Chapter 46: Forty-Six

Henry couldn’t keep in his pants to get home, and it got worse after the message they exchanged. His Kitty Kat was blossoming, discovering herself becoming a confident and naughty woman, but he’d bet his left arm she had flushed red from head to toe, sending him that dirty message. A smile danced on his lips. So much has happened today, and he was eager to get home and tell Melina all the details.

Guilt made its way to his chest. He was at fault with her, and he cursed himself for that, but he didn’t know what else to do. Time would be by his side if she hadn’t heard his conversation on the phone. Unfortunately, he didn’t have that ace in his sleeve. She was expecting them to finish talking, and he’d have to tell her all the details he was hiding from her. It wasn’t on purpose, or had second intentions. No, far from it.

Melina saw Charming and Henry as two different people. Charming was the one she fell for, and Henry was her kidnapper, the mobster. He wanted her to fall for him the same way she did for his teen self, and conclude they had always been the same. His goal was for her to fall for him before he told her truth. He didn’t want to see suspicion in her eyes when he talked to her. Henry craved her trust and love, nothing else.

The entire house was in the dark. It was closer to midnight, and he did what he could to get home early, and tell her he was a coward and he felt bad for making her feel alone. He knew the feeling, and he didn’t want the same for her. The men were in their position, watchful. He had added one more, just in case, and Melina would get pissed at him. But their lives were too important for him to listen to her outbursts.

Henry went straight to the kitchen, put his coat over a chair, and washed his hands. Opening the fridge, there was a note in front of a bowl. ‘Made with love by Eve and Melina.’ The sweet smell called to him, reminding of home. His mom used to make rice pudding all the time. Sometimes when he got home from school, it was there waiting for him. He got a spoon from Yiayia’s drawer, sinking in the sweet goo, and taking it to his mouth. The creamy flavor exploded in his taste buds, and hints of lime invaded all his senses, reminding him of his childhood. He could feel the little pieces of coconut on his tongue. Gosh, he loved this treat, and Melina remembered.

It was decorated with lime rings and coconut flakes. It was messy, probably Evangeline’s work of art. He smiled. He didn’t even remember when was the last time he tasted such an exquisite dessert, and Melina’s recipe was as good as his mom’s if not better. Sorry mom! Putting one more spoonful in his mouth, he saved the rest of it in the fridge. He was too tired, and tomorrow, he’d appreciate it with his girls.

Evangeline slept like an angel, holding her teddy. He kissed her good night, and she moved.

“Daddy?” She voiced, her eyelids heavy with sleep.

“It’s me. Sleep muffin. I love you.” Henry made her comfortable under her blankets, thinking how lucky he was. He couldn’t stop to admire her, and sometimes it didn’t seem real. She was his only.

“I love you, too, daddy.”

It felt great to be called daddy. Never in his life, he thought he’d have the chance to constitute a family. It was a miracle, he considered, heading to Melina’s room. He stopped at the door, trying to eavesdrop to have a clue of what he was getting into. He had prepared himself for everything, but not to hear her sniffles. She was crying. Why in hell would she be crying? She was fine this afternoon, trying to get his attention. Worry filled his soul, and he couldn’t wait any longer. He knocked at her door.

“Come in…” A soft voice called. “I was waiting for you.”

Henry went inside, full of caution. Her wardrobe was opened, drawers’ contents on the floor, and Melina sinking in papers on her bed. The image of a tornado hitting the place appeared in his head, such was the chaos. She wiped her face and stared at him with red-rimmed eyes and sorrow in her face.

“What happened here, Melina? Why are you crying?” He didn’t like seeing her cry. She had cried too much in her life already, and it was too much for him to endure. He sat on the bed, reaching for her, but she avoided him.

“We need to talk. Xanthos was here and…” Her voice was rough with crying, and her eyes fixed on him.

“I know, and all this weeping has something to do with him?” Jealousy greeted him in full, and his voice came out cold, even though he didn’t intend to.

“No, Henry. You need to come to terms, he’s my friend and that will never change. Understand at once, I’m not interested in him! Besides, he’s all over the new girl, Catalina.” Melina thought to have imagined, but she saw an impish smile curve his lips at the mention of the girl. “Get over it, Henry! He’s also my lawyer, the one in charge of Eve’s case against you, remember?” She already got fed up with his jealous side. Enough!

“You don’t need him for Eve’s case anymore. I asked Donovan to drop the case.”

“Well, not according to this document, since he got this by mail today.” Melina handed him the big brown envelope, watching him open and take the contents out. His face became a scowl, losing all color. Once again, he was wearing his granite face.

“I see…” Henry raised his eyes from the papers to Melina’s face. He never went through with the petition and had told Donovan to close the case. Examining the papers again, his eyes caught the law firm logo. It was the old one. It should have an ‘R’ with the other letters, since Ralph became a partner. Those documents didn’t come from his lawyer, but he wasn’t about to tell her that before he got into Melina’s head.

“But that’s not all…”

“No? What else am I being accused of?” He snapped, his voice bitter.

Melina gathered all her parents’ estate documents, and on top was a paper Xanthos had forwarded her, also handing to him. While he skimmed through them, she fumbled with her phone. She wasn’t about to lie to him. The answers were more important than a fight with him.

“How did that phony God discover all this?” He hissed at her, and Melina gave him an eye roll and her phone. She didn’t take her eyes from him as his eyes darkened. Fury stamped in those pools of honey. “Darryl! Are you there?” The entire situation was getting dangerous. He didn’t answer, but grabbed his phone from his pocket and called for his second.

“Yes, I’m here. Something wrong Hank?” Darryl’s calm, smooth voice filled the room.

“The suspect is close to us. He must be on the island. Alert everyone and double the surveillance.”

“Sure, I’m sending the call right away.”

He already had a clue who was the man behind all the chaos in their lives, but what he didn’t understand was how he could gather so much updated info about all of them. They were trying to track him down, but the mobster wasn’t stupid. He was cunning and must have hired skilled people to work with him.

A mortifying silence fell upon them. His eyes fixed on Melina, trying to read her face. But to his surprise, he didn’t find accusation or blame in those chocolaty orbs. Only tiredness, anger, and questions. More and more Melina puzzle got intricate to him. And this entire shebang started the day Eve went missing.

“Is this the reason you’re stalling to finish our conversation?” Melina indicated her parent’s estate documents all over the bed. “Why were you hiding all that from me? You moved to this island more than a month ago, and you didn’t find any spare time to fill me in?” She lashed out at him.

He didn’t move, his eyes on her, but she could see all the tormented emotions crossing his handsome face. He locked his jaw and a vein in his temple pulsed, showing Melina a storm was cooking up inside of him. She wanted Henry to open up to her and let her cross the wall he suddenly built around himself. Was that too much to ask?

“Is this the reason you’re behaving like an asshole to me? Were you gathering courage to let me know my parents’ money was in your possession all this time?” She leapt out of bed and stared at him. His eyes darkened, glaring at her. His silence drove her crazy. “Say something, Henry!” She yelled at him.

“What do you want me to say, Melina? Don’t all these papers say for themselves?”

Melina stared at him as if he had grown two heads. How could he not defend himself? He was doing it on purpose. Maybe he underestimated her and thought she wouldn’t see what he was doing, but even a child would understand. If he didn’t talk to her, she'd need to make a few calls, something she was putting off thinking he’d open up to her, but the way he was acting, it wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

“No! These papers say nothing!” She advanced on the bed, gathering and shredding them to pieces and throwing them on his face. He didn’t even flinch. Tears burned in the back of her eyes, but she blinked them away, enough of tears. “Why are you doing this, Henry?”

Melina was in front of him, glaring, all flushed and worked up, waiting for an answer. He pulled her to him and flipped them to the bed. She gasped when he pressed her to the mattress, and she found herself under the weight of his body. They were face to face, and Melina felt his heart thundering against her chest, matching her own wild heartbeat.