Page 58 of Heart of a Villain

The outline of one of their houses came into view. While they all lived fairly deep inside the property’s borders, having Giorgio and Mo’s house be the first was a strategic move if she ever saw one.

“Tell me more about Adrían,” Ayesha urged. “Do you still love him?”

“I don’t know. I don’t feel much of anything anymore. But I have entire journals dedicated to the life that I wished we could have had. Then, the way he talks to me? The way he treats me? It’s unmatched. I’ve tried to date. I swear, I have, but when I’m with him, I feel…”

The words escaped her.

“Like you’re the only person he could have ever loved?” Ayesha offered.

“Exactly. It’s that way with Joel?”

“Yes, and it’s an odd feeling considering that he and his ex-wife were together for sixteen years. They met in high school, so you’d assume that feeling would be reserved for her. Still, Joel makes me feel like he could have loved no one else but me.” Ayesha paused. “Babe, what happened when Lorenzo showed up at your apartment?”

The house came into view.

“He took two things from me.”

“What two things did he take, Seda?”

“When Adrían and I first met, I wore a niqab. A scarf. It was my mother’s idea, another layer added to hide my identity. Eventually, I got used to hiding. Our first kiss was in the dark. We were feeding each other brigadeiros. They’re his favorite food.”

“Cool. I didn’t know that.”

“I never forgot.” She squeezed the fingers on her left hand. “It wasn’t as weird as you might think, us both being virgins at the time, but the way he kissed me…are you sure you don’t think I’m an idiot?”

“An idiot for what? Still having feelings for him? Don’t forget that I know Adrían. I know how he is, how he can be. If there was anyone I could see someone being in love with for ten years, he would be one of my top choices.” Ayesha parked in the driveway, set the brake, and turned in the seat. “Tell me more about the dark.”

“Me and Adrían, our first kiss with Adrían was in the dark,” she reiterated. “The first time we made love, it was in the dark. We took our time, got acquainted with one another’s bodies, and it was out of this world.”

“How did Lorenzo take that away?”

“I’m afraid of the dark now because of him.”

“What did Lorenzo do when he showed up at your apartment?”

Wren walked through the front door, peeling an orange. Less than two seconds later, Thanasis emerged from the house. Both were barefoot, and they seemed to have come to some sort of accords; Wren offered Thanasis an orange slice that he accepted like a gold nugget.

“I have to get inside to start dinner,” Sayeda said.

She and Ayesha exited the car and waved at Wren and Thanasis as they walked up to the front door.

There, they faced each other.

Ayesha searched her eyes, her brows slack and her teeth nipping at her bottom lip, and it was like looking into a mirror. They were even the same height.

“What do you do, Eesh? For a living.”

“I used to be a therapist,” Ayesha said. “To be honest, I’m thinking about starting up again.”

“So, you can see it? Does it show?”

“Does what show?”

“Can people see what Lorenzo did when he showed up at my apartment?”

They came together in a hug.

Despite telling herself she wouldn’t cry, a few tears fell. More came when the hug tightened, and she inhaled Ayesha’s shampoo. Part of her was already falling in love with these people, this family, and it wasn’t only because of her and Ayesha’s possible hereditary ties. There was something about them, and she loved that blood wasn’t necessary for them to see each other as family.

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