Chapter 131 Camilla’s Pov.
Today's the day.
The day my father would serve his punishment and even though I know it, it doesn't make the lump in my throat any smaller.
He deserves it. I know that. No matter how much I wanted to blame Anthonio for Chloe's death, my father also had a hand in it and considering that he teamed up with my worst enemy just because he wanted to get Àlvaro out of the way, it was equal to a death sentence but I chose forgiveness for him.
I tried not to think about it as I ate breakfast in the morning alone because Àlvaro had left the house with my father to spare me the agony I would hear coming from my father, nor did he want me to witness the pain he would cause him.
I tried not to think about it while I was reading yet another book that I found in this small house, trying to kill time between the pages but my head was trapped by the thoughts of my father and Àlvaro.
The only thing the guards told me was that Àlvaro left the house with my father early in the morning, not even wanting any of his men to accompany him. And something about those two men being alone was bothering me.
Seconds, minutes, hours passed but there was still no trace of them. The was was beginning to disappear, makingbway for the night but still no sign of Àlvaro and Leonardo.
I was pacing around the house, trying to get a hold of my thoughts but they were such a mess in my head. I know Leonardo and I know Àlvaro. Of course that's reason enough to be anxious.
Both of them are unscrupulous men with hard characters. All they know is how to kill or be killed.
Could my father go back on the word he gave me yesterday? Would he try to hurt Àlvaro and run away despite his promises.
But I immediately threw the second theory out of my mind because Leonardo is physically powerless to win in a fist fight against Àlvaro. There has to be a gun or some weapon involved to ensure his victory. Otherwise, his chances of survival against Àlvaro are zero.
Just as my head was starting to fill up with some nasty ugly thoughts all over again, the door to the small house opened and I jumped off the sofa as if scalded, sensing that it must be Àlvaro.
It was almost dark outside and they left the house early in the morning. They've been gone the whole freaking day!
I met Àlvaro by the entrance and the sight of him slightly tripped me up. His hair is disheveled and wet, his expensive shirt was crumpled and stained with a large amount of blood and so were his pants. His face was as flat as steel.
I immediately rushed to him as soon as I saw no sign of my father. I touched his body in a panic but the more I touched him, the more I realized that there was no trace of a single wound on his body.
The blood wasn't his.
The realization quickly hit me that the blood must be my father's.
I pulled back, creating a slight distance between us, waiting for him to speak as he calmly began removing the bloodied shirt from his body and threw it to the ground. I followed that movement with my gaze before darting my eyes up to his.
“Where's Leonardo?” The panic in my voice could be heard but Àlvaro's face still didn't show me much. His face was empty, tired, expressionless.
“Not here.” He simply replied, closing the door behind him and walking past me to the table where he grabbed a bottle of whiskey, taking a big gulp directly from the bottle without his face changing much.
Àlvaro rarely drinks in front of me, at least not like this. Something was wrong and it was turning my stomach upside down.
“I asked you a question, Àlvaro.” I said in a firmer voice, walking closer to him. I could see his bare back rise and fall heavily. “Where's my father?”
He took another huge gulp of the whiskey and after getting no response from him again, I snatched the bottle from his hand, gaining his full attention. His eyes darted into mine and I felt like he was staring straight into my soul, blinking slowly at me.
I wanted answers. Answers that he obviously didn't want to give me but he surrendered anyway, sighing and relaxing his body on the table as he leaned on it with both hands. His abs tightened almost pulling my gazeaway fron his face.
“I called some of my men to xome take him far from here.” He finally admitted, his voice even as he kept his eyes locked with mine.
Sp Leonardo didn't run away after all. That's a good start.
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.” He made a long pause before speaking again. “Barely.”
My heart skipped a beat as I was taken aback by his words. Barely?
“Why did you take him away from here without my permission?” My voice was cracking, not wanting to imagine my father fighting for his life.
“Because I didn't want you to see him like this.” He answered almost immediately, his eyes filling with something different. Something like…..guilt? “He's still your father after all.”
My mouth hung open, not finding the right words to speak. Àlvaro's gaze was filled with pure guilt, something that I've never seen before, especially when he's punishing someone who deserved it.
I made a few more steps, standing in front of him this time, taking his face in my arms. My gaze was locked on his as I caressed his cheeks, offering him a small comforting smile to show him that I was here with him.
“It's okay. You can tell me.” I whispered against his lips and he shook his head, closing his eyes as if my words hurt him.
It was such a strange feeling to see Àlvaro this vulnerable. I could feel him lean in, seeking my touch even more. Silence settled in the room for several minutes but I gave him all the time he needed. I could see that he needed it.
“I almost killed him, Camilla.” His words left me in shock but I tried not to show it, nodding slowly as I waited for him to continue talking. “I don't know what got into me but I was so close to taking away his life even though I gave you my word that I would spare him.” His voice kept cracking as he spoke, making my heart sink to my toes as I felt the pain in his voice.
“The moment I started hitting him, I just couldn't stop. I did it again and again and again until my hands and shirt was soaked in his blood and he was barely breathing.” My hands were shaking as I listened to his words but I continued caressing his cheeks. I could see him relax against my touch. “Then I saw you in hus bloody face and that was the only fucking thing that saved his life. It was you, not me.”
“I thought I was hurting you.”
“I thought it was you.”
“You saved him, not me.”
“I almost killed him.”
He was repeating these sentences over and over again, shaking in my arms. His eyes were soft and full of regret and pain. I pressed myself closer to him. It's hurting me to see him like this.
“My father made me into a monster.”
His words drove knife after knife into my heart as I listened to how low he thought of himself. Even though his father was long dead, all the years of his manipulations continued to haunt Àlvaro to this day. He was trying to fight, I could see it but he was breaking under the pressure of his past.
“No, stop.” I rested my forehead against his, kissing his lips to make him stop. “You're not a monster, Àlvaro. I don't want to ever hear you call yourself that word.”
“I just told you that I almost killed your father and you still look me in the eyes denying that I'm a monster?”