Nora looks up at me. She has no makeup on, so black isn't running down her face, but her tears are slipping into her mouth as she stutters.
She slurs her words together, "D-dantesaidthatyou—" she hiccups. "—don'tcareabout.... aboutoursafety,"
Tell her the truth, pussy. No. "It's not the first thing on my mind, yeah," I lie.
Fucking shit. Are we going back to square one? Lying to esch other?
"He said you're only worried about yourself and not me so therefore you don't care at all because you know you're safe."
Sweet talk her. "You've been the first thing on my mind since the day I met you."
I've always been good at manipulation. It just feels fucking stupid lying to the woman I fucking love.
"Okay, Zach—but—"
I stop listening when I get a text message from a certain girl that Nora doesn't know about. Her name is Ximena.
Ximena is Dante's cousin and we're using her for some fucked up shit—like me pretending to cheat on Eleonora. I've been afraid to tell Nora about this because she's... how do I say this nicely?
Nicely. Nicely. Nicely. Insecure.
She's insecure, and if I told her a five foot eleven Latina figure skater had to pretend she was having sex with me, she'd probably dig a whole in the core of the earth and throw me in it. Then, she'd wait to hear the splat to make sure i was dead.
I don't even think that would even satisfy her enough. I'm pretty sure she'd then throw a blow torch down there too, even if it meant blowing up the entire planet.
I wouldn't even blame her.
That's all a joke, but I wouldn't put it by her. Eleonora is definitely at her breaking point—she always has been, she just didn't know it until I pushed her to know it.
Dante, Ximena, and I all think whoever came after me is going to put Nora in harms way, so we're going to pretend I don't care about her—at least in public, and I'll being Ximena out with me to clubs and stuff.
It's harmless lying that could only cause harm if it got out. It's not fucking getting out.
Does the Collins girl know about this?
— X
Excuse me? Her only job is to pretend she likes me. Why does she feel the need to ask questions?!
I angrily message her back: Don't refer to my wife as the 'Collins girl,' Ximena. You refer to her as her name. If not that, then my wife. She's also no longer a fucking Collins.
You're deflecting. Answer my question, Zachary. I don't like when people beat around the bush like a pussy. — X
My eyebrows narrow. I think Ximena and I might be too alike for this to work out. Just when I'm about to tell her to fuck off, Nora taps my shoulder.
"Are you listening?" she whispers.
Oh great. Already fucking up, Zachary. I say what I want to say anyway.
"El, we're not getting a fucking divorce." That was true. "I just have a lot going on, okay? I don't feel like what happened is a big deal. Alright?" That was false.
She stares long and hard at my stone cold face. She gives me a weak smile to let me know she believes me. She fucking doesn't.
She thinks I want to divorce her. She thinks she's a liability. She thinks I don't want her.
Yet I don't blame her. These are all things I've said before. I accidentally told her to go get raped by her cousin, once.
I had an idea of what "he touched me" meant, but Nora was so innocent I thought she could've been hit and was saying she was "touched." Rape was the last thing I even wanted my brain to think.
But I knew eventually. Made me want to kill him. So I did. I'll never forget the horrified look on her face when she saw him crossed off in her family's files.
She nods. "Okay," she sighs before looking around the room. "Do you wanna...um...sex? Movie? Nap?"
I snort and cup her face in my hands. "Do I want to sex? I don't think your grammer is quite correct, Nora, baby."
I think one of her eyes twitch. "I'm trying to make you less upset with me."
"I'm not upset with you. And don't you ever think the only way to make me feel better is by giving me your body."
She smiles weakly and more tears well in her eyes.
My heart squeezes and I flinch. I'm sorry, baby.
She opens her mouth but quickly closes it again before speaking. "I'll see you later. Get back to work, okay?"
I nod and stand up. "I love you."
She nods and throws her self back on the bed. I don't even try to get her to say it back.
I walk downstairs. "Tell Ximena to be outside her house in ten minutes."
Dante gives me a thumbs up and takes out his phone.
☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆
Ximena walks up to the car in stilettos, one foot in front of the other in a "Yes, I've walked for Vogue" kind of way.
My eyes narrow at her open white cropped button-up that showcases her navy blue navy corset tube top. She has the audacity to wear a denim mini skirt with this.
She knows she's pretty. Good, because I don't plan on telling her.
Has she seen Nora? Nora is beautiful. I'll show her when she gets in.
She steps into the car and carefully sits, making sure not to flash me.
"H—" I begin. But she catches me off guard by putting her hand up, silencing me.
She catches me so off guard, I actually silence myself. My lips part in astonishment. What the fuck?
"First of all," I try.
"I don't care," she huffs over me before I can finish my sentence. "I didn't like the way you ignored my question about Eleonora. Apologize."
I sit up straighter and turn to her, attempting to tower over her, but we were the same height with her heels and incredibly straight back.
I lift my elbow onto my seat. "And I didn't like the way you called me a pussy. Apologize."
She turns to me and also lifts her elbow. "I called you a pussy because you acted like one. Fucking apologize or I call her and walk away. It's clear you were too much of a coward to tell her about this."
My blood was bursting with anger. "Blackmailing me?" Threaten her back. "What if I tell your fiancé?"
She smiles. She fucking smiles. She puts her long acrylic nail on my nose. I assume to intimidate me.
"My fiancé knows." She sits even straighter. "In fact, he fucked me just before this. I needed to have the taste of him left on my tongue to make remember whose I was at the end of the day."
What the fuck? I wasn't winning this. I sat straight and put the car in drive. I started going 86 miles before she could even put her seatbelt on.
She smiles and puts her feet up on my dashboard, her three-inch heels on my window. My eye twitches a little.
She opens her window and pulls her phone out. She begins taking photos of herself with the wind blowing her hair and her tongue out.
I swerve and she drops her phone. She gasps, "you bitch! We'll look like nothing more than bickering fucking cousins if you keep fucking with me."
I simply laugh. This is for Nora.
☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆
[ A/N ] : Guys I'm just gonna post chaps when I finish them. Don't expect them all the time, okay? I can't let the pressure get to me again like it did last time. Hope you understand! (Word count: 1.3k)