Page 38 of Beguiled and Broken

“Get the fuck out! Now!”

Catarina grabbed her bag and looked at me, pausing for a moment as if I were going to save her. When I didn’t, she turned and went for the front door. Bianca followed her, closed the door, and locked it behind her before she turned to me. Gone was the calm Bianca and in her place was someone I had never seen before. She was angry. So angry. I wasn’t sure what had happened while we were gone, but I wasn’t ready for what came next.

“B…” I said in a low tone. “What happened, baby? I don’t understand what’s happening.”

“Vinny, question answer, time. Yeah?”

“Ok, yeah.”

“Did you cheat on me with Catarina?” She looked at me with a straight face.

I felt like someone knocked the wind straight outta my lungs. My face turned up in disgust as I said, “Is that a serious question?”

“Answer the fucking question, Vinny!” She sounded desperate for an answer.

“No, Bianca! I would never cheat on you…period. Not with Catarina, not with anyone. What.the.fuck.happened?” I begged her to answer me. When I took a step forward, she took a step back and held her palm up in front of her to stop me. “Bianca…please…”

“I spent most of the day yesterday telling myself you would never do this to me, to us, and then I read and reread over and over just how intimate you were with Catarina. She details things…she says you made love to her. You called her yours…your Queen. I’m your fucking, Queen, Vinny! Me! She calledmyfamilyhers. Mine!” Bianca was trying to hold back tears while her voice shook. “You made love to her, and she called out your name. How…how could you do this to us?”

“Bianca, I swear on my Nonno and my Papa that I never touched that woman. Never!”

“Why then? Why would she say these things? Why would she do this?”

I tried to walk toward her again but she took another step back. It felt like a knife was twisting in my heart. “Bianca, never…” I needed to explain but I wasn’t sure what to explain or where to start. I needed to tell her about the night I walked in on Catarina, but I couldn’t form words. I stood there watching my wife want nothing to do with me.Speak asshole. Tell her. Tell her everything you know.But no words were coming. My throat felt like it locked shut on me.

Bianca picked up the book, held it to her chest and looked down at the floor. “I want you to leave, Vinny. Get out.”

“Bianca, no. Come on. We need to talk this through. This isn’t us.”

“Vinny, cheating is a hard fucking pass for me. I won’t put up with it under any circumstances.” She sliced her hand through the air.

“Bianca…I DIDN’T CHEAT ON YOU!” My voice was loud, but I was scared, and I just wanted her to listen to me.

She went to the front door, grabbed the handle with one hand, and with the one holding that fucking book, pointed to the other suitcase. “I want you to leave. When I’m ready, we’ll talk more, but right now, I can’t.”

I couldn’t believe what was happening. I grabbed the bag and dragged it behind me as I walked to the front door. Standing directly in front of Bianca, I looked down at her and said, “Bianca, I would never cheat on you. I put that on our kids.”

She started to cry and through a sniffle she said, “I swear to God, Vinny, you better not be lying to me. Go, please, and read this while you’re at it. I want it back.” She held the book out to me.

With that, I grabbed it, turned, and walked out the front door ofmyhome.Ourhome. I left my kids and wife there. I left my entire world there and I tried to figure out what to do to make it right.

When I got in the car, I called Carter and pulled out of the driveway. He was expecting the call because Lex had already told him what happened and apparently already made up a room for me to crash in. I didn’t know how, but I knew I would get Bianca back no matter what it took.

Chapter 25

Vinny

I hardly slept that night, staying up to read Catarina’s bullshit ass diary instead. All those entries sounded like things I had done with Bianca, but Catarina made it out like she and I were cheating together. My head spun all night long and my anger was like lava bubbling up under the surface with nowhere to release.

Part of me couldn’t wait for the morning to come so I could get everything off my chest with the guys. The other part wasn’t looking forward to admitting how big of an idiot I had been. When I finally did fall asleep, I was hoping that everything had been a bad dream. The smell of bacon and eggs woke me up, so I went downstairs to the kitchen that wasn’t mine to greet the family that wasn’t mine.

Cole was sitting at the table too. He stood up and hugged me. “Hey bro. Everything’s gonna be ok. We’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks, Cole,” I said with a worn-out throat. Lex set a plate of food in front of me after I sat down at the table.

She put her hand on my shoulder and said, “I don’t think you did what she is thinks you did, but Vin, somewhere along the line, you left something out.” I looked at her and didn’t say anything. “Your silence tells me I’m right. Fix it. No matter what you have to do, no matter the lengths you have to go, fix it.”

“I know. Thanks, Lex.”

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