Page 107 of Always You
“You lost the privilege of me calling you mom you’re just the woman who gave birth to me. You should’ve just let me fucking… die. I’m already dead inside. You would have done me a favor.”
“I’m sorry, Dominic.”
“You should apologize to Mila; even then, it would not be enough. You robbed her of her parents. An innocent girl, Rachel. You took everything from her. You even took me from her.”
“I know. I’m sorry Dominic,” she said, her voice unruffled. Rachel is the queen of manipulation and mind games.
“You’re not fucking sorry. You went back for vengeance to finish what you started. I will never forgive you for wanting to take her from me,” I shout.
She wipes her fake tears. “There’s more Dominic.”
Fuck.
She sniffles as she wipes her tears. “When you became ill, we had you moved to the clinic in Arizona. I lied to you all. You were never dying, Dominic. I wanted Mila far away from you. When I heard she was moving, it all worked out. She thought you were no longer alive, so I saw my opportunity. I couldn't bear to watch her with you. She was the product of Leo and Mikaela and when she moved to Manhattan, I had someone watching her all the time. I kept a close eye on her to make sure you two never crossed paths again.”
Oh, fuck, fuck goddamn her!My fingers curl into tight fists, and my jaw clenches as dark anger floods through my veins. Heat rises up my neck, and my face burns as bright as crimson.
“All this time you knew where she was? You knew I had a son, didn't you?” My voice bellows with hatred for the woman who gave birth to me.
She nods. “Yes.”
I punch the wall, my knuckles scrap with the force of the cement brick wall. “Did you plan on hurting Mila and my son? Did you really plan on killing her?”
Her cold eyes give no sign of remorse. She really is a sick person.
“No, didn’t plan on it. If you would have stayed with Samantha, none of this would have happened.”
I let out a sarcastic laugh. “I don’t believe you didn’t plan on hurting them. You wanted her dead, Rachel. You’re fucking insane. If I’d gotten there before Liam, I would have shot you myself. As for Samantha, I never loved her. My heart always belonged to Mila, and you were well aware of it. You were determined to get what you wanted at the cost of my broken heart. You used me. You saw me weep for a girl I thought deceived me. You fed me so much bullshit,” I croak, my anger rising.
My own motherusedme as a pawn in her wicked game of destruction. It cost me the woman I love.
“You lied to me, telling me Mila had said I was a burden to her. I let myself believe it, hating her like a fucking fool. I should have known better, she wouldn’t have ever done this to me, because she fucking loved me then, unlike you, never putting me first. What else is there, Rachel? Once I leave from here, it will be the last time you see me, so spill it all out. It’s your last chance,” I seethe, trying to keep my temper in check.
“Before I started the fire, I had been embezzling money from the restaurant. I’ve been doing it at all my jobs. For years.”
No surprise there her lies unfolding now, piecing it all together like a jigsaw puzzle. She lives in an expensive house, of course, now I see it, she paid for Mark’s school, helped put money into Santiago’s shop. And she paid off some of my loans I had gotten when I purchased the restaurant. I pondered how she could afford it.
My eyes stay pinned on the woman next to me, glaring at her with coldness and disgust. The woman who raised us with blood on her hands, no guilt, no remorse for the past twenty-four years. Taking two innocent lives, attempting to take the only girl I’ve loved for her own selfish pleasure. The chair scratches on the cement floor as I stand up. I dip my head down to her level. Her eyes plead, begging for forgiveness.
“I hate you, Rachel. You’re dead to me, you ruined Mila’s life, you ruined my life. And my brothers’ lives. You did it all for yourself. It was always about you. You never cared or loved us enough to put us first.Me,you never put me first. It was all about Rachel. If she can’t have what she wants, you destroy it. Isn’t that right, you disposed of them? You’re disgusting. You deserve to rot in hell. I’ll make sure you never get out of here.”
Resting my palms on the table, I lean in. My hand throbs from hitting the brick wall.
“You got what you wanted. Mila wants nothing to do with me now, she knows what you did. Once she finds out you killed her mom, she will never let me see my son. I’m the result of a murder. She will always look at me as the son of a cold-hearted bitch. The son of a woman who killed her parents. Congratulations, Rachel, you got what you always wanted.”
She reaches for me.
“Don’t fucking touch me. You have blood all over them. Rachel, rot in hell.” I tap the door, and soon enough, Liam appears.
He stands with his mouth gaped open. I’m positive they heard it all. Making my way to the waiting room where my brothers wait. I signal them to the door. I don’t want to spend one more minute of my life in this place.
We sit in my pickup truck, I take a huge, deep breath. They patiently wait until I’m ready to talk. Resting my head on the steering wheel, I sob for the woman I’ve always loved, the hard life she's endured. All because of the woman who birthed my brothers and me. The one woman who was supposed to love us, protect us, destroyed another’s life. My poor Angel was parentless at such a young age. My mother, who knew I had a son all along, looked me in the eye every day, lying to me and betraying us.
My baby, Dante, grew up his first years without me. If Mila hadn’t moved back, I would have never known. I would have married Samantha with no knowledge of having a son. She would have never told me. I ponder about what my mother said—or Rachel, I should say.
Mila and I had a connection with each other from the very beginning. It all makes perfect sense—she’s my soulmate, two souls destined to be together. Our love, our hearts, bring us back together every time. The night at the restaurant seven years ago, I felt it—it was no mistake. Our souls connected as one, as if they were home.
She’s, my home.
