23
“You think you’re so special, don’t you, Aletta?” Stefania’s voice dripped with venom, her eyes blazing with hatred. “Born from a woman who couldn’t even hold onto her own husband. My mother stole Papa because she was better, stronger, and more deserving.” She paced in front of me, her movements erratic, the gun in her trembling hand a constant reminder of my precarious position.
“So what are you?” I countered. “Proud of being born by a woman who whored herself for a married man and
broke a family?”
“Nevertheless, Papa married my mother…” Stefania sourly smirked at me. “And that made us family and yo e just an outsider.” She laughed.
I kept my breathing steady refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing my pain remembering all she and her mother did. “You can keep saying all you want, Stefania,” I said, my voice calm despite the storm of emotions raging within me. “For your satisfaction, why not? But you know as well as I don’t give a fuck with family drama. And your obvious misery? It’s not my fault if Lorenzo ditched you. That’s your problem, not mine.”
Her grip on the gun tightened, her lips twisting into a bitter smirk. “How dare you? After everything I’ve been through… everything I’ve lost because of you!”
“What have you lost, Stefania?” I challenged her, leaning forward despite my restraints.
2:03 PM ₫ ₫
The Second Dhanizm
She’s deranged for her reasonings were no more valid. She’s illogical. From despising me because Lorenzo wanted to marry me and not her, and now to our family’s poor situation
“Tell me, what have you lost?!” I continued bitterly. “The endless favoritism from Papa? The love and attention he showered on you while I was ignored and treated like an outsider? Was it, Stefania?! Huh?! You were always the favored one and yet you were never happy! You’re sick!”
Stefania flinched, the words hitting their mark, but her rage only deepened. “You don’t get to judge me!” she screamed, raising the gun to point it directly at my head. “You don’t get to sit there and act like you’re above it all when you’ve been nothing but a thorn in my side!”
“A thorn?” I laughed bitterly “You think I wanted any of this? I didn’t ask to be born into a family where I was a second thought, where your mother’s lies destroyed what little peace we had left. You don’t know what I’ve been through, Stefania! And you never will because you’re too consumed by your own self–pity to see beyond it! And what now? Pitying yourself again? Is this some kind of your tantrums? Or probably, you are just mad because your perfect little world is falling apart? Huh?!”
Her hand wavered, the gun shaking slightly as tears welled up in her eyes. For a moment, I thought I’d gotten through to her. But then the sound of footsteps outside shattered the fragile tension.
Stefania’s head snapped toward the door, her expression hardening as she realized what was happening. “Oh! He’s here!” Her twisted smile spread across her face, “Our dear Lorenzo, right?” She taunted. “The great savior of mine had come to rescue his true princess that he let to be a damsel in distress because he was manipulated by
me.”
My stomach churned. Of course, he’d come. Lorenzo always swooped in at the last possible moment, playing hero in his own carefully.constructed narrative. Once, I might have felt relief at the sight of him. Now he was just my ex–a man who’d been too blind to see the damage he caused until it was too late
The door burst open with a loud crash, and there he was–flanked by two of his men, his expression a mix of fury and desperation. His eyes locked onto mine, and for a fleeting second, I saw the guilt buried beneath his anger. The guilt of a man who had spent years favoring the wrong person.
this now.”
“Stefania,” he said, his voice sharp and commanding. “Let Aletta go. Stop t
Stefania laughed, the sound hollow and manic. “Oh, Lorenzo. Always so predictable. Running to rescue Aletta now like you did with me over and over when she was still your supposed bride and I was just her sister vying for your attention!” She gestured at me with the gun. “But you see, this doesn’t end until I say it does.”
“You’re outnumbered,” Lorenzo said, stepping forward cautiously. “You can’t win this, Stefania. Drop the gun, and I promise no harm will come to you.”
“No harm?” Stefania scoffed, her voice breaking. “Don’t insult me, Lorenzo! I know how this world works. The
second I let my guard down, I’m as good as dead!”
Lorenzo took another step forward, his movements slow and deliberate. “It doesn’t have to be that way. Trust me,
we can end this peacefully Please, Stefania.”
I saw the cracks forming in her resolve, the way her fingers twitched and her eyes darted between Lorenzo
me. But before she could make a decision, chaos erupted. One of Lorenzo’s men lunged forward, trying to disam her. The gun went off with a deafening bang, the bullet ricocheting off the metal wall and narrowly missing me.
In the chaos, Lorenzo rushed to my side, pulling me out of the chair and shielding me with his body. Stefania, clutching her arm where the gun had been wrenched away, let out a scream of frustration before bolting toward the back exit. Lorenzo’s men gave chase, but I knew–even before they returned empty–handed–that she had escaped.
“Aletta,” Lorenzo’s voice was urgent as he turned to me, his hands gripping my shoulders. “Are you okay?
I pulled away from him, brushing his concern aside. My mind was a whirlwind, Stefania’s words echoing in my head My fear for Matteo clawed at me like a living thing. I couldn’t ignore the venom in Stefania’s voice when she
mentioned her “friend” and Matten
203 PM c c
The Second Chance for Mary Runamay de
mentioned her “friends” and Matteo.
“Where are you, Matteo?” I whispered, the ache in my chest threatening to overwhelm me.
Lorenzo’s expression shifted–confusion giving way to a pang of something deeper. He watched me, his jaw tightening as the silence stretched between us.
“You really want my forgiveness?” I asked, my voice sharp but trembling under the weight of everything.
“Yes,” he replied hoarsely. His usually steady demeanor cracked, his eyes filled with a mixture of guilt and longing. “That’s all I want, Aletta. For us… for
“There’s no ‘us,‘ Lorenzo I cut him off firmly, but not unkindly I saw the way his face fell, the hope draining from his eyes, leaving behind the shadows of a man who had realized too late what he’d lost
He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I know,” he said softly, regretting every word. “I know there’s no undoing what’s been done. I just… I thought maybe…” He trailed off, his voice breaking slightly.
“But,” I continued, softening my tone, “you can still be forgiven.”
His head jerked up, his gaze locking onto mine. A flicker of hope, fragile and fleeting, crossed his features before it was quickly tempered by the weight of reality.
“Help me find Matteo,” I said.