Chapter 70 – I Thought I Knew What Love Was

Chapter 70 – I Thought I Knew What Love Was
I didn't sleep.
Not even for a second.
I spent the entire night staring at the ceiling.
Trying to organize thoughts that refused to be organized.
Trying to ignore questions that kept coming back.
Trying to forget one single sentence.
Without success.
Because it was still there.
Echoing inside my head.
"I loved your mother until the very last day."
I closed my eyes.
But it only got worse.
Because then the images came.
My mother.
Dom Aragão.
Fercondiny's father.
Three people.
Three different stories.
Three tragic endings.
They had all begun exactly the same way.
With love.
My stomach twisted.
Because I had never thought about it before.
Never.
I had always been that friend who believed in love.
The one who laughed at over-the-top romances.
The one who said she would never lose her head over someone.
Then Romeu showed up.
And shattered every one of my theories.
When morning came, I was still awake.
Exhausted.
Confused.
Irritated.
Mostly irritated.
Because I hated it when my brain decided to create problems that didn't exist.
But what if they did?
The question came back immediately.
I grabbed a pillow.
Threw it over my face.
Then another one.
Neither helped.
Unfortunately.
I heard a soft knock at the door.
I ignored it.
Another.
I ignored it again.
On the third attempt, the door opened.
Without permission.
Without manners.
Without respect.
Which meant...
Romeu.
"You're awake."
It wasn't a question.
"And you still invade people's rooms."
"Yes."
"That's disturbing."
"I know."
I rolled my eyes.
Romeu walked in.
Closed the door.
And leaned against it.
Watching me.
Silently.
For far too long.
"What?"
I asked.
"You're acting strange."
"Thanks."
"It wasn't a compliment."
"What a shame."
He kept staring at me.
I kept pretending everything was normal.
Neither of us was fooling anyone.
"Mikaella."
"Romeu."
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"That's a lie."
"Prove it."
"You haven't called me arrogant today."
I fell silent.
Romeu pointed at me.
"See?"
"That doesn't prove anything."
"It proves everything."
"Drama."
"Concern."
"Drama."
"Concern."
"Drama."
"You're scared."
My heart skipped a beat.
Damn him.
That observant man.
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
I looked away.
Mistake.
Big mistake.
Because Romeu noticed immediately.
"Mikaella."
"Stop."
"No."
"Romeu."
"No."
I crossed my arms.
"You're unbearable."
"You're avoiding the subject."
"And you're annoying me."
"Because I'm right."
The worst part?
He was.
And we both knew it.
Romeu walked over to the bed.
Sat down beside me.
Too close.
As always.
"Talk to me."
His voice came out lower.
Softer.
More dangerous.
Because that was how Romeu was.
When he wanted to be.
"There's nothing to talk about."
"There is."
"No."
"There is."
I sighed.
Slowly.
Because I was already tired of fighting.
"My father loved my mother."
Romeu stayed silent.
"I know."
"Fercondiny's father loved my mother."
More silence.
"Yes."
"My mother loved someone.
Then she loved someone else.
Then she stopped loving him.
Then she regretted it."
Romeu kept listening.
Without interrupting.
Without joking.
Without teasing.
That alone was strange enough.
"So?"
he asked.
I looked up.
"So everyone seemed to be in love.
Everyone seemed happy.
Everyone seemed so sure.
And look how it ended."
Understanding slowly appeared on his face.
And I hated that.
Because it meant he had finally understood.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"So that's it."
"That's what?"
Romeu took a deep breath.
"You're not afraid of me."
My heart tightened.
"You're afraid of the future."
Silence.
Damn him.
He was right again.
"Mikaella."
Romeu took my hand.
"Look at me."
I did.
That was a mistake.
Because those eyes had always been my weakness.
Always.
"Do you think I'm going to stop loving you?"
The question was so direct that it caught me off guard.
"I..."
"Do you?"
I couldn't answer.
Because the truth was horrible.
Part of me did.
Not because it was Romeu.
But because that was how life worked.
People changed.
Feelings changed.
The world changed.
"I thought I loved a lot of things."
he said suddenly.
I frowned.
"What?"
"Money.
Success.
Status.
Freedom.
Beautiful women.
I thought I loved all of that."
I rolled my eyes.
"Wow. That's deep."
"Shut up."
"Go on."
Romeu smiled.
Just a little.
But he smiled.
"Then you showed up."
My heart raced.
Traitor.
"And for the first time, I realized I had no idea what love really was."
Silence filled the room.
Because he wasn't joking.
He wasn't trying to seduce me.
He wasn't trying to win me over.
He was simply being honest.
And that was far more dangerous.
"Romeu..."
"I'm not your father."
"I know."
"And you're not your mother."
I swallowed hard.
"I know."
"So stop living their story."
His words hit me head-on.
Because maybe...
Maybe that was exactly what I was doing.
When Romeu stood up to leave, I called out to him.
"Romeu."
He stopped.
"Yeah?"
I bit my lip.
Thinking.
Hesitating.
Afraid.
For the first time in a long time.
"What if I need proof?"
That smile appeared immediately.
The smile.
The dangerous one.
The arrogant one.
The Romeu smile.
Finally.
"Then you just made the biggest mistake of your life."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
He opened the door.
And answered:
"Because I'm really good at convincing people."
My God.
The worst part was that I believed him.