ARIANA
The next morning, I went to the bakery as usual. As I reached closer, I started to feel uneasy. I felt a familiar pair of eyes on me. I looked around, trying my best to look for anyone I knew, who was looking for me. But I found no one. I reached closer to the bakery and my eyes met the pair of brown eyes that I hadn't seen in a while. My first instinct was to turn around and run but two men grabbed me by my arms.
“No! Let me go!” I screamed at them, trying to fight them. But they were big and stronger than I could imagine. Stronger than Monty. They dragged me to where Enzo was standing. My heart dropped on the pit of my stomach. My mind was trying so hard to think about the reasons he was there. And the fact that there was no way he could have found me so easily.
“Hello, my Sweetness. It's been a while.” Enzo whispered softly as he wrapped his arms around me to hug me. My eyes were looking for anything to explain to me how he might have found me. I made sure never to use any kinds of devices that could inform him of my whereabouts.
I never contacted anyone from back home. I never tried to get money out of my bank accounts. I would rather endure the pain and suffer in silence but give Enzo a way to get to me again. But it happened.
Then my eyes fell on the piece of paper Tina had in her hands. Her eyes sparkled with greed. It didn't take me longer to put two and two together. She saw the live ad and asked me about it. I confided in her. And yet, another friend of mine betrayed me.
“You! It was you!” I growled angrily. Suddenly, there was this strength in me that I used. It was anger, boosting my strength to its peak. I pushed Enzo so hard that he fell on his butt. I was to run to Tina and scratch her face, just to tear that greedy smile off of her face. The moment she looked at me, her face went pale.
“I should never have trusted you. I thought you were my friend. I made a mistake when I trusted you, you fucking bitch.” I screamed at her on top of my lungs, approaching her in the fit of rage. But before I could reach her, Enzo wrapped one of his arms around my waist and threw me on his shoulder.
“If you decided not to help yourself, I had to do something. I am your friend.” Tina tried to defend herself, as if I hadn't seen the cheque in her hands that was worth millions. That's what she wanted. She wanted money.
“Don't fuck with me. I am not blind. You did this for money.” I growled at her, angry tears flowing freely from my eyes.
Enzo was forcing me into his car when I looked into Tina's eyes. “You pushed me back in the pit of hell that I ran away from. I hope one day, you are betrayed by someone you would trust. Then I'll ask you about the pain. You know nothing about me. So don't you dare play good friend here.” I was able to scream all the curses that came to my mind before Enzo shoved me into his car and it zoomed away.
I was in the corner of the car. Enzo sat on the other side. I.was glad he didn't try any funny business. I was not in the mood for anything. I couldn't stop crying. Until I couldn't breathe through the sobs. Enzo snapped his fingers twice and I knew what was about to happen. I watched the partition enabling in the car with wide, horrified eyes.
I buried myself in the corner, trying to get away from him. “It's just water. Take a sip.” He spoke and that's when I saw the water bottle in his hands. Without touching even a hair of his, I grabbed the bottle and took a few sips.
Once I had calmed down, I turned to look at him. I found him staring at me. His eyes were fogged with both anger and pity. “What are you staring at?” I growled at him in anger.
“What have you done to yourself? Your eyes no longer sparkle like they used to. You have dark circles. Your rosy pink skin has turned pale. You have lost so much weight.” He pointed out every single detail about whatever was ugly in me. I chuckled helplessly.
“It's all thanks to you. You did this to me. And when I have finally built a life, far far away from you, where I was happy. You had to butt in again. You had to come here to ruin me all over again. Why don't you just leave me alone. I thought you said you were never going to force me to live with you.” I growled at him angrily.
He opened his arm but I tried to get as far away from him as possible. “I didn't want to. But I had to. Your mother is sick, Ariana. She is asking for you.” My eyes widened when I heard him. Suddenly, every fear I had in my heart about Enzo vanished from my heart and I was worried about my mother.
“Wh..what? What happened to my mom?” I asked him, suddenly concerned about her.
“She asked me to meet her. I haven't visited her ever since you left. I failed to protect you and keep you happy, the way I had promised your mom. She called me directly, saying she is sick. When I went there, I found her laying pale and weak in the bed. She was crying. She has been longing for you. All she asked me to get you back so she can see you one last time before she dies.” my heart leapt into my throat at the thought of losing my mom.
“No!” I whimpered and before I knew it, I broke into sobs. I felt him struggling beside me for a while. Until he finally wrapped one of his arms around me and pulled me to his chest.
“I'm sure if she sees you, she'll get better. I would never have disturbed the sanctuary you created for yourself. But I know how much you love her. And I know you would have wanted to see her.” Benjamin explained further. I wiped my tears and nodded at him. For my mother, I could endure all that all over again.
…
When I reached the villa, my heart was pounding so hard against my rib cage. It's been half a decade since I hugged my mom. I didn't need Enzo to lead me. It was my mother's home. I walked right into the villa, straight to her bedroom. “Rina! My baby!” Mom spoke with teary eyes as soon as she saw me. On our way back, Enzo bought some expensive makeup for me. I didn't want my mom to see me all dull and pale.
I went right into her arms, letting her motherly warmth soothe everything that was hurting in me. “Where did you go? Why did you have to leave, Rina? I haven't been able to sleep peacefully since you left. You should have come back to me. You should have stayed.” My mom argued, ripping an old wound yet again. And it started hurting again.
Despite the pain in my chest, I forced a small smile on my face as I sat up on the bed. “I needed to leave. Or I would have killed myself.” It wasn't a complete lie.
“Will you stay?” She asked, her tired eyes sparkling with hope. I couldn't help but smile. It's been a long time since I had smiled genuinely.
“Of course, mom. I am here to stay. I won't leave you again, I promise.” Now that promise was a complete lie. I didn't want to stay longer. I was just there until my mom would get better.
“Get some rest now, sister in law. As promised, I brought her back.” Enzo spoke in a low tone. He had his hands in his pocket, he was leaning against the doorframe and smiling at me. As if this could change anything between us.
Nodding at him, I walked out of the villa with him. “I will leave once she gets better.” I ate the last bit of his hope. His eyes were sad but he forced a small smile on his face.
“Understandable. Once she gets better, I'll take you back home myself and never bother you again.” He replied and yet again, I believed him.
“I forgot my shawl inside. I need to buy a few things. Let me get it.” I added as I turned around and walked into the villa. As I reached closer, I heard a private conversation between my family.
“When can we get her to sign everything for us? The bank will soon throw us out of the house.” It was my brother who questioned.
“Stop with your impatience. She just got here. If we don't play this with emotions, she will run away again. She can never know that I got her back just so she can sign her company and her shares back to us.” I felt my heart breaking when my own mother spoke about me as if I meant nothing to her.
“I'm just saying we need to hurry. Or we will be living on the street.” My father added and at this point, my anger was at its peak.
I walked right in and found them raising their wine glasses to each other. As if they were celebrating. “These two are bastards and I would never have come back for them. But you, I trusted you for everything, mom. How could you betray me? And for money?” It was the first time when I was screaming at my mother angrily.
“Ariana!” My mother went pale when she saw me.
I turned and found Enzo staring at them. “Were you also part of this plot?” I growled at him angrily. But I didn't wait for him to answer.
“For your information, I gave up everything I owned a long time ago. I have never regretted that decision. It's better to give to the orphans than to give anything to you.” I growled at my mother who was glaring at me instead of being regretful over her deed.
“Quit being a bitch. We just asked for your help. It's your duty to help your family when they are in need.” I never thought I would call my mother shameless in my life. I was seeing her darker side. Or maybe, she turned into that dark and greedy person while living with my father and brother.
“Help you! How much do you want me to sacrifice for you? I gave up my dream, my life, my love, everything for this family. I married a man who literally destroyed me in ways I couldn't speak of, for this fucking family. What else do you want?” I screamed at my mother. I couldn't stop my tears anymore.
“It's no one's fault if you could keep your legs closed.” The comment was from my brother. Enzo growled at him angrily to shut him up but the damage was already done.
“Why are you overreacting so much? I don't understand.” My mother asked me and that's when I lost it.
“That’s because I'm fucking dying. While you were playing with my emotions just to get what you wanted, I came all the way here to see you one last time before I could finally die. I thought you weren't a bitch like my sore loser father and brother. But I should have known. You have always been the one holding their leashes. They are your dogs.” I growled at my mother angrily.
Wiping my tears, I glared at her. “This is the last time I see you. I will die without showing you my face. And I will make sure you never even try to reclaim everything that I owned. You deserve to love on the streets.” I growled at her again. I grabbed my shawl and pushed past Enzo. I didn't even want to see their ugly faces again. If only I could disappear but I couldn't. Enzo came back and took away the last bit of happiness I had left in my life.