Page 42 of Game of Revenge

He moved out of the way, closing the door behind me.

“What’s wrong?” he questioned with a frown.

“I need to know why I am here,” I said calmly, turning to face him.

“Why all this questioning again?” he asked frustratedly, walking away from me, shaking his head.

“Can you really blame me for wanting to understand?” I pleaded.

He took a couple of seconds.

“No,” he admitted, turning back to me. “No, I can’t. But I can’t tell you anything. Isn’t it enough that I don’t treat you badly?” he asked, his voice getting deeper. “Can’t it be enough that you are safe under my protection?”

“No, Alejandro. No, it can’t, and you know that. My real life is not here; it’s in California. My friends and my fiancé are all probably worried sick. My life is on hold right now because I am here, in some sort of limbo, with no idea of why or how to get out of it. You must put yourself in my place.”

He shook his head, his eyes closed for a bit. He walked to his dresser, picked up something and walked back to me.

“Here you go.”

He handed me my engagement ring. I looked up to his face and was met with coldness.

“Take it,” he said between clenched teeth.

He opened my fist and put it in my palm. I closed my hand and gave it no mind, my attention only focused on him.

“Why did you have it?”

“Karina had no right stealing it from you. I know you found it in my office,” he explained.

I had forgotten about the ring, too troubled by the pictures at the time to care.

“But why are you giving it back to me?”

“You miss him, right?” he asked with a tight jaw and pursed lips. “You miss that guy?” Closing the small space that was between us, his gaze burned through me, stripping me to my core.

“No, not this again.” I sighed. “I just…I just can’t allow myself to…to feel…if I don’t know,” I admitted with tears burning my eyes, my throat tight.

Alejandro cupped my face in his hands, our foreheads touching, his breathing getting heavier, a grave expression on his face, his eyes half closed.

“Tell me, mi niña. Tell me how you feel,” he whispered against my lips. “Tell me what you need.”

My throat was closing, tears rolling down my face. When he talked to me like this, all I wanted was to lose myself in his embrace, pretend this was just a nightmare, everything but him and me in this moment.

“Don’t cry,” he whispered, kissing my tears away.

He grabbed my lips with the most tender kiss we had ever exchanged, causing more tears to come out. I put my hands on his sides, gently pushing him.

“I saw pictures in your office,” I finally confessed.

Alejandro took a step back and turned, shaking his head.

“Fuck,” he muttered, bending his head in frustration. “What did you see?”

I could feel his anger, so palpable, as I stared at his tense, broad shoulders, and I wondered if I had made a mistake. Was this the part where he would choke me the way Juan had wanted? I swallowed a few times. It was too late to backtrack.

“Tell me!” he shouted in a deep voice, turning around and grabbing me by the arm.

“Stop it!” I screamed. “Let me go!”