Chapter 76
Jeremy read the police report on the case he had ordered to be ed against Antonio.
Zabelle was alive, was what it was basically saying. However, if she was alive, why didn’t Antonio debunk the news a long time ago? He asked himself.
Knowing Antonio to the extent that he did, there was no way he would have allowed his reputation and his company’s stocks to be affected if there wasn’t a reason for it.
So what was the reason‘ Jeremy asked himself.
The island definitely had all of the answers, and he wanted ther
It had been weeks, and he hadn’t made any progress in getting Zendaya to be his again. If going to Antonio’s stupid island to get the answer was what it would take to make some progress, then he was willing to do it.
As soon as Zabelle finished having her dinner, she got up and left the table without so much as a word to Antonio. Dinner had been quiet as Zabelle didn’t want to talk to Antonio, and he didn’t want to force a conversation.
He watched her leave without a word and he sighed. As long as she had eaten dinner then she could be angry all she wanted.
Zabelle made her way up the stairs, happy that Antonio didn’t try to talk to her and when she got to her room or rather former room, she looked at it nostalgically.
There was the option of going in and locking the door but Zabele shook her head against the thought. “That’s a terrible idea,” she muttered to herself as she was reminded of Meredith.
Plus, she didn’t want to imagine what Antonio would do to her.
Left with no other option, she made her way to the room she was forced to share with Antonio.
It was dark when she entered, save for the faint glow of moonlight filtering through the heavy curtains.
She didn’t bother to turn on the lights, as she wanted her environment to reflect how she felt inside, dark. There were a lot of things running through her head, and she signed once again.
“At least it’s better than being ignored, she muttered to herself as she remembered her time on the island.
A part of her felt it wasn’t she refused to pay attention to the other part as she needed something to hold on to.
She glanced at the bed which was in the center of the room before moving toward the balcony.
If this was going where she would be staying, she might as well explore it.
Upon getting out, the cold from the night immediately hit her, and she shuddered as goosebumps appeared on her skin, Looking at the sky, she saw that it was dark and it rumbled. It was going to rain soon, she thought to herself.
At least the view was nice as she could see the express from a far distance as well as the buzzing city,
“He’s lying. She told herself as she remembered what he had said about her father. “He has to be lying. My father wouldn’t.. he couldn’t
18:20 Sat, Dec 28 – G -]
Chapter 70
What would he gain by lying to you when all he has done is protect you from them? The voice in her head said, and Zabelle groaned in annoyance.
55%
Not wanting to debate it any further, she turned and headed into the room, straight to the bed. She needed sleep as it had been a long day.
Downstairs, Antonio had moved from the dining table to his private bar, and he had a glass of wine in his hand.
He hadn’t taken a sip, and his thumb absently traced the rim as be stared into space.
The creak of the door broke him out of his thoughts and he turned to look at it as he wonderell who had come in.
He got his answer a moment later when Alejandro entered.
“You look like hell.” Alejandro remarked, as he sat beside Antonio, his eyes immediately moving to the glass in the latter’s hand.
“Dinner didn’t go well?” he probed as he grabbed the glass and gulped down the contents.
“Why are you here?” Antonio probed, ignoring Alejandro’s question.
Alejandro sinirked faintly as he grabbed the bottle in front of Antonio and poured himself another drink. “I was bored in my mansion, and I thought I’d come to see you.”
“Don’t you have Nivera to trouble?” Antonio squinted his eyes at Alejandro.
She blocked me for doing just that,” Alejandro pouted as he shared Antonio his phone.
Antonio exhaled sharply as he could feel a headache coming, all thanks to his brother, “Go away, I’m not in a good mood.” “That’s why I’m here to make you feel better,” Alejandro stated. “Have you told Zabelle about her father?” He probed as he could guess that was what caused Antonio’s bad mood.
Even though they fought a lot, they still understood each other as they had literally been raised as twins.
“She doesn’t believe me. No matter what I say. She refuses to see the truth about her father,” Antonio told Alejandro. Antonio’s jaw clenched as he paused. “He’s the reason we were attacked and the reason she almost lost her life, but no, he couldn’t have done it,” he mimicked Zabelle’s line of thought.
The words hung heavy in the air, but Alejandro didn’t react immediately, as he was analyzing the situation.
Out of the two of them, he was the emphatic one, which was why he was trying to see things from Zabelle’s point of view, “Zabelle’s been through a lot,” he said finally, in a calm voice. “No offence, but I don’t think she’s going to trust you over…” Antonio’s eyes narrowed as he interrupted Alejandro. “I’m not asking for trust. I’m asking for her to wake up and stop defending a man who doesn’t deserve it.”
“She’s the one who has been maltreated her whole life by her family, yet she refuses to fully accept that they are bad people. You think force–feeding her the truth will do that?” Alejandro scoffed.
“Try to understand her. She looks around and sees what a loving family looks like, she yearns for it from her family. Simply accepting that her father was behind the attack will strip her of that hope, and she doesn’t want to let go.”
“You care about her,” he said quietly. It wasn’t a question, but a statement, a truth he wanted Antonio to try to deny.
Antonio sighed as what Alejandro said made sense. “The longer she denies it, the more danger she’s in. They are not fighting for, and she already has me as her family,” Antonio stared.
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Chapter 76
The way Antonio spoke about Zabelle was way different from the way he had spoken about her back when she had just first
met her.
For starters, there wasn’t any anger in his eyes, and his voice was softer. To top it all off, he referred to himself as Zabelle’s family when he had said back then that he had no interest in forming a family with her.
Antonio didn’t respond immediately. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, almost a growl. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is keeping her alive”
Alejandro was right, he had indeed come to care for Zabelle. He couldn’t even hate himself for it, as she had literally put her life in danger for him, even when he didn’t deserve it.
There was just no way he could hate her after that.
The urge to protect her from all evil in her life grew madly stronger after that incident, and if she continued to act defiantly, he wouldn’t mind doing it the hard way.
