Page 28 of The Twins

It’s better if she doesn’t.

Fuck. I inhale, but it hurts. Grey’s body and mind were the victim that night, but she tore me in half when I witnessed the abuse.

I address the staff. “Give us some privacy, please?”

They scatter across the restaurant, one after the other. I feel their curious gazes on us, but I attempt to ignore them. Meanwhile, Kamila’s man takes up Grey’s chair, and Kamila jumps into his lap.

Who invited them to my confession?

I didn’t.

“San Ricardo wasn’t our first encounter,” I blurt out. I’ve been shackled to this woman ever since I witnessed her being abused in the palace gardens by her then-husband. I lost it at the sight of Grey. Her pain triggered me.

I feel more things than the average guy. It’s a condition I discovered in my early twenties. Before that, I deemed that my panic attacks and random crying sessions were a part of my weaker side.

I’ve spent my life hiding the real me. In school, I played a role. I was the playful kid, the dumb jock. The part stuck with me.

Nobody ever saw me break down in private. I felt everything, and I couldn’t process what it did to my body. I had to pretend to be someone else to survive.

Feeling more doesn’t make me weak, though.

Not anymore.

I’ve been using it against people for years, but that night in Katantia, where my future soulmate was in incomparable pain, I had one of my all-consuming meltdowns.

“What do you mean?” Grey asks, her hand caressing my hair. It’s longer than usual, enough for her to grab whenever we do the dirty. I’ve stopped bleaching it. Now that I’m a taken man, I’ve grown into a mature man.

Not in all areas…

“Be careful,” Kamila warns me. Her fingers shake in her man’s grip. “This might not end well.”

“Don’t I fucking know that?” I retort. Grey shifts on my lap, uncomfortable with how I raised my voice.

“So, you mean to say I went on a trip to… Katantia? With Máximo? And he did something to me?” Grey asks, eager to play the mediator.

“Yes,” Kamila softly replies. “Quite frankly, I believe you were on drugs the whole time. You were distant, and your… that disgrace of a man kept you on a short leash. Excuse my language.”

I nod, and Grey sighs. She confirms, “He kept me glued to his hip… I’ve considered this. I’ve been staying away from substances since I left Ecuador. I believe I’m following my instincts. There are brackets of time that I’ve entirely forgotten about. It’s trauma, but… In all his terror, I believe Máximo was trying to soften the blows by drugging me.”

Kamila snaps. “Don’t ever say that! Don’t excuse his abuse. What he did to you… I-I’ve seen a lot, endured so much. But what he did to you affected me. It made me feel like I was fortunate. I didn’t recognize you because you’ve changed so much. You look healthy, loved. I didn’t put two and two together.”

“And you attacked me because?” I sneakily ask. “I look like another abuser?”

“Yes,” Kamila replies promptly. “You were there that night. You were a guest of my father’s. What are your intentions with… Grey?”

“You barely know each other—”

“I have a duty to look out for other women,” Kamila states. Her man kisses the back of her hand, rubbing her skin with his thumb. He’s filled with pride. “So, tell me the story I’m missing.”

Big Daddy will throw a fit, but I couldn’t care a fuck less. I’ve been sidelined for too long now. “My employer sent me to Katantia to kill your brother Aris.”

“And? Tell me something new.” Kamila playfully yawns. “My father wanted him gone. He’s been victim to numerous death threats.”

“If I hadn’t witnessed what happened to Grey that night, I’d have killed your brother Aris,” I tell her. Grey’s brows are furrowed.

“Well, you didn’t,” Kamila insists, but the twitch of her brow reveals that she cares about the man, although she plays off my past death threat.

“I saw Grey, and I fell in love with her that very first instant.” My woman wraps her arms around me tightly. “I chased after her husband until I found him.”

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