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Only for my daughter.
Calina's pov
My back facing him, I dressed in front of him, wanting him to see the bruises on my body, and at least feel a little guilty for what he did, if it was possible considering his non-existent conscience.
I could feel his gaze burning on my skin even if my back was facing him. Once in a lifetime, luck was on my side as he didn't push things further, after kissing me.
But I knew he would do more than just kiss me if they weren't waiting for us downstairs for dinner. As I turned around, I yelped, seeing him standing right in front of me.
Instinctively, I took a few steps back to create more space between us, but he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer before leaning down and snuggling his head into the crook of my neck, giving me the shivers, the bad ones.
"You don't know how much I missed you," he said, leaving little kisses on my neck as I literally shuddered with disgust with every kiss on my neck.
"Please don't touch me," I said quietly, but loud enough that he could hear me while I stood frozen in his embrace.
"Why? Why are you so difficult?" he asked with a huff, pulling back to look me in the eye. "Why can't you just accept me? Why do you keep fighting me? Don't you see that I'm trying to make us work, but if you keep fighting me you won't just make this relationship difficult for me, but also for you. Just give in and accept me, accept that you are mine! Then, everything will be better!"
I looked at him with tearful eyes. He was really delusional as there was no us and relationship, there never was.
"I can't give in to you, I can't accept you, and I certainly can't love you because I'm still not insane, Raphael, I'm still sane," I muttered, trying to explain the mental him why we couldn't work, "and my sanity can't love her abuser, you hurt me too much."
"But if you give me a chance I can make us work, I can fix all the problems between us, if you just give in and accept me," he tried again, making me sigh.
"You can't fix us, and you can't make us work as you can't turn back the time," I said sadly, "and stop yourself from raping me, using me as your punching bag for months after you kidnapped me as you were so sure that I killed your brother, and you can't undo how you forcibly made me your surrogate! How do you expect me to love such a man? Huh? Because the only feeling I've for you is hatred!"
"If you could put aside all the grudges you hold against me, then, maybe you could feel something else too," he claimed. And I realized how delusional he was considering that he had whipped me hours ago and was standing in front of me now, telling me not to hate him.
"I can't, I'll always hate you!" I told him firmly.
Before I could process what was happening, he hit me hard in the face. The impact made me scream and fall on the bed.
Then, he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to my feet before I could get up. I could feel the anger radiating from him, and I didn't care if he got angry every time I told him I hate him.
"I really try, but every time I take a step towards you, you open your smart mouth and bring out the worst in me which makes us go two steps back in this relationship," he hissed at me as I could taste something metallic on my lips, realizing he busted my lip.
"There was never a relationship, except the one in your delusional head! Stop being self-delusional, Raphael, and accept that we, I am a victim, and you my perpetrator," I mumbled, not holding back. Chuckling madly, he grabbed my face, making me look at him.
"Don't tell me you're a victim, Calina, when you've made yourself one. Stop blaming me if you're partially to blame for everything that happened. Keeping the truth to yourself has caused you all this pain, not just me," he hissed angrily at me, victim blaming me.
(A/N: He's victim blaming her.)
"Sure, it's my fault, because I told you to rape me, torture me, and make me your surrogate, right?" I asked him with a bitter smile. "Oh, wait! Right! Sorry! I also told you to flog me yesterday! Everything is my fault because I didn't tell you the truth!" The sarcasm evident in my voice.
Before he could say anything back, someone knocked on the door. His attention shifted from me to the door. "Yes," he said before the door opened and a maid came in.
"Sir, Mr. Graham sent me to ask where you were as he is expecting you for dinner," she said to him.
"Right, we're coming," he said to the maid, before pulling me closer and kissing my head. "Let's go, darling."
As we walked into the dining room, I thought about how he went from being mad to gentle, deceiving everyone around him, only showing me the devil in him.
We entered the dining room and saw everyone already sitting and eating at their seats. "We got hungry, therefore, me and the girls started without you guys," Draven said, digging in his food.
"Mommy! I missed you!" Zia got up from her seat, running towards me, hugging my legs tightly. "I missed you too baby," I muttered with a frown, taking her in my arms.
Raphael took his seat at the table, and as I wanted to put Zia back at her seat, she didn't let go of me, clinging with her little arms around my neck. Therefore, I sat down with her on my lap at the table.
"Are you alright?" I asked my daughter with a frown. Looking at me, she nodded her head, but kind of looked sad. However, I noticed that her eyes were a little red and her nose red.
"Are you sick?" I asked worriedly, putting my lips on her forehead to see if she had fever. Quietly, she shook her head, looking at Raphael intimidated as the maid started to serve us dinner.
I tensed. What the fuck did he do to my daughter? "Did daddy do something?" I asked her, not caring that his business partner was with us. If he hurt my daughter, I'd not hesitate to leash Hell on him.
"I wanted to do my nappy time with you, but daddy said no!" she mumbled sadly, looking at Raphael intimidated. I sighed in relief, I thought he hurt her.
"Because you're a big girl and big girls do their nap time alone, right?" he asked her, and she hesitantly nodded her head.
"I am a big girl too, but I do my nappy times with daddy!" Lucy butted in. "Then," Rapael claimed, leaning a little over the table, looking at her, "you're not a big girl."
The girl glared back at him, before grabbing the chicken on her plate and throwing it at Raphael's face, making me gasp.
"You little brat!" Raphael gritted out madly, wiping his face with a tissue. "You are a brat!" the girl almost screamed back. "And you're mean! And ugly!"
"Lucy baby, we don't throw food, we eat it," Draven told her, wiping her hand with a tissue. "I don't like him," she mumbled to her father.
"I really suggest you discipline her," Raphael told him annoyed. "Nah, she's fine the way she is," Draven claimed, tousling Lucy's hair.
"You—" Raphael cursed as she now threw a tomato at him.
"Lucy, I told you we don't throw food!" Draven said scoldingly now while Zia giggled on my lap. Looking down with a smile, I kissed her head.
"Alright! I'll not sit here and tolerate this any longer," he said with his jaw clenched, looking at me, "let's go."
"Where are we going, daddy?" Zia asked curiously. "You stay here, your mother and I have some adult things to take care of," he said and she looked at me, clinging on me.
"Mom? Can I come with you too?" she asked me, intimidated by her father. "No," Raphael cut in before I could say anything. "Mommy?" Zia asked again.
"I said no, and if I say no, the matter is closed and there is nothing more to discuss, understood?" he asked her annoyed, almost screaming.
"Keep your voice low on my table," Draven said with a snort before looking at Zia. "And why do you want to do adult things anyway? I can tell you that adult things are boring, staying here and playing with Lucy would be more fun, you can go swimming in the backyard, the weather is fine."
Now Zia looked hesitant and tempted by his offer before nodding her head in agreement.
"You want to send three-year-old kids swimming in the backyard? Don't you think they're a little bit too young to keep them unguarded?" I asked him bothered.
"Calm the fuck down, Mama-Bear. Lucy's nanny will be with them," he told me, looking from Zia to me, before frowning. "What the hell happened to your face?"
I touched my lips when Zia asked, "What does fuck mean?" I huffed as this was the second time he cussed next to my daughter.
"You want to explain what this word means, Mr. Graham?" I asked him upset.
Seriously now, I tried my best to keep my daughter from using bad words but it was like impossible for her not to learn them, since she had to dine with a certain moron.
"It's a word dad uses when he's angry, but we can't use it because only adults can use it," Lucy explained Zia, making me gasp.
And this was the second time a toddler explained a toddler a bad word. In all honesty, he really needed help by parenting.
"Look," he said, motioning to Lucy. "My daughter explained it to her. Now I want my explanation. What happened to your lips?"
I looked at him as Raphael's words went through my head, knowing he hates drama, I said, "I hurt myself a little while we were doing some adult things last night. I guess I don't have to go into details?" I looked at the children.
"No need, I am glad you are enjoying your stay in my house," he said with his mouth full. Someone really had to teach this man some manners.
"We do," Raphael said before getting up from his seat and looking at Zia. "We're going to go now and I expect you to behave well, okay?"
She nodded her head, not daring to talk back to him, which was not really the case few days ago, making me wonder if there reason was a specific reason for her obedience.
But now I really had neither the energy nor the time to pick into this matter as we had to leave. I needed to gain my health back to fight him back.
Smiling, I kissed Zia's heas, before getting up, and making her sit in the chair.
"I love you, I'll be back very, very soon, I promise," I told her. "Okay, I'll wait for you," she muttered.
As I was about to pull back from her, I saw Lucy looking at us, almost admiringly, what made my heart ache. I wondered what had happened to her mother.
I bet he killed her or she killed herself as death sometimes seemed more pleasant than spending your life with men like him.
After all, he had a reputation like Raphael and was known for his twisted and cruel deeds.
I smiled at Lucy before leaning closer and kissing her cheek, which made her blush and smile a little. "Maybe we can play with Lucy's dollhouse when I get back?" I asked them and they nodded eagerly and happily their heads.
"Calina!" I heard Raphael call behind me, which made me sigh and pull me back from the girls. "I'm coming!" I said and went to the door where he waited before we left the mansion and went to the car.
All along, my thoughts were at my daughter, was Draven a man Raphael could really trust enough to trust him with my daughter?
IN THE MEANTIME
ITALY
Esmeralda's pov
What do people do if they don't get what they want or are unpleasant by some events?
They strike.
And that exactly what I was doing, a hunger strike. I didn't know if he'd care if I was starving, but I know he cared for the life inside me as he brought me back to civilization because of our baby.
He didn't visit me recently, making me think he had his hands full with business as Raphael left the country. But I knew he'd visit me sooner or later, if the maids informed him about my striking.
Lying on my side, I waited for him for days now, praying he'd come. I had to convince him to take me to my son before Raphael returned and became a potential obstacle for me, convincing his brother to take me back to the fucking island.
I came back from my thoughts as I heard the door open, followed by some footsteps. Then, I felt the bed next to be dip, and a hand on my bicep.
"The maids told me you're not eating, Esmeralda, that's not good for the baby," I heard Alessandro say.
"I'm sorry I'm just ..." I sighed sadly. "You're what?" he asked me. "You feel sick? Like throwing up?"
Turning my head sideways to look at him, I shook my head in a daze. "Then what?" he asked me with a frown.
And I burst into tears, turning back from him, placing my head back on the pillow, and burying my face into it.
"Baby? What's wrong?" The audacity of this bastard to ask this question after making me suffer, and considering to do so.
He pulled me closer, making me sit on his lap as my face was buried in his chest now.
"Talk to me Esmeralda," he told me calmly, his hand running up and down my back.
Sniffing, I looked up at him with sorrow, whispering, "I just miss him so much, Sandro. It's been years, besides of missing him growing up, I missed his scent, his smile and how he said mama."
"Is that why you're not eating? Thinking I'd take you to him when you hunger yourself? Don't you think about your other child while doing such a foolish thing?"
"That's not what I'm thinking, you're gone almost for days, and I have no one to talk or do except looking at my bump is growing," I denied, and even if it was dumb from me to do so, risking my other child, I just wanted to see Leonardo,
"and it reminds me how I was pregnant with Leonardo, and I can't stop thinking of my son, his missing presence makes me feel like I cannot eat."
"I had a lot to deal with since Raphael left, I'll try to be more there for you," he claimed, and it seemed like my assumptions about the reason of his absence were right.
"I understand, could he solve the issue? And reunite with his other child? When will he come back?" I asked him curiously, resulting in him looking at me blankly.
"Alright, I get it, you still don't trust me," I sighed. "I'll tell you if you eat," he claimed, surprising me, nodding his head towards the nightstand where a tray of food was.
Looking from the food back to him. Then, I felt the bile risk up in my throat, making me gag. "You alright? You want me to carry you to the bathroom?" he was already picking me up.
"No, I'm good," I told him, feeling better, "but I can't eat, I really have no appetite ..."
Tiredly, I put my head on his chest, wondering how Raphael had a second child from Calina. Even if I was curious about and starving, I was determined to stick to my plan.
I was determined to get my son back.
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