Chapter 135
“HL” Zabelle greeted with a smile on her face.
“Hi, come in,” Nivera said, stepping aside to let her in.
The inside of the house was just as inviting as the outside–soft lighting, comfortable furniture, and the faint scent of vanilla candles.
Zabelle let out a shaky breath, feeling a little of the tension in her chest case
“Make yourself comfortable,” Nivera said, gesturing to the couch. “Want something to drink? Tea? Wine? Water?”
“Wine sounds good,” Zabelle said, sinking into the sofa.
“Good, I myself was just about to get drunk,” Nivera said and Zabelle chuckled.
She nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. She returned a moment later with two glasses of red wine and the wine bottle after which she handed one to Zabelle before sitting down beside her.
“So,” Nivera said, studying her with a mix of curiosity and concern. “You sounded like you were close to crying on the phone. What’s going on?”
Zabelle hesitated, swirling the wine in her glass. She didn’t know if it was a good idea to tell Nivera but what happened was eating her deep and she needed to talk to.
“It’s Antonio,” she finally revealed, her voice barely above a whisper.
Nivern raised an eyebrow but didn’t interrupt. The emotion on her face told her Nivera wasn’t surprised.
“He’s been hiding things from me,” Zabelle continued, her grip on the glass tightening. Needing the energy to continue, she gulped the wine down in one go.
“Okay, you’re going to have to slow down. I don’t know if you have a high alcohol tolerance, Nivera cautioned..
“I don’t” Zabelle sighed.
“Then that’s enough,” Nivera stated, placing the wine bottle out of Zabelle’s reach. “Now what kind of things was he hiding?”
“Big things. He was married before. And he never told me. I found out today, in the most humiliating way possible, right in front of his parents just as he told them not to say a word to me.
Nivera’s expression morphed into one of shock. “Married?”
“Yes,” Zabelle nodded, the word biner on her tongue.
“How’s that possible? The media didn’t carry such news”
“It was secret and if Antonio doesn’t want something getting out, there’s a high chance it won’t.”
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s like the same with Alejandro Nivera sighed. “But go on.”
“It was pretty big as he even thought she was expecting his child and he didn’t think I deserved to know. He says he was going to tell me, but Lord knows when that was going to happen.”
“That’s a lot.” Nivera said carefully, her tone even
“It is,” Zabelle agreed, her voice breaking slightly.
“I just–bow am I supposed to be happy with that kind of situation? He knows everything about me, but I feel like I don’t know him at all. And the worst part is.”
She trailed off hesitating
The worst part is?” Nivera prompted curiously.
Zabelle took a shaky breath. “The worst part is I feel jealous, and it makes me feel like a bad person as his ex–wife is dead,” she admitted, her cheeks flushing.
“I know it’s irrational, but I can’t help it. I hate the thought that I wasn’t the first woman in his life, the first he cared about. And now I don’t even
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know if what we have is real
Nivera reached out and placed a hand on Zabelle’s arm. “It’s not irrational,” she said firmly,
“It’s human. You’ve been blindsided by something huge, and it’s natural to feel hurt–and
“Im trying hard not to.”
and angry, and jealous. But don’t beat yourself up for it.”
“Hey, at least your husband’s ex–wife is dead. Alejandro’s exes are still very much alive!” Nivera hissed sharply, her eyes suddenly dark, and it was her turn to gulp down her alcohol.
“Okay, I’m going to take this now from you so you don’t hurt yourself with it.” Zabelle said when she noticed Nivera gripping her glass tightly.
“Do you want to talk about it?” She then asked and Nivera first shook her head after which she burst into anger.
Zabelle quietly listened to what Nivera had to say and together they both bashed the heirs of the Garcia family, and after they were done, they decided to watch a movie to forget their frustration.
“Hey, thanks for letting me vent,” Zabelle said softly after they had finished their movie marathon
h
was getting late and Zabelle still didn’t want to go home, but she didn’t want to impose on
on Nivera
“Anytime and thank you too.” Nivera said with a small smile.
“And for what it’s worth, you deserve someone who’s honest with you, who treats you like an equal. If Antonio wants to fix this, he’s going to have prove himself. And if he doesn’t”
She shrugged, her expression turning grim. “Then he doesn’t deserve you”
Zabelle let out a biter laugh. If only it was that easy to get rid of Antonio. “You’re right,” she however said. “You’re absolutely right.”
Before either of the women could say anything else, there was a knock on Nivera’s door
“Are
you expecting company?” Zabelle asked just as Nivera got up to open the door.
“No. I’m not Hold on.”
Zabelle leaned back against the couch, and she decided to use that opportunity to check her phone, as she hadn’t checked it since she arrived at Nivera’s house.
As soon as she opened it, she was hit with different texts from Antonio,
“I’m sorry, Zabelle. Please just come home so we can talk”
“Zabelle, please talk to me. I know you have every right to be mad but please, talki
k to me.”
“Zabelle, you’re not a pawn to me and I know I messed up. I’m sorry, come home it’s not the same without you
She felt her heart melt as she read his texts. The fact that he was apologizing was saying a lot considering the fact that it was Antonio. She was still mad, but now she was willing to talk to him.
“I told you, I don’t want you here!” She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Nivera’s voice.
Zabelle quickly got up from the sofa so she could see what was going on. When she got there, she saw that it was Alejandro whom she was talking
“Hi, Zabelle,” Alejandro greeted her without taking his eyes off Nivera.
“Hi, Alejandro” Zabelle greeted back.
“Go away, Alejandro.” Nivera shot at him.
“Antonio is outside. He’s here to pick you up.” Alejandro informed her, ignoring Nivera’s words
“Oh,” Zabelle muttered under breath as her eyes glanced at Nivera. The latter seemed pretty upset about Alejandro showing up and considering what she told her, she had every right to be.
She didn’t want to leave Nivers alone, but she also just couldn’t leave Antonio outside.
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Chapter 133
“Go. Zabelle, you and Antonio have a lot to talk about,” Nivera turned to face her.
“Are you mire?” Zabelle asked as her eyes darted from Alejandro to Nivera
“Yes, I’m sure,” Nivera nodded and gave her a reassuring sinile.
Zabelle smiled back before going to get her purse. “I’ll text you when I get home,” she said to Nivera as she passed by her.
“Okay.” Nivera said.
“Alejandro,” Zabelle nodded curtly and he also did the same. She then stepped out of the mansion,
Hopefully. Nivera was able to survive Alejandro. As soon as she was out, her breath hitched when she saw Antonio standing outside the car.
He was still dressed in the clothes from before but unlike earlier, he had removed his suit jacket and loosened his tie.
His hair wasn’t combed back again, and it looked disheveled as though he had run his fingers through them a lot of time.
Good, he deserved it. Zabelle thought to herself.
“How did you know I was here?” Those were her first words to him when she got to the car.
When Antonio didn’t say anything but said everything, a bitter chuckle escaped her lips.
“Of course, you tracked my phone,” she exhaled sharply as she was reminded of just how powerless she was especially when it came to Antonio.
“Zabelle,” Antonio called in resignation. “You weren’t answering my texts.
“Because I didn’t want to speak to you,” Zabelle retorted and Antonio sighed.
“You have every right to be mad, but let’s go home and talk,” he said.
“Where’s the driver!” Zabelle inquired.
“He has taken the car back to the mansion. I’ll drive, Antonio told her as he opened the passenger door.
Zabelle knew she didn’t have a lot of options with Nivera dealing with Alejandro and with her having no other way of transporting her, she didn’t argue and got into the car.
Antonio closed the door behind her after which he quickly turned and got into the driver seat.
Zabelle didn’t say anything to him as he started the car and started driving. She wondered what he was going to say to her when they got home.
There was no absolving himself. He had hidden the truth from her and wasn’t ready to tell her.
It made her wonder just what other things he was hiding from her and whether or not he would finally open up.
