Unreasonable apologies

Unreasonable apologies
Simon approached, resting Paulina's chin in his hand.
"It's just a matter of not breaking up. Simple as that," he argued gently, sliding his thumb slowly over her plump lower lip.
It would be so easy to give in to Simon's fantasy... Until the day another woman appeared, he replaced her without batting an eye, and she had to endure the pitying looks of those around her once again.
"We know there isn't enough love to sustain this relationship," she said in a low voice, the declaration directed more at herself than at him. It was painful but necessary to remember this fact.
"Love?" Simon released her face. "Is that all you ever think about?!" he bellowed angrily, adding without thinking, "There was so much love between you and Nathaniel that he kicked you to the curb and got another woman pregnant at the first opportunity."
Helpless in the face of the unexpected attack, Paulina stared at Salvatore in shock. Observing Perez clench her lips tightly and the moisture pool in her clear eyes, Simon realized with regret that he had gone too far.
"Paulina..." He tried to approach her, but she repelled him by holding up a hand in a stop signal.
"You're right. The love that bound me to Nathaniel wasn't enough to keep him by my side," she stared at him resentfully. "Just like what we feel for each other won't keep you faithful to me. I don't need to be psychic to know that in a few months, maybe days, you'll trade me for the first skirt that comes along."
Paulina turned and began to walk toward her own room, but Salvatore's cold voice made her stop in her tracks.
"I can't change the things I've done, but you can't condemn me for something you think will happen."
Paulina opened her hands, realizing at that moment that she had squeezed them so tightly that she had marked her palms with her nails. She was tired of holding back her feelings, of restraining her words so as not to hurt him when Simon didn't think twice about hurting her repeatedly.
"I'm sure it will happen because you can't forget Iolanda," she said, staring at him, waiting for his admission of feelings for his sister-in-law.
But he seemed surprised. "Forget Iolanda? What are you accusing me of now?"
"I know you're in love with her."
"Where did you get the idea that I'm in love with my brother's wife?" he asked clearly confused.
" You said you love a committed woman...
And why did you think it was Iolanda?
You're kind to her...
Simon shook his head and let out a dry laugh.
"She's my brother's wife, why the hell would I treat her badly?"
"You don't have to be rude to me," Paulina clenched her fists again.
"I'm not, I just don't believe you thought I was desiring Alessandro's wife," he looked at her suspiciously. "And apparently you still do."
"Well, if you love her, it's not my problem."
"Of course I love her," Paulina froze and only exhaled the breath she didn't realize she was holding when Simon completed irritably, "fraternally, like a sister, nothing more."
"The only picture in your office is with her," she recalled.
"You drew these conclusions because of a picture?" He nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "Even though there were more than one person in the portrait?"
"It seemed obvious... that you were in love with Iolanda," she murmured uncertainly.
Simon cursed and left stomping his feet.
"Wait, Simon!" She followed him. "You can't just leave me talking to myself."
"I can and I will."
"Simon!" She grabbed his arm tightly. "Please, I just want an explanation."
"The picture means nothing," he said without looking at her. "I'm not the type to spend hours admiring a portrait or desiring my own brother's wife, and you should know that."
"Sorry, it's just that..."
"You know what your problem is, Paulina? You spent too much time with Nathaniel," he sentenced bitterly as he pulled away from her hand. "You're blind and making ridiculous excuses for still loving that stupid idiot!"
Simon walked away and Paulina didn't know what to do. She had irritated him, and a lot. All she wanted was for him to love her, but now she feared she had ruined any chance.
Simon spent the rest of the afternoon working in the apartment's office. The door connecting the office to the suite wasn't locked, he hadn't even closed it, but a look at Salvatore's sullen face when he called him for lunch was enough to keep her far away. "
Because of all that, she didn't dare to call him to dinner, staying alone at the big dining table, fidgeting with her food while wishing he would show up, even with a stern face, and share the meal with her.
She startled when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She hurriedly took it out and let out a long sigh when she saw her cousin's picture filling the screen. It was just what she needed to close out the day: a new confrontation.
For a moment, she thought about ignoring it, but quickly scolded herself and answered, ready for another reprimand that showed his little fingers right after greetings.
"I received an interesting call from your sister," Paulina closed her eyes, anticipating what she would hear and cursing her younger sibling's big mouth. "Tell me it's a tasteless joke from Paola and that she's not engaged to Simon."
What should she say? She had no idea what was going on in Salvatore's life. Her relationship with him was a complete mess. If she had known that her desperate plea would end like this, she would have resigned herself to breaking off her engagement with Nathaniel.
She took a deep breath, massaging a throbbing point on her head. Who was she kidding? She didn't regret everything that had happened after the proposal, she regretted confronting Simon about his love for Iolanda. She had been so sure that she was the woman he loved... Now she wasn't sure of anything, not even what would happen when Simon left the self-imposed prison just to stay away from her.
"Paulina? Are you listening to me?"
"Yes..."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm so confused..." she said, her voice breaking. "We fought..."
"What did he do? I swear I'll kill him if he hurt you."
"I'm fine... We just argued, and now... I don't know where we stand..."
"I told you to get out of that place," Guilherme recalled, not helping to improve his cousin's mood. "I can pick you up right now, so you don't have to spend another day under the same roof as Salvatore, and tomorrow I'll find you a new job."