Page 59 of Consequence of One Reckless Night

Chapter Twenty-Four

Raquel lay in bed nextto Alexandre while he spoke of his bond with Leandro, who chose to befriend him even when the rest of his family had refused to acknowledge him.

“Why did the news of Leandro’s wedding anger you?” she asked after he told her about his strong bond with Leandro.

“Because I was jealous.”

She raised herself on one elbow and peered down at him. Alexandre looked angry, but his eyes were sad.

“Why?”

He sat up, and Raquel followed suit, curious to know why he was jealous of Leandro getting married.

“Because Carlos arranged it.”

Frowning, she shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

He was quiet for a long time and Raquel had a feeling he was debating whether to open to her or not. She understood his reluctance—opening to another person was giving them ammunition to hurt you, but she would never hurt Alexandre. She wanted him to trust her, like she had come to trust him.

“Leandro has my grandfather’s love,” he whispered, the words revealing his pain. “He is the golden boy—the Monteiro heir Carlos adores. Whatever Leandro wants, Carlos brings it to him on a golden platter. While he merely tolerates me, my brother’s always had Carlo’s undivided attention.

“I don’t hate Leandro, but I envy him. I want what he has—Carlos’s admiration and respect. For years I tried to win his affection, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t please my grandfather. So I stopped trying—instead, I did everything I could to annoy him.”

“Why would you do that?” Raquel asked, puzzled, his words making no sense to her.

“Because it got me Carlos’s attention.” He grinned with unholy humor. “Everything I did angered him. The parties, the women, the daredevil acts—they all annoyed Carlos. He would often summon me and rebuke me, but I enjoyed our meetings.”

“Why would you enjoy being reprimanded?”

“Because this way, I got to connect with my grandfather.”

“You’re crazy!” She shook her head with disbelief.

He shrugged. “For a man who’s never succeeded in gaining Carlos’s attention, getting it any way was good enough for me. My parents didn’t care about me, so I didn’t court their affection. But growing up, Carlos was kind to me, and I wanted more than kindness from him. I wanted him to care about me, respect me. Love me.”

I love you.

The silent admission was swift and silent as her heart echoed the sentiment. Warmth radiated from her heart to every part of her body, uplifting her spirit. Yes, she loved him. She had fallen in love with Alexandre!

But she was nowhere near ready to confess her feelings to him, so she looked away, not wanting him to see the truth in her eyes.

“I was happy as long as I had my grandfather’s attention because I believed one day, he would begin to care for me,” Alexandre continued, unaware that Raquel had fallen silent, shaken by the intensity of her feelings for him. “Every time he did something for Leandro, I would do something equally outrageous to annoy him. One time, he gifted my brother a Lamborghini and I crashed it, knowing it would drive the old man bonkers, but it was Leandro who was upset with that crazy stunt.”

“What happened?” she gasped, unable to believe that every outrageous thing reported in the papers about Alexandre had all been intentionally done to evoke some—any—reaction from his grandfather!

“I almost died.” His serious tone had her catching her breath. “Carlos was livid that I totaled his precious gift to Leandro, but my brother was devastated. I later learned that he sat vigil by my bedside till I regained consciousness.”

“The marks on your body... are they... from that accident?” she asked, aghast that he had suffered such a violent accident but was infinitely grateful that he had survived.

He nodded somberly. “Brother read me the riot act the moment I came to, and I knew that night that I didn’t want anyone else’s love, not when I had my brother’s. Or so I believed. When I heard about Leandro’s wedding, I realized that I could never be what Leandro is to Carlos.”

“What about the arrangement bothered you?”

“That Carlos cared enough about Leandro to acquire himself the perfect bride. He cared about every aspect of my brother’s life, and though some might find his meddling frustrating, it certainly is because he loves Leandro very much. And it shattered me.”

Raquel clasped one hand around his tattooed arm.

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