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The mansion was quiet that evening, and it was the kind of silence that pressed in on Nivera until even her own footsteps sounded too loud against the marble floor.
It seemed all the helpers had retired for the night. She had already been back from the photoshoot for hours, had forced herself to <b>take </b>a nap, and had even distracted herself with some light reading.
But still–her chest was heavy.
Yesterday, she had paced, worried sick that Alejandro hadn’te home. Today she told herself she wouldn’t.
She told herself she didn’t care. And yet, when the clock struck seven, and she heard the front door click open, her heart leapt into her throat.
Alejandro.
Her first instinct was to look away, to head into the kitchen and get herself a ss of water, something simple to upy her hands, to distract from the way her stomach knotted at the sight of him.
Without a word, she turned toward the kitchen, intent on pretending she hadn’t seen him. But then his voice cut through the silence.
“So,” Alejandro drawled, his tone sharp enough to slice. “How was lunch with Damon?”
Nivera froze mid–step. Slowly, she turned. His figure loomed, his suit jacket still on, his tie loosened<i>, </i><i>a </i>storm smouldering in his eyes.
She wasn’t surprised in the slightest that he knew, and deep down, she knew he was going to confront her about it.
“Excuse me?” She, however, chose to feign innocence.
Alejandro’s lips curved in a humourless smile. “Don’t insult me by pretending I don’t know. You had lunch with him. In public.”
For a beat, she said nothing, trying to pick her words.
“It was just lunch,” she managed, her voice even.
“Just lunch,” he repeated, scoffing. He stepped closer, each stride deliberate. “Is that what you call it? Running off with another man while you’re here under my roof?”
“You’re <i>not </i>that na?ve. Do you have any idea what it looks like? What people would say if they saw you with him?” Her chest tightened. Something in her snapped at the sheer audacity of the man standing in front of her
He had ignored her callsst night, dismissed her this morning, and now–now he dared to scold her?
Her chin lifted. “What does it matter what it looks like? Two friends having lunch, if you ask me. Besides, we’re not a real couple, Alejandro.”
His eyes narrowed dangerously. “The whole world thinks we are. That makes it matter.”
“Oh, for God’s sake!” The words burst from her, raw and furious.
“Do you hear yourself? Yesterday, you told me to stop behaving like a wife waiting for her husband. And now? Now you’re acting like one–when there’s nothing between us!”
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Taking a deep breath, she continued. “Because I’m dating you in the eyes of the public doesn’t mean I can’t be seen with a man especially when that man is connected with my work, so stopman, overreacting!”
The room seemed to reverberate with her words.
Alejandro’s jaw tightened. His eyes glinted with a cold, unyielding fire, “Watch your tone, Nivera. “You’re still in my house?
“No,” she snapped, stepping closer. For once, she didn’t shrink back.
“You don’t get to control everything I do. I don’t give a damn that I’m staying in your house–you don’t own me. I’ll eat with whoever I want, wherever I want. And you can choke on your pride if you think otherwise.”
His nostrils red, his hand twitching at his side as though restraining himself from mming it against something. “You think this is about pride?”
“What else would it be about?” she red. “Because it sure as hell isn’t about you caring–you made that very clear yesterday.”
The silence that followed was deafening. His re was a sword; her defiance, a shield.
Just as the tension was about to explode, the front door opened.
Both their heads snapped toward it, the tension thick in the air. Footsteps echoed, and secondster, Marceline stepped into view<b>. </b>
Her sharp eyes swept the room once–and instantly picked up on the storm that had just passed.
Her brows lifted. “Am I… interrupting something?”
Nivera, still brimming with anger, forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Not at all, Marceline. Wee.” She shot a subtle nce toward Alejandro, daggers hidden behind her p
Marceline studied them both with quiet suspicion before lifting the bag in her hand. “I brought dinner. It’s be since I visited. Thought I’d surprise you. But I think I came in at a bad time.”
Nivera seized the opportunity to get away from Alejandro. “No, you didn’t. Why don’t we have dinner together? It’ll be lovely.”
She shot Alejandro a quick, venomous nce before turning back to Marceline with warmth as she led her towards th dining table.
Alejandro said nothing, his jaw set, but he followed regardless.
Marceline and Nivera ced the dishes across the surface–carefully packed meals from a fine restaurant, their scents filling the air.
The three of them then sat at the table minutester.
Everything seemed okay, but beneath the surface, the air simmered with unspoken words.
“So,” Marceline began, her tone bright after they had begun eating, “how was the photoshoot, Nivera?”
Nivera smiled. “Good. Tiring, but good. It was the final day today, and I can’t wait for it to get unveiled to the public.”
Alejandro gave a short, derisive sound. “Final day. Let’s hope it was worth all the effort.”
Her head snapped toward him, her smile freezing. “Oh, it was. Every second.”
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Their eyes shed–venom beneath porcin smiles.
Marceline’s fork paused midway. She nced between them, her lips pressing into a line.
Nivera turned back to her with a forced smile. “The team was amazing. Celeste especially–she’s always such a delight to work with.”
“Yes,” Alejandro drawled. “Delightfulpany. I wonder if Damon was as delightful.”
Nivera’s fingers tightened around her fork. Her jaw ached from the pressure of her smile. “Oh, Damon was wonderful. <i>Very </i>thoughtful, as always. “At least some men know how to value a woman’s presence.”
That hit the spot as Alejandro’s hand tightened around the ss.
“What happened between the two of you?!“Marceline asked.
The pair turned toward her in unison, both pasting on identical, fake smiles.
“Nothing’s going on,” they said almost at the same time.
Marceline didn’t believe a word of it, and her gaze darted between them, her lips pressing into a thin line.
As dinner went on, she tried to lighten the atmosphere, but every attempt bounced as the couple refused to make up.
The only good thing was that they stopped throwing jabs at each other, but the downside was <i>that </i>they stopped talking to each other.
By the end ofended, Niveradisappointment was palpable.
When dinner ended, Nivera excused herself with a polite smile, leaning down to hug Marceline. “I’ll head up to my room It’s been a long day. Goodnight,” she said softly.
Marceline squeezed her hand. “Rest well, dear. You’ve earned it.”
Nivera nodded, sending onest sharp look at Alejandro before heading upstairs.
As soon as her footsteps faded, Marceline turned.
Her son was leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed, and his gaze fixed firmly on the table as though it might vej m
Marceline’s lips pressed together. “What in God’s name was that?”
Alejandro’s jaw clenched. “Nothing.”
“Don’t you dare lie <i>to </i>me.” Her voice was sharp and filled with steel. “The air at that table was so thick I could choke on it. What did you <i>do </i>to her?”
His jaw flexed as he spoke, “She was out of line.”
“Out of line?” Marceline’s voice rose. “All I saw was a young woman trying to hold her ground against a man who should know better. You. I didn’t raise you to treat a woman this way.”
He exhaled sharply, dragging a hand across his face. Of course, his mother would take Nivera’s side over his.
“She’s reckless. She doesn’t think. She puts herself in positions that could destroy her reputation–and mine. What was I supposed to do, apud her?”
Marceline’s eyes softened, though her voice didn’t. “Oh, Alejandro. This isn’t about reputation. This is about you. About the way you can’t bring yourself to admit what’s staring you in the face.”
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His head snapped toward her, fury shing. “What?”
“You’re not angry she’s reckless, even though I highly doubt she is, you’re angry because she was with this Damon Who <i>I’m </i>guessing is a threat to you and her rtionship.”
“He’s not even worth the ground that I step on.” Alejandro hissed in annoyance.
Marceline looked at Alejandro long enough for him to mutter a <i>“</i>what”
“You are madly in love with her, aren’t you?”
Alejandro shot to his feet, pacing, his fists curling. “I am not-”
“You are!” Marceline’s voice cut through his denial. “I see it in every re, in every word. You try to push her away, but you can’t stop watching her. You can’t stop caring. And it terrifies you.”
His throat tightened, rage and denial wing at him.
Marceline rose, stepping closer, her voice softening. “Alejandro. You know you’re not your father?”
He froze, as his mother hated mentioning his father.
“You are not him, Alejandro,” she pressed, stepping closer. “You are not doomed to repeat his mistakes. Stopting the ghost of that man control you. Stop punishing yourself, and her, because you’re afraid of what <b>it </b><b>might </b>mean to feel”
“You’re overreaching,” was all he managed to say.
Her eyes shone as she smiled sadly.
“You’ve been so afraid–afraid that if you let yourself feel, you’ll be him. That you’ll destroy the woman from way he destroyed me. But listen to me–you are not him. You never will be.”
His chest heaved, his silence loud in the space between them.
“If you keep running, if you keep pushing her away, one day she will leave you. And when she does, you be suffer. Not her, because by then she would have mentally pulled <i>away</i>.”
“No, I do…” he started, but his mother continued.
“Imagine a world without her in it. Are you happy in it, or does it make you annoyed?”
The words struck like blows. A world without Nivera. He didn’t want to imagine it.
She reached up, cupping his cheek, her thumb brushing the bruised skin there. “Go and apologize to her. And this time, mean it. Stop hiding behind your fear.”
For once, Alejandro had no words.
“This is all I’ll say. But you continue and she does choose to leave you, I’ll be in support of her, not you.”
Marceline then pressed a kiss to his temple, then stepped back. “Goodnight, my son.”
She left the dining room, her soft footsteps fading, leaving Alejandro standing alone in the silence.
Alejandro stayed rooted in ce, his mother’s words echoing through his mind, igniting an anger he couldn’t direct at her.
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