Chapter 70 WOULD YOU?
\~~~LUCIANO MORETTI.
I adjusted her carefully in the back seat, making sure her body was settled properly before pulling the seat belt across her. She mumbled something under her breath, her words slurred and meaningless, but her brows were drawn together like she was arguing with someone in her dreams.
I paused for a second after fastening the belt.
I hated how peaceful she looked like this. Soft, yet vulnerable and damn too trusting for someone who had just accused me of cheating in front of half a bar.
I shut the door quietly and turned around.
Alessia stood a few steps away, her hands clasped together in front of her like a child waiting to be scolded.
“Are you really angry?” she asked.
I breathed out slowly and looked at her.
My elder sister, Alessia.
Then I shook my head.
“No,” I said. “I am tired.”
She nodded, but it didn’t erase the guilt on her face.
“What were you thinking bringing her here?” I asked.
She sighed. “I just wanted to have a girl’s time with her. She has been bottling things up for days now.”
“Since when?” I asked, one brow lifting.
It had only been yesterday that the Irina situation happened.
“I have been meaning to talk to you about it,” she said. “I actually thought at some point that you were… abus…” she stopped herself.
I turned sharply. “You think I hit her?”
“She spaces out a lot these days, Rafael,” she said carefully. “If she is not staring at her phone, she is staring at the clock. I thought she dreaded going back home. So yes, I thought you were abusing her.”
“Lexi,” I said slowly. “You think I’d hit a woman?”
She winced. “Well… years of being a mob leader could have shaped you into…”
“Really?”
She raised both hands immediately. “Okay, sorry. Sorry. I was just worried.”
I exhaled again.
“You should go home,” I said. “You drank alcohol. Viktor will give you a ride.”
“I prefer Gabriel,” she snapped instantly.
I rolled my eyes. Of course, everyone prefers Gabriel.
“Viktor is here. Gabriel is not,” I said. “And Viktor will take you home whether you like it or not. Give him your car keys.”
She hesitated, then sighed and handed them over.
I didn’t say another word and only watched as she turned to look at Viktor who stood away from us, frowning at him like just her stare could strangle the poor man to death.
What had the innocent boy done to her?
Was that even supposed to be a question?
Was there anyone Alessia liked?
Well, aside from me.
Shaking my head, I walked back to the car.
\~~~
The drive home was… chaos.
Raina did not stop talking for one second.
She sang at some point. Then, she laughed, cursed traffic, and also accused me of kidnapping her again.
I kept my eyes on the road with my jaw tight and my hands firm on the steering wheel.
Where did all this energy come from?
When we got home and I stepped out, she tried to follow me but staggered almost immediately.
“Easy,” I muttered, catching her before she hit the ground.
She looked up at me, eyes glassy. “You smell expensive.”
I ignored that and lifted her easily into my arms.
She wrapped her arms loosely around my neck.
We made it upstairs without incident and I placed her gently on the bed, adjusting her legs properly before straightening up.
I had barely turned when her fingers curled around the hem of my shirt.
“What?” I asked.
“Why did you do that?” she asked quietly.
I turned back to her and bent down, resting my forearms on my thighs.
“What did I do?” I asked, pretending not to know.
“Irina,” she said, poking my chest weakly with her finger. “You said she was your ex.”
“She is.”
“Then why…?”
“You saw wrong.”
“Liar.”
“Talia.”
“Don’t call me that,” she hissed.
“Call you what?”
“Talia. Don’t call me that.”
I tilted my head slightly. “So what do I call you? You’re Talia, are you not?”
She stared at me for a second before she laughed.
Her laugh was anything but soft.
It was broken… and sad.
I can't believe I am agreeing to that.
“Me?” she said, laughing harder. “Talia?”
The sound startled me and then a tear slipped out of her eye.
“Shit,” she whispered. “I was going to tell you the truth.”
My chest tightened. “What truth?”
“But I had to walk in and find you and your ex in such a compromising situation,” she added bitterly. “Asshole.”
Her head dropped forward.
I could tell she was still drunk. The way her body swayed slightly, the way she kept hiccuping, and those unfocused stares of hers. They were proof enough.
“God,” she muttered. “She is so gorgeous.”
I frowned.
“Did you sleep with her too?” she asked suddenly.
“What?”
“The way you…” she swallowed. “The way you did to me. The way you made love to me.”
My breath stilled.
“Did you do that with her too?” she continued. “All of it?”
“Sunshine,” I hissed.
“Was she better?” she asked, eyes wide. “Sweeter than I am?”
I stared at her.
“Do you… Do you even feel the urge to make love to me again since that day?”
What the hell was she saying?
If I acted on even half of what I thought about her daily, she wouldn’t be able to walk straight for weeks.
“If… right now,” she whispered, leaning closer, “I ask you to fuck me like you did that day… would you?”
Her eyes were wide, and innocent.
And that was the most dangerous part.
How the fuck did someone say things like this looking like they didn’t even understand what they were doing?