Chapter 205: Remember Who Is The Real Villain
Chapter 205: Remember Who Is The Real Villain
Camilla
"Not physically hurt," I managed to but when she pulled me into her arms and hugged me, I wasn't strong enough to stay up.
Gently, Susan guided the both of us to the floor, pushing away a box so we could rest our backs against the wall. I cried as she brushed my hair back behind my ears before simply holding me and letting me fall apart.
She had to have known who caused my pain because there was no chance in hell Domenico, Gregorio and Adriano wouldn't be by my side right now if I was sad from anything else. I hated the truth but there was no denying it no matter how painful it was.
"It is just….I don't know w.. what to do." I sobbed, her comfort becoming a life line I wish I never needed.
As she held me, l had a feeling she knew why I was crying but I didn't have the energy to push her away right now. I took that comfort and held it close to me, accepting that things could never be the same now that so much had gone wrong. I am leaving, so I took this moment to try and give myself the closure that felt impossible to gain but still I tried.
"You knew already?" I sniffed, not wanting to hear the answer I was already expecting to come.
Lucas or not, Susan has been like a mother to me since I moved to this city. The problem is that none of them held secrets out of ill intent, which is why for now even though I knew it was all a lie, I let myself pretend I was okay.
"I figured it out when Adriano came in for coffee the other day." Susan admits but she was unapologetic in her words.
"To say I was surprised is an understatement but you can't let this beat you down, my dear. Not yet."
I didn't stop her as she turned my head to look at her, her touch loving even though her hand shook just slightly.
"You are not allowed to be in pain and I hope you give those boys hell but they are the safest place you can be right now. Believe me when I say a lot of shit is changing today and if there was any to make an attempt on you, it would be now."
My eyes dipped down as I wiped some of my tears from my face, exhausted and so incredibly drained. Someone had followed me here to the cafe and I have a strong feeling Gregorio will be outside waiting for me when I leave. I forgive them within days of learning they were in the Mafia but this is so much different in ways I haven't even processed.
They lied to me again, just as my father did for most of my childhood. I am so sick of everyone around me thinking I can't handle things. Most of my reaction now is based on the fact of so many secrets being kept at once. But if they had just told me, a lot of this could have been prevented or at the very least minimized.
"The time to shut down is not yet, no matter how hard it may be." She said, shaking her head but I can tell she is just as hurt by this.
They are after all her nephews and I think she understood where so much of this betrayal was coming from because of that but that didn't make it any easier in the end.
"I know," I whispered, knowing she was right. No matter how unfortunate that may be
Raphael is after me right now and he is not a man to be trifled with. I may have caught him off guard that one day but I make no mistake it was because I was a woman and he is a moron. He will not underestimate me again.
"It is just I am terrified that if I see them again, I will forgive them for everything." I said, taking a deep breath and forcing myself to continue.
"I am not staying away to punish them but how do we move on after so many lies? How they love me when my father…." I couldn't finish my sentence but she understood.
She gave my knees a squeeze with a sad look that speaks of a kind of wisdom that can only come from age and experience.
"How can you love them when they have a father as vile as Raphael?" She counters, causing my heart to stop.
I know I shouldn't feel this way but admittedly I have felt a little guilty too about all of this. Before I knew my father was Lucas, I had hoped with every part of me the men I loved would get their revenge even if it meant killing the person who has caused them so much grief. I love them despite their bloods but I can't imagine it would be hard for them to reconcile with who mine is.
"Relationships are complicated, my dear. But blood will never equal the child, I don't doubt for a second that those boys don't love you with everything they have even if they were idiots in keeping things from you."
The problem is that I already knew all of this, it was because I still love them it was killing me to stay away. Things just weren't as simple as forgiveness anymore though. The three of them were supposed to be ambushing my father's event today and the consequences of resisting will be life changing.
Susan will forever be the mother I never had and despite how I am feeling at this point, she was right, I couldn't run blindly. Not that I planned to but there were probably eyes everywhere I go now. Sometimes, no matter how hard I try to escape the harsh truth that reality brings forth, the only real option is to face it and learn how to adapt.
"I…"
"Camilla!" The sound of my name interrupted what I wanted to say, though it wasn't that but rather the voice that said it that had me stiffening. Adriano's tone was one of panic and it was the only reason I didn't try to act as though I hadn't heard him.
"They are here," Susan said but there is something about the way she now holds herself that makes me suspect she wasn't talking about the man who called my name again.
She was stiff and she always had as usual flow to herself that was grateful yet firm when needed. This right now was tense and it was the threat of something else that caused her to stand with me and open the door with caution.
"Susan, have you seen…." Adriano started but his words stopped when he saw me and just the sight of him becoming a punch to my gut.
Truthfully, he looked like hell too, but unlike me he had a cut that was long and fresh across his forehead, dirt smeared across his right cheek.
"My princess, I know you are mad but I need you to come with me." He said, desperation clear in his tone.
Something was wrong, yet I could still hear the customers happily eating at their tables.
"What is wrong?" I asked, not resisting when he grabbed onto my hand before whispering into Susan's ear. He told her they would talk later but that she shouldn't leave the cafe tonight.
I admired the way she didn't show any fear or panic but I still didn't miss the frown she gave at Adriano's rough appearance. Looking out the window where I could see cars moving normally down the street, I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to find something that was wrong but couldn't.
"Adriano, what is happening?" I ask again, a little louder to pull his attention to my words.
There was something sad about the way he looked at me in response, however it was what he said next that had my stomach clenching with nervousness.
"You were followed here and it wasn't by one of us."
That was the only explanation I got before Susan slipped around the both of us, whispering something she assured only I could hear on the way past. Adriano was already too busy moving to notice but there wasn't a single word I had missed.
'Remember who the real villains are.'
Her words were plural not singular. I barely even got the time to comprehend that warning before I was being pulled forward. Adriano's body discreetly yet very distinctly shielding my body with his. Something had happened outside and I wasn't even able to turn and see Susan one last time before my hair was being whisked backwards from the wind. There was an unsettling kind of chill to it, however that wasn't there when I first walked through these same doors.
It caused the hairs on the back of my neck to rise but when my eyes connected with Domenico sitting in the passenger seat of a pickup truck, my heart dropped at the sight of his white shirt torn and soaked with splatters of red.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
