Everything happened so fast.

One second Dominic’s lips were on hers.

The next they were not as Adriano furiously marched over to them and grabbed him by the collar, before passing a bone-crushing punch squarely on Dom’s jaw.

Dom fell to the floor with a mighty thud, and Ximena shrieked in horror. But Adriano didn’t stop, lifting him by his shirt and continuing to beat the crap out of him. Dom, however, also managed to break free of Adriano’s vice like grip and landed a punch here, a kick there. No matter how much she yelled at them stop, she inevitably had to call in security before they tore each other to pieces.

Although Adriano was sporting a bruised cheek and bloody knuckles, Dom looked like he had been run over by a lorry. His hair was beyond disheveled, one eyes swollen and a busted lip. Ximena held her mouth, still not being able to wrap around what had just happened.

She couldn’t believe that Dom had kissed her!

But more importantly, did that mean Adriano had been right about him being practically in love with her?

“E-escort Dom to the infirmary please,” She instructed to one of the guards shakily, heart racing and eyes hazy with unshed tears. Not even once in her laugh had she ever witnessed two guy fight to brutally, and all because of her.

They nodded, helped Dom up and helped him out. His eyes, well one unswollen eye, lingered on her as he left the room. He held his head low in shame, and probably he was feeling bad about himself. Ximena couldn’t look at him in that state for too long, guilt threatening to constrict her. She knew very well that this was all her fault.

Adriano’s chest heaved up and down, perhaps due to the adrenaline that was still coursing in his veins. After the shock of being in a brawl, because let’s face it… it was like they had been in a WWE ring fight, his eyes flew over to Ximena.

“How could you?” he accused, his hoarse voice echoing in the office. His eyes were filled with hurt, anger and…tears?

Ximena marched over to him and shoved him. “What are you accusing me of, Dos Santos? He kissed ME not the other way round!” she screamed at him in frustration. Come on, she had told the guy that she was in love with him earlier and now he was basically making her seem like she had lied and then proceeded to have cheated on him.

“I told you that scumbag was into you but you didn’t listen! You should have just fired him when I warned you about him but no, you didn’t listen to reason. You are, after all, just a goddamned spoiled little brat who thinks she can have things go her way every time,” he spat at her. She made a move to slap him but he caught her hand before it could land home. “Don’t even try that, sweetheart. It hasn’t worked before, and it won’t work now.”

Her nostrils flared, her face contorting in anger. “And you are nothing but an insensitive, conceited brute!” she retorted venomously, simultaneously swallowing back a sob.

He chuckled humorlessly. “Apparently you are in love with this insensitive, conceited brute. Dime (tell me), how do you declare love for one man and then run into the arms of another a couple of hours later? Is it a Dos Ramos thing or…?” he mocked, lips quirking in a condescending smile.

Ximena ripped her hand from his grasp and used her free one to gift him a backhand slap. His head flew to the side, and he held it in that position. She turned her back towards him and motioned towards the door. “Get the hell out of my building before I have security throw you out,” she hiccupped, a few hot tears escaping her eyelids.

When she heard the door slam shut some seconds later, she sunk to the floor and let the floodgates open once again. This time nobody was around to comfort her or tell her soothing words. She felt so alone, even though the whole building was bustling with many people.

As the tears continued to meander down her face, she felt her heart beat spike and it was becoming harder to breath. Quickly rising from the ground, she hopped over to her desk and rummaged her bag for her anxiety pills. Popping two in her mouth, she swallowed before washing them down with a bottle of sparkling water that sat on her desk previously unopened.

She hadn’t had an attack in quite a while but that was only because she had become so comfortable in this bubble of ‘love’. If any she had known that love hurt like hell then maybe she might have made concerted efforts to avoid it at all costs. Now she was feeling shattered both inside and out; and Adriano’s scalding words had left a bitter taste in her mouth.

And yet she couldn’t bring herself to hate him. Even after all he had said, she couldn’t be fully angry at him but she couldn’t, however, for the life of her fathom why he had reacted that way? Had she been so blinded by her feelings that she hadn’t noticed that he was indeed a brute?

She gulped softly, and wiped away the remnants of her tears before slumping down on her leather swivel seat. “So, where does that leave us now?” she asked out loud, holding her head in her hands.

If only she knew that after today, nothing would ever be the same again.

***

As soon as Adriano entered Ximena’s office, he had not expected to see her in a lip lock with that blasted P.A of hers. At first, he had thought his eyes were playing tricks on him but when it finally clicked that it was actually happening, something triggered in his mind. All he could see was red.

And all reason evaporated from his system as adrenaline and rage overrode his better judgement. He was quite sure that if the security team had not intervened, he might just have committed murder right there and then.

He had spent all morning conflicted about Ximena’s confession. In fact, he felt guilty for the way he had responded. It was nonchalant, insensitive and downright stupid. His focus on his workload diminished with each passing second until he had condemned to hell and practically flew out of his office and headed straight to Ximena’s. He needed to apologize to her and to tell her that he did love her too. It took some thorough thinking, deep soul searching until he came upon the obvious; the signs were basically written on his palm.

Why else did he feel like her presence had made him a better man? Why was it that he couldn’t picture himself without her by his side? Why was he eager to please her, to listen to her, to adore every subliminal quality about her? Not only had she invaded his sense, but she had become a vital part of his existence, so much so that the thought of losing her was tantamount to losing his oxygen supply.

But what had he walked into the moment he opened his door? His wife kissing her assistant!

Even as he drove through the streets of Miami, he felt his heart tighten in an inexplicable agony he had never felt before. Although he wasn’t a big fan of violence, he did not even regret almost killing Dominic. Ximena had said that he had been the one who had kissed her, then he had unquestionably deserved all those blows…but the sneaky little bastard had also done his fair share of damage. His cheek bone and jaw hurt like hell, and he was pretty sure he had a bruised rib or two.

At the end of it all, what he felt was immense shame. For what he had said to Ximena. Sure, she had been somehow wrong to have allowed Dom to kiss her but ultimately it wasn’t her fault. She certainly did not deserve all those scalding words he had spat in her face.

It was in that exact moment that he recognized that he was indeed Humberto Dos Santos’s son.

And he felt disgusted with himself presently.

That was exactly what his father had done to his mother all those years ago and that was the exact same reason why she left him. Did that mean Ximena was going to leave him too? Honestly, he didn’t want his mind to stray in the rotten direction because it was unimaginable. There was no way in hell he would ever what that to happen. Not history would be repeated this time around, hopefully.

It was around six pm when Adriano finally brought his car to a stop. He had been driving around aimlessly for the whole afternoon, he was actually surprised how he had not run out of gas yet. He had driven to a pub that he used to frequent with Santiago but he hadn’t been there in a long time. Exiting his car, he made his way into the little shabby building and the smell of different liquors flooded his nostrils.

Adriano was never a heavy drinker, but just this once he wanted to find solace in alcohol. Sure, it was a terrible idea but he really needed to forget, to be numb and immune to the way his conscience was screaming a hundred things at him per minute. He probably looked haggard, no doubt, with his wrinkled dress shirt that he rolled up to his elbows and messy hair, not to mention the bruises that were probably on his face.

Taking a seat by the bar, he flagged down the bartender and asked for three shots Vodka. A minute later, the three mini glasses sat in front of him and he wasted no time in throwing them back each one by one in under record time. Grunting at the taste, he savored the feeling of the highly alcoholic pungent flavor. And then he just sat there, gradually waiting for the drink to take its effect.

An hour later, he had taken more than six shots and his inhibition was down to zero. About to order another vodka shot, somebody came and sat beside him. “Take it easy there, darling. You need to save some for the rest of us.”

He turned to see Amanda sitting next to him casually with a small smile. “A-are yo-u following me-e or what?” he slurred, and took out his phone to place it on the counter. There was no way it was a mere coincidence that she had showed up to the same bar as him.

Amanda shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. So, mind sharing why you’re here drinking the night away instead of being with your dotting wife?” she asked with an undertone of mock.

He shook his head and drank one more glass. “As i-if you care!” he scoffed and held his head in his hand, feeling slightly dizzy, the rooming seeming like it was spinning.

“I told you that this little bubble of love you both were in wouldn’t last.”

He began to clap his hands. “Bravo! Y-you might as well be called p-prophetess!” he exclaimed sarcastically and rose abruptly from his seat. “I need to take a piss and b-by the time I come out, I h-hope you’ll be gone,” he spat through gritted teeth. Then he wobbled over to the restroom.

A few seconds after he entered, his phone began to ring. Despite herself, Amanda picked up the cellular device and saw the word ‘Ximena’ flash across the screen. Smiling deviously to herself, she answered the phone.

“Adriano? Where are you?” her voice came out frantic. “I went to your office and the staff said they hadn’t seen you since morning, and when I got home you weren’t there. I tried calling you a billion times but you were not picking up. Please tell me you’re okay.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “He hasn’t been picking up because he was with me, dear.”

***

Ximena removed her phone from her ear and checked if she had dialed the right number. Of course, she had, but who was it that had picked up the phone? “W-who is this?” she responded shakily, trying to keep her eyes focused on the road ahead. It was well past seven and she had taken to the road to look for her husband.

“It’s Amanda. We met at your wedding, remember?” she drawled haughtily. Ximena’s heart beat stalled before he started back up erratically.

“Where’s Adriano?”

Amanda laughed arrogantly. “He’s in my shower. Said he had to cool off after we made love about ten minutes ago. I must say, he’s still as energetic as I remembered…” she trailed off.

Ximena swallowed the huge lump forming in her throat. No, no this can’t be. It just couldn’t be true. Amanda and Adriano…together? Since when, since how? Tears pricked her eyelids and she bit her lip in anguish. So, he had run off into another woman’s arms, one he had known for some time it seemed. She had had a hunch that there was something going on between the two, but having the theory proved was not something she had anticipated.

“Before you stupidly ask, Adriano and I have known each other for some time now. In fact, he was mine before he was ever yours. And judging by what we just did, hmm, he still is mine. He has tattooed himself all over my body and heaven knows he’s an expert at that. But you wouldn’t know what that’s like right? Because he’s never been with you. And you know why? Because he doesn’t love you; he loves me. I thought I’d give you a little enlightenment. Don’t expect him back any time soon, sweetheart. We might have a couple more rounds tonight. Bye now, Ximena.” And then the call ended.

Ximena let the phone slide down her face and onto her seat. Her hands shook furiously and her vision got blurred by the tears that threatened to spill and the black dots that were beginning to form. If only she had looked to the side in time, she would have seen the truck barreling towards her.

A loud crash was heard, before the darkness submerged her.

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