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29 / Those Hidden Colors
"Get out."
Those two words were the first things Bryce's mother hissed at my mom the moment she stepped foot into her office.
Not believing this was all happening, my eyes couldn't help but widen seeing Mom act like this. I always saw Mom as the gentle, motherly type of person. Right now, Mom had such a harsh tint in her hazel eyes. The entire look in her face was so grave.
The question that came to mind was how exactly did these two know each other?
My heart raced uncontrollably, not wanting to see my mom get in this conversation. Mom didn't budge from Monica Valentino's warning and continued to move closer towards her. Immediately, I held onto my mom's arm to keep her right by my distance. I gave her a pleading look, insisting not to do anything.
In return, Mom expressed an apology through her eyes. However, Mom's hazel eyes soon darted right back at Bryce's mother.
She asked once more, "How could you, Monica? Even up until now?"
Keeping that cold atmosphere, Bryce's mother folded her arms. Her eyes were narrowing sharply at Mom in response.
"Doesn't this bring back memories, Elianna?"
Mom's eyes flickered slightly until she ignored the remark and questioned with persistence, "I don't consider those memories, Monica. I don't understand why you have to act like this. Why?"
Monica Valentino cringed as she revealed her inner emotions.
"You never stop, do you? Just because I was the one who ended up with Curtis, you always managed to show up in my life again. Why don't you just leave me alone? You and your daughter need to leave my family alone!"
"Don't you care about Bryce's behalf? He cares about my daughter. My daughter cares about your son! Why can't you see that?" Mom retorted back, trying to etch it in her brain.
Bryce's mother shook her head vigorously and screamed out, "I know what's best for my son! Leave my office right now! Don't ever show your faces again!"
Feeling completely hopeless as the two were brawling with one another, I had to stop this from getting any worse. Before I could motion Mom out of the office, I completely froze, seeing the pair who rushed through the office doors.
It was Bryce's father, Curtis.
And, Bryce himself.
The two had the most perplexed expressions as their blue eyes widened in shock, absorbing the whole commotion.
Bryce.
A rush of guilt ran past me, knowing that I broke our promise. I was supposed to be the first person Bryce saw when he got back from the airport. Bryce's icy blue eyes were stuck on mine momentarily before pulling his attention to his mother — they were expressing sorrow and guilt. How I wished I could stop time this very moment so I could hug him after so long.
Having his presence here relaxed me in some ways. Even if right now, there were so many complications.
Curtis Valentino seemed to have done a double take, catching sight of Mom beside me.
His lips slightly pursed as he whispered out, "Elianna?"
Bryce questioned, his eyebrows scrunching in confusion, "What's... going on?"
When Bryce's father couldn't answer, Bryce shifted his eyes earnestly, searching for an answer in mine. I gradually glanced away, not knowing a right way of explaining it.
This was the last thing Bryce needed.
A horrible welcome back committee.
Mom's eyes soon clouded up as she was exchanging looks with Curtis. It was the kind of expression that was hard to comprehend. Yet, it looked like their past memories flashed right before them as they reunited with one another. Everything was just so awkward at the moment. It felt like all of us were biting on our tongues to prevent an answer from escaping.
Grabbing Mom's hand, I slightly murmured, not looking at the Valentino's, "We're leaving."
"Good."
Monica Valentino's cold voice slithered through my ears.
"Monica, what did you do?" I heard Curtis question his wife before we completely exited out her office.
The atmosphere completely transitioned the moment we stepped out. When Mom and I made it out to the parking lot, I quickly composed myself when I found Mason in the driver's seat of Dad's car, windows down. He was waiting for Mom — or the both of us — and his dark brown eyes lit up once he spotted us.
When we walked over there, I asked through a whisper, "Does Mason know?"
In return, Mom shook her head, and I wanted to keep it that way.
"Your faces aren't too happy. Should I be worried?"
Mason's facial expression dropped as he poked his head further out the car window. Shaking in disagreement, I forced a smile.
"We just need a hold on a little bit longer."
Mason's nose wrinkled, observing my face closely.
"Maisie, I'm not stupid. What happened?"
"You don't have to worry, Mason."
"Well, seems to me that something's very wrong."
"Don't worry about it, Mason."
"Don't lie to me. I hate when you do that!"
Mason gave me a slight pout, his eyes yearning for the truth.
"You two, stop that please," Mom interrupted lightly.
Mason glared at me momentarily and I sighed in return, looking the opposite direction.
Mom continued, "Honey, I'm going home with Maisie. We'll talk about it together, okay?"
In reply, Mason slightly grunted before nodding his head in agreement. Once he turned on the car engine, Mason pulled away from the parking lot and went off first. When it was the two of us again, Mom fixed her attention towards me. She already caught the look in my eyes. Mom knew they were also begging for the truth.
As she pulled me into a hug, Mom apologized continuously through our embrace.
Until I heard someone say, "Maisie..."
It was my delivery boy.
Breaking off our embrace, Mom soon gave an apologetic look at Bryce and me before heading inside the passenger's seat of my car to give us our privacy. Taking a deep breath, I couldn't find any words to say to him. It felt like the world had stopped.
Everything was already too overwhelming and having Bryce here felt so unreal. Right now, it seemed like Bryce was only a figment of my imagination. Bryce reached out to hold my hand, making me shiver a bit despite the warmth he was giving off.
"Maisie, don't go. We can fix this. I can work things out."
My stomach knotted up, taking in Bryce's voice. It has been three weeks — three long weeks — and he was finally back home. Instead of a sweet reunion I dreamed about, the untold truth just had to be revealed.
How wonderful.
Gazing up at him, I gulped down hard before muttering out, "Bryce, can't you see that everyone is getting hurt?"
His jaw clenched momentarily before answering, "Nothing will happen anymore. Let me talk to my mom about this. I'll tell her to fix what she did."
Shaking my head, I pressed, "She's never going to stop Bryce! I don't know what happened between my mom and her, but I can't keep seeing my family suffer because of it."
"I don't know either! Do you think that's going to stop me from liking you?" Bryce countered back.
Stunned by his words, I felt my eyes start to tremble again. This time, I was too weak to resist the tears from falling.
Sighing, I tried to explain, "I've been trying to look past your mom so many times, Bryce, but I'm so tired of trying. The last thing I ever want is for my family to get hurt."
"If you give me a chance, let me fix it. I know how much that market means to you and your family. But, what about me? Do I mean anything to you, Daisie?"
Bryce's blue eyes were growing with a trace of frustration.
Of course Bryce did.
Nodding my head, an unwanted tear dropped from my shaking eyes.
"You do, Bryce. I don't want you to trouble yourself all the time though."
Bryce's eyes widened, and he ranted out, "You think I care about that? As long as we're together, that's all I need. You never let me or anyone help you which is driving me crazy!"
"Because I don't need any help! You don't have to worry about me from now on, Bryce. I'm sorry," I cried out through a quivering lip, pulling away from his grasp.
Truth was, not only did I want to see my family hurt, but I didn't want to see Bryce getting hurt having to deal with his mother and me if we stayed like this.
Before Bryce could stop me, I was already starting my car up. The sound of the engine roared as Bryce took a few steps back as his face fell in distraught. It was a haunting sight to take in which caused my heart to burn with guilt.
Mom flashed a disappointed expression upon me, but I tried ignoring it as I drove away from Bryce Valentino and Legends Hotel.
. . .
"Honey, you didn't have to do that."
Mom's worried tone rang on the right side of my ear as I turned the car engine off. We just arrived at the garage lane of our house.
Instead of replying back, I asked in a lifeless tone, "Mom, how do you know Monica and Curtis Valentino?"
Mom was now holding onto my hand tightly. When I glanced at her direction, Mom's hazel eyes were expressing apology.
"I told you to come back so I could tell you. I didn't want you to find out that way."
It was a little too late for that, wasn't it?
Noticing my blank expression, Mom tried to ease up the atmosphere by giving me a soft smile. It didn't work at all.
As I waited for an explanation, her voice was stern as she recalled back to that memory, "Monica and I were friends during high school. Best friends to be exact. I always admired a girl like Monica. She was always determined and self driven. We were very close during our sophomore until senior year. During our junior year, I met Curtis. It was only when senior year began, our feelings for one another grew, and we eventually started dating. Monica didn't like it though. She never supported our relationship, and I didn't want to think it was because she was jealous. During that winter break I asked her... for the complete truth."
Letting out a sigh, Mom continued, "Monica told me it's because I didn't deserve someone like Curtis. She said that I would only bring Curtis down. At the same time, Curtis was helping his parents with the company. I knew Monica was classifying me as average because of my family background compared to Curtis and his elite family."
"It broke my heart, hearing that from a person who I thought was my best friend. I thought that Monica appreciated our friendship because we got along so well. I was surprised at first how she would hang around a person like me when she was also from a great family, but her hidden colors were shown right at the moment."
"Because of that, I was scared and believed what she said. I walked away from our relationship. I didn't bother with Curtis after that. We would communicate every now and then, but until that moment Monica and him started dating. It was like our existence together vanished."
"During this period, your father was always there by my side. He told me countless times to be careful because he didn't want to see me hurt. I thought that your father saw me nothing more than just his best friend, but I realized he looked at me differently. It was more than that. With him, I knew that things will always be right. No matter what happens, your father and I would be able to make it through together."
When Mom fixed her attention back at me, she claimed in a warm voice, "You're probably going to ask if I regret leaving Curtis. I don't. I hope you remember me telling you that your father is the love of my life — that we were chasing after the wrong people at the time. In the end, I was always going to stay happy with your father."
Never did I expect this all to happen. The entire time I was listening with wide eyes. My knotted stomach seemed to have untied itself, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for my mom. She already suffered.
"Mom, why didn't you tell me this? Doesn't it hurt you to see Bryce and me together?"
Stroking the top of my hair, Mom smiled heartily in comfort.
"I'm sorry, honey. Your father and I decided not to because for the first time, we finally saw you happy with someone besides us. Your father, you know how he is, he's always the kind of person who wouldn't judge and puts in the effort to know the person first. I wanted to do that too. I was worried at first, but we both soon saw goodness in Bryce. You're asking me if I get hurt seeing you two together? Maisie, of course not. What happened in the past, happened in the past. You deserve to be with whoever it may be. That is all I wish for."
Instantly, I pulled my mom into a hug. It was an uncomfortable kind of hug since we were both sitting in the car, but this hug was what I needed after everything that happened today. Mom tightened the embrace, running her hand through my hair to comfort me.
"I don't want my past to affect your future, dear. It shouldn't. Maisie, I want you to do what makes you happy in the end," I heard Mom whisper by my ear.
Smiling faintly at her words, Mom placed her hand on my shoulder and replied back with an encouraging smile. Behind my mind, there was a voice telling me to let Bryce go because of all the pain and suffering that had been happening and would probably keep going.
Should I listen to that voice?
Once the two of us got out of the car, Mom headed towards the front door first. Locking my car with the keys, I let out an exhausted sigh before following her. What made my heels pull to a stop was when I reached the walkway to our front door and found Logan Valentino there.
Logan was speaking to Mom momentarily before the two turned around, acknowledging my presence. To be honest, I was in no mood to talk with any of the Valentino's right now.
The Valentino cleared his throat, fixing his business suit.
"Can we talk, Maisie?"
Where had I heard this before?
Even though I was slightly afraid for whatever I was about to hear, I nodded anyway. Mom gazed back at me shortly until she headed into our house, shutting the door behind her.
When we reached each other at a reasonable distance, Logan stated, "I told you to stay away from Bryce, Maisie."
I shrugged, my reply sounding more bitter than sarcastic.
"I'm not even going to bother asking why since I'm tired of getting no direct answer."
But at the moment, Logan's midnight blue eyes revealed it all.
He knew.
Logan knew this entire time and kept the truth concealed from me too.
Letting out a gasp, I almost screeched from the discovery, "You knew, didn't you?"
As I narrowed my eyes at Logan, his facial expression was starting to betray him. Disbelief was running all over me. First, Bryce's mother, and now Logan?
Shaking my head, I had to clarify, "Logan, this whole time you've been telling me to stay away from Bryce, but you pretty much left out the reason why! You lied to me! How could you do this to me?"
As Logan tried reaching out to me, I resisted by taking a few steps back, indicating that I did not want any kind of comfort or sympathy at all.
I watched as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down before answering back, "Maisie, I should have told you I knew about your mom and Aunt Monica."
"Why didn't you then?"
I felt betrayed because I never expected Logan to hide this from me. There was no answer to what seemed like forever. Scoffing lightly, I was done with everything.
Lifting my right hand up, I shook my head.
"You know what? Forget it. Just leave, Logan."
Even if Logan did try speaking up, I tuned him out. Not bothering to look back, I closed my house door.
However, the moment I shut the door, I bit my lower lip hard to stop myself from crying once again.
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Dedicating this chapter to an old Wattpad member and sweet reader of mine, velvetdarson18