Dangerous Woman III
Camila's POV
"I can't believe I ever thought I loved you." I seethe and I watch as Alejandro's head snaps to mine as shock spreads across his face.
He swallows thickly, blinking back his distress. "What?" He croaks the sound so deep and rough and I know that's where I can hit him where it hurt.
He steps forward and tries to help me up but I push his hands away from me. "I loved you. I cared for you, because when I looked at you I didn't see a loathsome monster." He looks into my eyes, our eyes conveying contrasting emotions. Mine filled with hate and anger and his filled with heartbreak and sadness. "I saw a lonely man that needed to be cared for and loved. I saw someone that was slowly killing himself and miserable."
His eyes glaze over with tears while I stand up only to wince and look down to my right foot that's oozing blood.
He instantly sombers up and steps forward in alarm towards me. "You're gonna hurt yourself, Camila, please let me-"
"Don't come near me." I spit, gritting my teeth as I suck it up and work through the pain.
And like an obedient little puppy he steps back but not before dropping his head.
I wasn't the weak, helpless little girl that stayed in here silently submissive a few hours ago. I was stronger than her, I wasn't going to give up so easily because at the end of the day I had a place in that pathetic little heart of his and I would use it to my advantage.
Alejandro frantically shakes his head as he steps forward towards me, his genuine eyes penetrating mine. "You were never mine. You were always free. I-I don't know what came over me yesterday..." He mumbles, looking towards me with so much pain and sorrow.
"Camila, I never had any intention of claiming you or taking away your freedom in any way." And then his face strains as he looks down at my foot. "Principessa, please just let me take you to the nurse, then I can explain it all to you-"
His walls come crashing down, letting me see him and all I see is regret, self loathing and remorse.
He's more vulnerable than ever and I'd be a fool not to take the power grab.
"Unlock the door." I say wiping at my tears as my cuts continue to seep blood. Alejandro watches me, more specifically my cuts and I can see he's blaming himself.
Good.
"Unlock the fucking door!" I scream, my eyes hard.
It takes him a moment but he nods before I see him take out a key and unlock the door allowing my chest to open.
I can finally breathe.
Even though my body is shaking and humming in pain, I've never felt stronger.
Because right now I had all the power.
"And if you ever speak to me like your little puppet again, I won't hesitate to buy myself a gun and teach myself how to use it with the sole purpose of putting a bullet through your pathetic little heart." I spit in disgust.
His surprise eyes flash up to mine in outrage and when his jaw clenches I know the alpha in him refuses to back down. His dominant side is fighting with him to not let me get away with threatening him.
But he stands down.
The move speaks louder than anything else.
And then it all clicks.
I wasn't weak. I wasn't powerless.
Power came in many different forms. I wasn't powerful like Alejandro who was cruel, explosive and beastly. He was a monster. The devil even.
But me?
I had the power to bring the devil to his knees if I wanted to. I just had to get my shit together and realise it sooner.
I stare up at Alejandro's who nods and when he looks up his eyes are filled with genuine worry. He's silently asking what he can do to help.
I turn around and wave him off not wanting to look at him anymore. "Get me Marco and leave me alone for the rest of the day. I don't want to see you."
I limp towards the bathroom, not even sparring him a glance until I know he's left the room.
And then when I stare back at the bedroom door thats left wide open, I know that I could very much pull the devils strings if I looked in the right places.
. . .
I look up to see Marco walk through the bathroom door and when we make eye contact, he raises a brow in question.
I don't offer any verbal response as I continue to try and take out the shards of glass in my hands but it's no use. I'm too much of a little bitch and when he realises I'm a lost cause, he walks towards me taking over.
With a sigh, Marco ushers me up on the counter and he has to practically lift me onto it. He pulls out the tweezers and quietly starts removing the shards of glass and cleaning the area, starting with my hands.
After a while I break the silence. "You're not even going to ask what happened?" I say staring up at his face.
He pauses and looks up raising a brow and I sigh before speaking. "My Mamá didn't want me so she gave me away to Alejandro."
He hesitates before continuing to clean up my hands while I turn to glare at the wall.
I hadn't registered the betrayal yet and I didn't know how to exactly go about it.
"She had me with the sole purpose of giving up my freedom. She had lied to me growing up. She made me believe she loved me." I spit. "But she was just preparing to send me to a monster all along."
I hiss out as he harshly pulls a shard of glass out from my palm, but I'm not done. "She was a bitc-"
"Stop." I look up to Marco in surprise at his sudden input. To be quite honest I was half expecting him to ignore me. But he looks at me and shakes his head in disapproval.
I swallow thickly before looking down, feeling like I'm about to be scolded. He was right, I shouldn't be so disrespectful to my late mamá.
"Your mamá was a child bride." He says simply and my head snaps up to look at his. My face falls but I shake my head.
That wasn't true. Mamá and papá met and fell in love in Brazil. She told me herself that it was love at first sight-
"Do the math Camila. I know you can figure it out, you just don't want to." He says, his eyes trained on my face expectantly.
And then I think about it. Mamá was fourteen years older than me and papá was thirty. The thought had my stomach turning.
But Marco wasn't done. He continues to clean my wounds, his brows furrowed in thought. "She was manipulated into giving birth to play into Sebastian's sick ploy to gain power."
"I don't understand." I mumble staring down at my hands as he pulls out the little shards of glass.
"Your mother was not ready to have a child, she was only a child. But Sebastian didn't care. He waited until she got her first period to impregnate her and when she had given birth to you, he ripped you from her crying hands and offered you right to Aurelio."
My heart drops as I listen intently to what Marco has to say.
"And it was only when Aurelio denied him, telling him it was wrong that Sebastian came up with a solution. Your mamá got you back until Aurelio could secure your purpose."
My throat tightens. "And what was my purpose?"
Marco pauses to look up at me. "He died before he could figure something out." He says before looking back down.
"You're lying." I state and he peers up at me in surprise. "Tell me the truth, you've told me this much." I push.
Marco diverts his eyes and I'm too focused on the story to pay any mind to the pain.
"Sebastian and Maria wanted you to continue the bloodline. The Gonzalez bloodline."
My face falls and I stop breathing. What? That can't be true. "But... Alejandro..." I breath beyond confused and horrified.
I was trying to pursue the man that I was unknowingly betrothed to?
Marco stares up at me. "That was Sebastian who decided that. Alejandro instantly refused". My shoulders slump in relief, that made more sense.
"Aurelio died before he could change Alejandro's mind. And Alejandro doesn't say it but I saw how he looked at his father after that. I saw how his resentment for the man only grew." Marco explains, frowning.
"So where does that leave me..?" I ask, feeling even more confused and overwhelmed. What happens next?
Marco looks up at me and shrugs. "No where. It was sick for Sebastian to do what he did and it was sick for Aurelio to ever agree to something like that in the first place. Alejandro knows that."
I shake my head. "But yesterday..." I trail off beyond confused and getting upset, remembering the events of yesterday.
Marco stops as he sets his equipment down to stare me in the eye. A hard look on his face letting me know he's serious. "No one is ever going to take your freedom away. I will die fighting before I let that happen." He promises.
Tears fill my eyes, tears of relief and gratitude and for the first time in a while I truly feel cared for. "Thank you." My voice is weak and soft and Marco nods, his eyes warm as I softly grab his hand. "But I want you to teach me how to fight for myself." I whisper.
And then Marco smiles.
It's not a big grin it's a small smile, one I've never seem before. "Of course." He nods and I see a cross of pride and respect pass through his eyes.
I smile back at him as a silent understanding passes through the air.
At the end of the day all you had was yourself.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
