Chapter 57

Angelo.

I couldn't sleep a wink last night. My peace of mind was at stake. Yes, it was what I wanted. For Alessia to return to her home. But why do I feel a hole in my heart? Why do I feel an emptiness inside me? When she asked me to tell her that I love her. It nearly killed me. I so badly wanted to hold her tight but what difference would it make when she eventually left? And it would hurt us both. I had already hurt her feelings several times. If I give her hope, it would make matters worse.

I hadn't prayed for morning to take longer to arrive like I did last night knowing Alessia would leave me. For good. Was my heart ready to accept that? No. Will I let her go? Yes.

A knock sounded on my door followed by Kelvin stepping inside. He was about to stretch his hand on the light switch when I halted him. I prefer the darkness. The way my heart was in darkness. Alessia is my only source of light and she's leaving me.

Kelvin withdrew his hand and trekked down to my bed, also taking his seat on the empty spot next to me. I don't even have to look to know the expression on his face. Silence filled the room as we both gazed down the floor until Kelvin decided to break the silence. "Are you happy now?" He started.

"It's for the best, Kelvin. Being here won't change anything." I answered him.

"What do you think will happen if she later found out you were the one who pushed her parents into requesting her to come home?"

I bite my bottom lip. "I had to do it. She didn't want to leave. And I don't want her life to be in danger here. I doubt her father will stay idle if he finds out she is here with me."

A scoff resonated from him. "I don't get you, Angelo. Who exactly are you doing this for? Is it for her or yourself?" Kelvin now faced me. "Because no matter how much I figure out, I can't seem to find any fault in her staying here. Which is the best safety for her."

I gulped down a bitter saliva. Maybe it's high time I let out my fears. I looked at Kelvin. "I'm doing it for myself."

Kelvin's brows creased in confusion. "I—" I cut him off before he could complete his sentence. "I'm selfish enough to do it for myself because all I've been doing was for the revenge. I hate to admit it but I can't forgive the people who killed my father and sister. Alessia's father has a hand in my family's death. I don't want her to witness me bringing him down. I don't want to hate her because of him." I confessed.

"What?" Our head snapped to the voice at the door. Alessia. Her eyes were bloodshot as she stormed in. "What did I just hear you say? My father killed your father?" She asked in shock.

I quickly jolted up. "Alessia—" I tried holding her hand but she flinched. "Who did you say killed your father and sister? My father?"

"Answer me you fool!" The way she shouted at the top of her lungs, made my body shake. I have never seen that side of her before. "Calm down first. It's not what you're thinking." I still went on to change the topic. But Alessia wasn't buying it.

"I'm not a fool Alessia. I heard you say it with my ears. How did my father get involved with your father? Tell me the fucking truth!" She grabbed me by the collar and began shaking my body.

"Tell me what my father did." Her shouts turned to tears. My heart hurt seeing her this way. And she didn't even know the bitter truth yet. She didn't know her father wasn't her real father.

Kelvin and I stood there not sure of what to do. We were close to burying everything. How did we not hear the sound of the door opening? Alessia clenched my collar tightly. "Tell me please, Angelo." She pleaded. I exchanged looks with Kelvin who was looking at us with pity in his eyes.

"I think it's better to tell her the truth." He said. I swallowed down a painful saliva. "I can't Kelvin," I muttered enough for him to hear.

Kelvin took a step forward. "This is the only way for her to overcome the pain."

If anything Kelvin had a point. It is better to swallow the bitter pill while it's still new. Nothing was running in Alessia's eyes but pain. Kelvin patted me on the back before making his way out.

The thick silence in the room was charged with strong tension as Alessia looked at me with accusing eyes. "What are you hiding from me, Angelo." She choked out.

"I had to. For your safety."

"Because of this? Because of my father? Is that why you want to send me away?" She said bitterness seeping into her face.

"Yes. Because it will break you if you find out you've been living your life in lies." Her brows creased in confusion. "What do you mean?"

I exhaled in a deep breath. "Because your parents aren't your real parents."

"What?" Her hand slowly left my neck. "What did you just say?"

"The household you grew up in calling your parents Mom and Dad was all a lie. They are not your real parents." She looked at me in shock. "What do you mean? You're lying, right? You don't know what you're saying right?"

I stepped closer to her and grabbed her hand. "It is the truth. Your father is my enemy. He's involved with the mafia and he has a hand in the death of my father and sister. He abandoned you, Alessia. I was trying to send you away so he wouldn't get to you. I was—"

The rest of the words barely left my lips when Alessia's palms connected with my cheeks. "It's a lie!"

"It's the truth, Alessia. Your real father is Enzo, the ruthless mafia man who deals with all kinds of dirty transactions. He abandoned you because he doesn't want you. Because he feels like having a child at the prime of his life is a threat to his life."

"Stop!"

"He left you because he doesn't want a daughter, Alessia."

"Stop it!" Alessia held her head with both her hands. "I don't want to hear it anymore. Don't tell me anymore." She crashed down on the floor. I also didn't want to see her in pain but I had to be honest and tell her everything since she has pushed me to tell her.

"This isn't true. My father can't be a killer. I don't have a gang leader as a father." She continued to shake her head. I crouched down to her level, stretching my hand to hold her but she pushed it away. "This can't be true. My parents are not killers. My mom loves me. My dad too. I can't-"

It hurt me to see her miserable that way. So I forced her into my arms even with her disagreement.

She tried to free herself from my body but I didn't let go. After a while, she stopped arguing and melted in my body, crying her heart out. "Tell me this is a dream, Angelo. Please tell me all of this is a lie. My parents are waiting for me at home. This can't be true." Each word and tear from her ripped my heart into pieces. I could only rub my palms over her back in a soothing way.

I didn't know how long we sat there on the floor with Alessia wetting my shirt with her tears. It was a painful experience for her. The same goes for me. This was why I wanted to send her home peacefully. To escape something like this from occurring. But it eventually happened.

After some time Alessia finally calmed down. I was able to get her up to the bed. Her eyes were swollen up to the point I couldn't resist caressing under her eyes. "I'm sorry," I said.

"Why are you apologizing when you did nothing wrong." She answered her eyes going to the nightstand lamp.

"For telling you all about it."

"It was the right thing to do. Because had it been I heard it later on, I would be more miserable than this." I nodded my head knowing she was right. Another thick silence fell on us. "I can now understand why you're hell-bent on sending me back home. Because you don't want me to fight out right?" She spoke up looking at me.

I briefly looked at her before dropping my gaze. "Honestly yes."

"And it's because of it you push me away. Giving me all the cold treatment. Breaking my heart." I didn't answer to that.

"You're a coward, Angelo." She breathed out heavily. "You don't value our love enough to want us to stick together no matter the circumstances. I was ready to fight with you, Angelo. I didn't care about anything else but to be with you. This shouldn't define our love."

"Of course it will. I'm doing all this for revenge. I can't give up. He hurt my family. I—"

She cut me off. "And so. He's he and I'm me. We're two different people. Do you think I will accept such a man as my father? Someone who destroyed innocent people's lives and is still destroying. I'm disappointed in you for seeing me as a weak woman."

The disappointment was visible in her eyes. She sat up. "You lied to me and you're going to get punished for that. But before then, you will have to do something."

I lifted my brows in question to her words. "What's that?"

"I want to meet Enzo. I mean my so-called father."