled at him.

"That maid don't know anything about being a mother from what I've heard. The child would be better of with you and Melissa!"

"I can't tear a mother away from her child."

"You shouldn't care about that Antonio! That maid isn't a Kissle! If you don't fix your marriage and your household, I'll fix it for you and at that, I'll take the company away from you because you're unfit to run the company!"

I had heard enough. I wheeled myself towards them.

"Anna....." Antonio began as he turned around and saw me but I regretted wheeling myself in the middle of the conversation when I saw Antonio's father face.

Tears poured down and the memories came flashing back like a rolling cinema movie.

Antonio's father was my abusive stepfather.