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In fact, this energy of contentment and happiness hovers over the room, suffocating me a little and intensifying the need within me.
Speaking of need, obsession, and love. “Where is Jimena?”
“She’s running a little bit late.” Aunt Esme frowns and opens her mouth to add something, when the sound of heels clicking against the marble echoes through the space, and in a second, everything fades away from me but the sight of my woman.
She’s wearing a long white dress that hugs her body in all the right places and accentuates her tan skin while the ruffles around the waist hide her little baby bump, causing a rush of possessiveness to flow through my entire system.
I want to rip off the material and show everyone she’s pregnant with my baby. Compared to stupid hickeys, my mark on her is permanent.
Her dark locks fall down her spine while her eyes are filled with worry and panic that contrast with her overall glowing demeanor. “Hi, everyone.”
“Hi, honey. Come sit down. They are going to serve the food now.”
“I have to make a little announcement, Mom.” She catches my eyes, and the air hitches in her throat. She stills but then shakes her head. “It’s very important.”
Everyone tenses, and by how my friends and their wives, excluding Santiago but including Briseis, glance at me, I know they are all expecting her to announce her pregnancy.
It’s okay, because I was going to tell them myself.
My brave girl decided to do everything on her own.
“What is it, honey?” Dad asks her, leaning on the table and watching her. “Tell us.”
That’s when we hear heavy footsteps, and Mom gasps when Maxwell joins us, smiling broadly, and Grandpa asks while alarm bells start to go off in my head, “What the hell are you doing here?”
And my blood boils while rage consumes me when he puts his arm around Jimena’s waist and winks at her. “We’re going to get married soon.” He grabs her hand and kisses it while she swallows hard. “Consider it love at first sight.” And then he places his splayed palm above her baby bump—my baby bump. She tries to remove it when he drops the bomb. “We’re expecting a baby, so we’re a bit in a hurry.”
“Oh fuck,” Octavius and Remi curse at the same time, something they never do in our families’ presence, as the ringing in my ears starts.
My cousin just put a claim, not only on my woman but my baby as well.
This fucker, the son of the man who had an affair with my mother, just came in and dared to touch what’s mine.
“You have one second to remove your hand, Maxwell, before I rip it off.” My deadly voice fills the silence around us, and the tension becomes so thick, you can cut it with a knife. “One.” And since he doesn’t comply, I get up so swiftly, my chair falls with a loud thud, and I lunge at my cousin, punching him straight in the face as women gasp all around us.
He stumbles until his back hits the wall, blood dripping from his nose, but he still keeps his grin intact. “What is it, cousin? Are you angry with me for taking responsibility where you failed?”
I wrap my hand around his throat and squeeze it so hard, I cut off his oxygen supply. “How dare you touch her? Or my baby?” I punch him again and throw him on the floor, hating that he doesn’t do anything to defend himself. “What did you do? How did you force her into this?” My woman would have never agreed to this bullshit otherwise, and the idea of him threatening her in any way only intensifies my rage while the beast inside me wishes for one thing.
His endless blood until he has none left and dies, and even then, my resentment for him daring to touch what’s mine and claim them publicly won’t fade away.
“Stop it, Florian! It was my decision!” Jimena shouts, and I spin around to face her. “I want to marry him.” She sounds as convincing as a drug addict promising to stop using after one last time. “I do.”
“That’s not going to happen, Jimena.” Without thinking about our surroundings, I cup her cheek, tracing my thumb over her skin while covering her baby bump with my hand, loving the feel of my baby inside her. “Tell me, and I’ll fix it.” She trembles in my arms, and I press my thumb on her chin. “What is it, baby girl?”
She opens her mouth to answer when my best friend speaks up, and his voice is akin to thunder shaking the sky. “She’s pregnant with your child?” Jimena freezes, and I put her behind me as Santiago gets up slowly while everyone else, my godparents included, just stare at us. “My baby sister is pregnant with your baby?” He walks around the table, each step an announcement in itself, and I see our best friends standing up as well.
Although his question is rhetorical at this point, I know my answer will forever change our friendship, or maybe destroy it.
Because he’s not asking me if I touched her. He already heard the confirmation on that.
He just asked me if I betrayed him by daring to touch his baby sister.
“Yes.”
His fists clench and unclench while his face darkens, and his voice drops to a deadly tone. “You son of a bitch!” One of his fists lands on my cheek as I stumble back. “Fucking bastard.” Another fist and I start to count as he pushes us farther back toward the hallway.
I’ll give him ten punches. He deserves ten punches for me lying to him for years, going behind his back, making our friends lie to him as well, and for him finding out this way.
