Page 26 of Ruthless Vengeance
When I open the door to the office and step out into the hall, I collide with Lila.
“Whoa, we should get you a bell or someth?—”
Her eyes widen when she looks at my face. “Clara, what’s going on? Are you okay?”
I shake my head, wiping the back of my hand across my cheek.
I was hoping I would be able to sneak back to my room unnoticed, but now that she’s here, I’m not sure Lila is going to let me go without me telling her what’s wrong.
“No, not really.”
Without hesitation, she loops her arm around my shoulders and leads me toward the stairs. “I’m in the mood for some cocoa with extra marshmallows. Why don’t you join me?”
I don’t have the energy to fight her, so I let Lila guide me down the stairs and into the kitchen.
As we pass the huge windows in the foyer, I glance outside and notice that Marco’s car has already gone.
A strangled sob escapes me, and Lila tightens her arm around my shoulders.
I let Lila sit me down at the table as I continue to sob quietly.
She moves around the kitchen, grabbing a pan and the milk and getting to work making us some cocoa.
Though, even when the sweet smell of chocolate fills the air, it does little to calm me down.
Marco left.
I wrap my arms around myself as tears fall down my cheeks and onto the tablecloth, leaving dark spots in their wake.
How could he think what we had was a lie? That I would use him like that?
The thought makes it feel like my heart is being ripped out of my chest.
I truly believed I had lived through my worst nightmare when Alfonzo took Zoe, and then again when Tommaso held a gun to my head. But this is ten times worse.
“You don’t have to talk about it.” Lila slides an overflowing mug of cocoa across the table toward me before taking a seat. “But if you want to talk, I’m a pretty good listener. Just ask Rosa.”
Maybe it’s the kindness in her voice or the fact that I’m falling apart at the seams and need someone to help me gather up the pieces, but I tell her everything. About Ben, about how I found out he was working with Tommaso, about how I lied to Marco…
Lila listens patiently, her face a mix of sympathy and surprise as I talk. When I eventually finish, she lets out a long breath and offers me a warm smile. “Wow. That’s...a lot.”
“Tell me about it.”
She stirs her cocoa. “You know? I think Andre might be able to help. He’s good at getting Marco to see sense when he’s like this.”
I nod slowly, though at this point, I’m not sure Marco and I can be fixed. “Thanks, but I don’t know if it’ll do any good.” I swipe some whipped cream with my finger and pop it into my mouth.
“It has to be worth trying. You and Marco are meant for each other, Clara. I truly believe that.”
So did I, but now I’m not so sure.
I swallow past the lump in my throat and try to blink back tears.
I appreciate Lila trying to help, but this isn’t the first time I’ve kept something from Marco. Not telling him the truth about Ben might just be the final nail in the coffin.
“Let Andre talk to him, and if that doesn’t work, then Marco will just have to listen to me because there’s no way in hell I’m goingto let him throw away the best thing that’s ever happened to him.”
I shake my head. “I already kept Zoe from him, and now this…” I let out a breath. “How is he going to be able to trust me? I wouldn’t if I were him.”
