CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
THE RULES OF SELINA
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
I was never optimistic. My mind was constantly filled with backup plans in case something didn't go according to plan. I had to be prepared. After all, I was a Maxwell. The number of people who were jealous of my family's fortune was impressive. From the beginning of my childhood, I've had girls throwing insults my way because they couldn't bare to see me living my life, the life I was given. But this, this was unlike anything I've ever encountered.
I knew the very second Anisa walked into our lives, that she was going to cause drama. But I would have never expected her to do something so cold and heartless.
In my entire 21 years, I had never felt the wind knocked out of my chest the way it just had been. My lips were dry and I couldn't speak—I couldn't move. There was a video of me having sex in the hands of the wrong girl? She started to get on my nerves, she was messing with the wrong fucking girl.
"How?" My voice was weak, I was still processing my emotions. Ricardo pressed his lips in a line, and slowly took a step away from me. The cool zephyr brushed against my skin and I crossed my arms to bring warmth to my body.
"Anisa never arrived in the morning. She arrived the night we were having sex in my living room, and that's when she took her video. She said she was so angry that she couldn't even look at me so she booked herself a hotel nearby,"
"Then she realized she could use it to her advantage," I whispered, running my hands through my dark hair. Ricardo looked into my eyes, his honey brown eyes replaced by darkness. "She wants me to go back to Spain with her. Said something about starting my father's legacy once again, and living the old life we had together,"
"What?" I asked, before shaking my head. My emotions were now all over the place, I had never expected this to happen. "But I don't want you to go back to Spain,"
He pulled me closer, and our lips connected for a small kiss. Our tongues danced gracefully and our bodies clashed under the moonlight. When we broke apart, our foreheads touched slightly.
"If it's the only way to protect you—," He whispered, his eyes holding mine. "Then I'll do it in a heartbeat,"
"There has to be another way," I whispered, before I smiled to myself. "My parents,"
"Fuck no,"
"My mom is an attorney and she deals with shit like this. My dad helps her on cases all the time. They can help us," I said but he only shook his head.
"I'm telling them,"
"Don't you think it's fucking inappropriate meeting your parents like this? How do you think this makes me look?" He said, placing his hands on the railing behind me, trapping me in between.
"Who gives a shit!" I said, my voice louder than I intended. "My parents are the secret weapon. You need to trust me. Anisa needs to be taken care of,"
Ricardo seemed shocked because there was a look of astonishment in his orbs. Something told me he didn't expect me to take this into my own hands but this was now personal.
"I'm not going to let her win. She may have started this but I will end it with my heel in her neck,"
The next morning, Mom and I walked into my father's office after breakfast. She placed a cup of coffee down in front of him and he thanked her, his eyes traveling back to the papers on his desk. A few maids were cleaning his office and she politely asked them to leave. When they closed the door after them, she sighed. "Reid, we need to talk to you,"
He lifted his head, his eyes bouncing between me and Mom. "What has she done now?"
Placing my hands on my hips, I tilt my head to the side. "I have you know I was particularly innocent in this situation,"
Leaning back in his chair, he narrowed his eyes. Mom and I sit in the chairs in front of his desk. She noticed my discomfort and placed her hand on mine. "It's okay, sweetheart,"
I send her a nod, before facing Dad again. "I... um," I cleared my throat. "There's a sex tape of me with a man,"
There was a suffocating silence suddenly. No one said anything and the office was so quiet, that you could hear a pin drop. Nervously, my eyes bounce to the bookshelves, his paintings, and the fireplace. Dad chuckled suddenly, taking a sip of his coffee. "You want to explain yourself before I have an aneurysm?"
Playing with my fingers, I look down. "I met this guy and I've been seeing him for the past few months. His name is Ricardo, he lives in Savannah, and I went over to his house. What I didn't know what that his crazy ex-girlfriend was outside the window filming us. Now, she's threatening to release it,"
Dad clenched his jaw, pulling off his glasses and rubbing his temples. When he mumbled something under his breath in Italian, Mom stood up and walked over to him. She sat in his lap because she knew he couldn't get upset if she was near.
"Selina, how could you let this happen? You're a celebrity now, people are going to want to throw your name in the dirt,"
"I know, I'm sorry. I should have known better. This is all one me, Dad but I need your help fixing it. I can't let that tape get out,"
"And it won't," He said, before looking at Mom. "We'll make sure of it,"
An awkward smile placed itself on my lips, my leg beginning to bounce. Pulling out a piece of paper and a pen, he started asking me questions. "What is the name of the ex-girlfriend?"
"Anisa... That's all I know,"
"And the name of the man?" He asked, writing it down on the paper.
"Ricardo.." I smiled to myself, a small blush coating my cheeks. "Ricardo Romeo Rodriguez,"
"And the name of his parents? I want to meet with them,"
Feeling my throat tighten, I mutter the words, "His mom is dead and his dad is in jail."
"Okay... How old is this Ricardo?"
My lips parted. I could either lie to my father or tell him his actual age which I knew he would lose his shit over. But I knew he would find out if I lied, and I would be in even more deep shit now.
"35," My voice was barely a whisper. Dad's eyebrows narrowed together, and his lips parted. "Jesus fuck, Selina,"
"It sounds bad but—,"
"This man is 14 years old then you are! He knew exactly what he was doing, taking advantage of you. When I find him, you better fucking believe he will be dealt with!"
"Dad, It wasn't his idea. I was the one who pursued things with him. This is all my fault,"
"I don't give a fuck. He's a grown man messing with a child,"
"She's not a child anymore. She is a grown woman too and she is perfectly capable of making her own decisions," Mom mumbled and I sent her a small smile.
"She shouldn't even be having sex at this age, she's too young for all that shit," He said and I sank back into my seat.
Mom giggled, throwing her head back. "So let me get this straight. At 13, you were in a gang. 14, you killed your father and went to Juvie. 16, you started smoking weed. 17, you met me and we were very active, but she's 21 and it's a problem? Reid, come on now,"
He ran his hand through his hair, before continuing to write a few notes down. "How do we handle this?"
"She can be charged on three accounts already. Recording two people having intimacy is a felony. Threatening to exploit it is another felony. Blackmailing is a felony. We could put this girl away for good,"
"I'll have my private investigators find more about her. See what we can find. In the meantime, I would like to meet this Ricardo. We all must meet together before we decide what we're going to do,"
He called Peter, the butler into the office. "Book a meeting with Ricardo Romeo Rodriguez for tonight at 7 pm. He lives in Savannah so he shouldn't be hard to find,"
"Yes, sir,"
Mom, Dad, and I sat in the formal living room, one of the maids placing a charcuterie board in front of us. We were currently waiting on Ricardo who would be here any second. To say I was nervous would be an understatement because I didn't truly know how my parents would react to him.
"And I said her arms looked like tree bark," Serafina walked inside, with her phone pressed to her ear.
My eyes wandered down her outfit and when I saw she was wearing one of my mini skirts, I cringed. "What the fuck are you wearing?"
"Where the fuck are you going dressed like that?" Dad asked, his eyes narrowing. Serafina ended her phone call, placing her hand on her hip. "There's a back-to-school party at Emory, so I'm going to go. Mom said I could,"
He looked at Mom who only frowned. "Blondie,"
"You told me you asked your father first," She said, and I rolled my eyes. Classic Serafina.
"And you believed me. That's why I'm a professional finesser," She said, placing kisses on both our parent's cheeks before walking off.
"Don't forget to return my skirt, dirt neck," I yelled but she was long gone.
Just then, the doorbell rang throughout the house. Soon, Peter walked inside with his hands placed behind his back. "Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell. Ricardo Rodriguez is here,"
Ricardo walked up behind him, wearing a dark dress shirt and the first buttons were unbuttoned, revealing his chest tattoos. His brown hair was slicked back his beard was trimmed. I noticed he looked better than he usually does if that's even possible. He wanted to impress my parents. His gaze traveled to me and I recognized the same longing in his eyes that was in mine.
"There he is," Mom said, standing up from the couch, dad following after her. "I'm Diana, Selina's mother. It is a pleasure to finally meet. She has told me so much about you. I can tell you have quite the impression on her,"
He chuckled, his eyes moving back to me. "Trust me, Mrs. Maxwell. The feeling is mutual," Mom sent me a smile, shaking her hand with him. Finally, it's as time for Ric and my father to meet. I could feel my nerves begin to dance. They stood in front of each other and I noticed how tall they actually were, both were about 6'4.
"Mr. Maxwell. I believe it's time we met," Ricardo stuck his hand out and I chewed on my lip nervously. Dad suddenly raised his hand and punched him square in the face, earning a few gasps from Mom and me.
A few maids turned their heads furiously while continuing to clean. Some of them even started gossiping to each other.
"You fucking dickhead! Did you know how old she was before you slept with her?!" He yelled, throwing another punch. I knew dad was crazy but I never expected something like this.
"Dad, what the fuck!" I said, my eyes growing blurry. He turned to me, and a shiver traveled through my body. Finally, his eyes landed on my mother who only sighed, and he slowly backed away.
Ricardo had a bloody trail leaving his nose, and I slowly pulled myself closer to him.
"I'm fine," He said, sending me a nod. "You don't think I can't handle a few punches?" A chuckle escaped his lips. One of the maids offered him a napkin and he thanked her.
"Why don't we just all calm down and get to work?" Mom said, and we all sat down on the couches. They sat in front of us while Ric and I sat together on another couch. Dad ran his hands through his grayish hair, glaring at the man next to me.
"Anisa thinks I'm at the shop," Ricardo said, and I nodded, grabbing the napkin.
"So when was this video taken?" Mom asked, setting her glasses on the bridge of her nose, and opening her laptop.
"About 1 am," I said. She was doing her whole attorney thing again and I found myself admiring her. "And were any lights on? Anything that can reveal your faces?"
"Yes," Ricardo said, as I cleaned the blood from his nose. "There was a movie but it was showing the credits on his television,"
Mom frowned, narrowing her eyes. "And you're sure there wasn't any other light source because if that's the case, it wouldn't be enough lighting. Sure someone might be able to have seen you but an iPhone isn't going to be able to capture a clear video without good lighting, which you didn't have,"
Realization hits me and my eyes widen. Of course, now it all made sense. Anisa couldn't have recorded a decent video of us because we were basically having sex in darkness. Which meant that she was a lying bitch.
Mom closed her laptop and shrugged. "The tape that Anisa threatens to have isn't good quality. The best thing she could have captured is your bodies but your faces, definitely not enough lighting to capture that,"
Ricardo looked at me, a smirk resting on his lips. "I have to admit. Your mom is badass,"
"Shut your mouth," Dad said, clenching his jaw just as his phone began ringing. He rolled his eyes, mumbling something under his breath. "It's Marcus from the foundation,"
"Is he in charge of the Hospital project or was that Matteo?" Mom asked.
"No, it's Marcus. He's probably going to tell me they need more funding," He said, picking up the phone and walking off.
"You guys are very cute together. Ricardo, I can see you make my daughter very happy, and even though your father isn't on board yet, I'm quite excited to see where this relationship will go," Mom said, pouring herself a glass of water and taking a sip.
Playfully rolling my eyes, I pick up a strawberry and place it between Ric's lips. He kept his beautiful dark eyes trained on me as he took a bite, and I sank my teeth into my lip.
"Don't fucking do that in front of me," I heard the voice of my father, and we quickly broke apart. He walked back into the formal living room and took his seat.
"Now, that this is settled, this relationship is over," I opened my mouth but he only raised his hand. "I don't want to hear it. I'll be damned if I allow this to continue,"
"Reid," Mom said, earning a head shake from him. He turned his attention to Ricardo. "Get the fuck out of my manor and out of my daughter's life! If I ever see you again, I will fucking kill you,"
His eyes moved to me. "Selina, you're grounded forever. You'll only leave the house for your career, that's it,"
"I'm 21! You can't do that," I said, growing angrier with my father.
"I just did. Don't test me," He said and walked out once again, and my heart sank into my chest. Mom stood up and grabbed her belongings. "I'll go talk to him. Excuse me,"
Now, it was just the two of us. Sure, Ricardo and I weren't perfect but I didn't want him to be out of my life. He made me feel emotions never felt in my entire life, and now because of my father, he had to leave.
"I think it's time I head out," He said, breaking me out of my trance, and my lips parted. "But if you leave, you won't be back,"
He placed his hand on mine and kissed me on my forehead, and I melted into his chest. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I just got you back, I'm not letting you go so easily,"
•••••
Reid is so fucking crazy like... Obviously he wants the best for his daughter but this man really punched Ricardo like it was nothing.
Alright, moving on. Currently rewatching Jumanji. The movies are actually so fucking funny like 💀
I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for the support.
- Best, Niki