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It was then that I realized, I had been standing with my mouth hanging open as I gawked at him. He briefly smirked then lowered his eyes once again to whatever he was concentrating on. His face became solemn.
“Everything okay?”
“Hmm,” he hummed. Reaching for the picture of Mimosas, he poured us both glasses as he narrowed his eyes on mine. “I just cannot figure something out.”
“Like where your servants are?” I teased.
“I wanted privacy with you.”
“So, what can’t you figure out?” I mused. “Maybe I can help you.”
“I doubt that, bella, but thank you,” he chuckled, tossing the file on the table causing the corner of a photo to slip out.
“Who's in the pic?” I casually wondered aloud.
He took a sip of his mimosa, rolling his eyes. “My brother,” he growled.
“Awe,” I giggled, “can I see?”
He bowed his head in approval, pushing the folder closer to me. Reaching over, I slipped it out, flipping it right side up. Immediately, I gasped, dropping it on top of my plate.
Valentino's eyes widened as he quickly snapped, “What? What’s happened?”
“Um,” I choked and clarified, “This is your brother?”
He nodded, interrogating me in a calm tone, “What's going on?”
Tears formed in my eyes. I could not breathe as the world began to spin. He shot up out of his chair, stepping around the table to me. Kneeling down next to me, he placed my hair behind my ears. He cupped my face in his palms.
“Bella, what's wrong?!”
12 Secret Revealed
She began to shake as if a sudden chill had come over her entire body. As she looked up toward the sky, a single tear rolled down her soft, flawless cheek. Why did she get upset so suddenly? I knew my brother made me angry, but I did not realize he had that effect on others as well. I wanted to question her, but I did not bother yet. She needed me to be silent and present for her at the moment.
“I need to leave,” she sniffled.
Placing my hand on her knee, I decided to shamelessly plead with her. “Bella, please tell me what's wrong.”
Taking a shaky breath, she lowered her eyes to the ground as if she were both ashamed and scared. Tears dripped into her lap as she fidgeted with her fingers. She squirmed in anxiety, unable to speak. Cupping both of my hands around hers, I noticed they were cold and slightly clammy. After another few agonizing moments, she returned her gaze to mine. I acknowledged her with a gentle smile to let her know she was safe, and it was okay.
“He’s my ex-boyfriend,” she managed to choke out a little louder than a whisper.
I am sure from her point of view, I turned pale. It was now my turn to panic. All the blood drained from my face as I rocked back, sitting on the ground next to her chair. Bending my knees, I propped my elbows on them as I buried my forehead against my palms. We were both silent for what seemed like an eternity, with only the sound of birds in the trees and her sniffles every so often.
“My brother is your ex-boyfriend?” I confirmed as if it has not quite settled in yet.
Trying to hide my confusion, I peered up into her eyes.I rocked up to a kneeling position next to her, placing my hand on her arm. Her eyes focused on mine as she nodded. I sighed.
“He is,” she admitted.
“I--,” I began, trying to find a sentence. Any sentence at this point would do, but I was in fact incredibly speechless at the moment. I tried again, “I just--.”
She took a deep breath then began to cry again, shuddering, “It was not a good experience.”
My thoughts started to shift to my brother. What did he do to her that warranted this reaction to only his photo? I stood, taking her hands in mine. I pulled her up from her chair into my body, immediately wrapping my arms around her. She was still shaking but leaned her head onto my chest.
I did not know what to say to her. For moments, I remained silent, only holding her. She sobbed into my chest before her head slowly rose. I reached for her face, wiping away any tears with my thumbs.
