Mafia & Miss Honey | Mafia Heirs #1 | ✓

29. Ventinove

She kept struggling to speak for the longest time, her body going to shudders but she was yet to shed any tear. I handed her a glass of water, rubbing my hand over her back, feeling fucking useless.

I was going to murder that motherfucker. I didn't know how to console her so I allowed her to talk it out, So she could move on.

"He was my best friend, Gian..." She hiccuped, her voice turned hoarse. Her giddy eyes became haunted, she gasped for air. I have seen this look on a lot of people in my life but it never bothered me before. I grasped her chin a little harshly to shift her distant gaze to land on me. She looked at me like the younger Zara from 2 years ago, who had drained of all her hopes.

"My brother. He never made fun of me when I had to use training wheels for cycling. He chose me first in games, even when I was a weakling. He taught me how to play Xbox. He was so patient with me. I couldn't just push him..." She finally let tears fall. Her body started to burn up, giving signs of fever.

"T-then... he whispered in my ear that he had wanted me for as long as he could remember and had imagined me while fucking other girls. That broke me, Gian. I was his sister how could he think about me like that. He was only acting on it then because my friends had told him we weren't related. I was so repulsed by him. I was so weak. I tried to push him off but he wasn't having it. So I screamed as loud as I could. I don't even remember who intervened." She shrilled. Blood rushed between my ears, my hearing rang with the sound of numbness.

On a whim, Zara violently began to wipe her mouth and neck from the back of her hand. Remembering the places where he must have touched and kissed her.

I caged her wrists in one hand then held the back of her head, turning her face to look at me. "You are brave, Principessa. So fucking brave. It is difficult to do the right thing when it goes against the people you love and have known for your whole life. He broke that trust, Zara." I kissed her lips, trailing to her neck and the places she had tried to wipe off. I licked and sucked on her skin removing his ghost touch that still haunts her.

"You did the right thing, Zara. He shouldn't have felt that way about you. Ever. And especially not acted over it after finding he wasn't related to you. It was a fucking douchy move."

"But others didn't see it like that." She whimpered, crying again.

"What the fuck did they do to you?" I growl, my grip on her hand tightened. I saw fucking red. I know what high schoolers are capable of.

"They gave me that dreadful high school experience, Gian. Everyone's feelings were hurt to see their heartthrob get rejected. I was shunned and ridiculed by them. They taunted me. Said things about... I was not allowed to sit anywhere in the cafeteria."

"I took every chance I had to go with my parents. To bury my head in the sand.." She chuckled.

"I stayed clear of Noah's family. But my own parents were out to torture me emotionally. They again started to bring up Lara's name in every conversation. I simply answered that I didn't wanna meet that woman who had abandoned me and they called me heartless, Gian." She bawled.

"I thought it will die down after summer break. I was wrong, all hell broke loose on me. They had the entire summer to prepare. The taunts turned vicious. Whisper turned out into loud accusations. And when our team lost the first match of the school year... I was surprised, I came out physically unharmed. Because I was blamed instead of Noah's alcohol obsession he had grown accustomed to that summer. Not because he was heartbroken, I used to stop him from stealing bottles from my uncle's bar. Never talked to him if he raked off alcohol around me."

"The final nail in the coffin was the presentation we all were supposed to give. The crowd... the things they were saying. I panicked, I had an anxiety attack and I vomited... in front of everyone. In the middle of the stage. It went viral."