I'm back!

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The more Chiara thought about it, the less it made sense.

It was so obvious. Sadiq was cheating on her. She had convinced herself she didn't care at all. However, she had assumed when she and Rosie had stayed the night at Alice's house, he would at least have the courtesy to have the guy leave before she fucking got home. But there he was. Sadiq's 'mistress', half-naked with a cup of coffee in his hand, facing away from Chiara and her daughter. Chiara was infuriated.

"Rosie." She addressed her daughter sharply and the man turned around quickly in surprise. "Go play outside."

"Who's he?" The girl asked curiously staring at the unfamiliar man in her kitchen.

"One of Papa's friends. We have to an adult conversation, please go outside bambina?" Chiara's glare never left the man but her voice had taken the sweet tone it took only for Rosie. The girl just shrugged off her overnight bag on the kitchen floor and ran outside to garden to play fairies or princess or something else presumably.

"Who the fuck are you." She spat out as soon as she thought Rosie was far enough away.

"...Herakles." The man's voice was deep and passive sounding. "Sadiq had mentioned he was married...kinda. Didn't know there was a kid though. That bastard."

"Get the fuck out you goddamn whore." This was the last thing she needed. "Where is he?"

"In the bedroom I think." Herakles seemed rather unaffected like this was something that happened to him all the time.

"Sadiq!" Chiara screamed. "Get your cheating ass down her or so fucking help me I'll castrate your boy toy and make you his fucking bloody balls!" A thump was heard and the sound of man calmly walking down the stairs slowly as possible. She snorted. The bitch could take his time.

Herakles yawned. "I get this must be a surprise, I'm sorry. I wasn't aware you'd guys be coming home so early, I would've left by now."

"Save it. The real problem here is the bastard I'm engaged to. Not you." The real problem was how weirdly okay she was with this situation. She should be crying, screaming, throwing things. All she wanted to do was chew Sadiq for not calling ahead and telling her.

"You rang?" Sadiq entered, his shirt buttoned wrong his sweatpants hanging too loosely around his waist for Chiara's comfort.

It was amazing how she could sleep next to him for years and still be disgusted at the sight of his naked body. To be honest, they had tried sex once and it was so uncomfortable for both parties that they vowed that it would never happen again. Sadiq then began pursuing other people. Chiara had...Rosie.

"You fucking bastard. You know for a fact I don't give a shit that you have a whore or whatever the fuck he is. But do not, and I mean do not ever have him around our daughter. Fuck him wherever else, but he is not allowed in the house." Chiara was raging, practically fuming.

"It's my house, Chiara, I'll bring who I want...and our daughter?" Sadiq answered calmly, as if he had expected this kind of confrontation. Herakles sat there silently, every so often taking a sip of his coffee. Chiara stopped, his words effectively putting an end to the tirade.

"Well." She stopped to compose herself. "The lie becomes more and more believable the longer it's in effect right?" Sadiq nodded.

"I'm sorry about this." He grunted.

"No you're not, I-" Chiara stopped talking when he put up his hand.

"I'm not sorry about seeing other people. Herakles, though he's an annoying brat most of the time is in effect my boyfriend." There was a sound of protest from the man in question, but Herakles figured he could yell at Sadiq later. "I'm sorry Rosie had to see it though. You know I love her." But not you was statement that lingered unsaid in the air. Chiara laughed and empty chortle that never actually reached her eyes.

"Just...not around her okay? She deserves...she deserves so much better than us...than me."

"I know." Sadiq nodded, his arm snaking around Herakles' body in a tight embrace. Chiara said nothing, only sighing. "You two should get to know each other...you'd like each other."

"No fucking offense, but no not right now." Chiara pinched the bridge of her nose, aware of the headache that currently coming at full pace. "You...you go have lunch with something, clean up yourselves. Go say hi to Rosie and please get out of the house a bit." Chiara never said please or thank you, making the rare times she did, something to take note of.

"Will do." They both shuffled out of the kitchen and Chiara found herself wanting to get as drunk as quickly as she possible could. But it was noon and she had a kid.

She thought that everything would change with a child, and it did. She had a purpose beyond getting herself piss drunk every friday night...but she still felt this aching need for something else. Like there was something missing. In the back of her mind she knew exactly what it was, but she couldn't fathom ever actually filling the hole.

Antonio was happy and married. He had a life now.

She just wasn't part of it. They both could pretend all they could. Hide behind parent-teacher pleasantries but when it came down to it, they both hated each others' guts.

At least, that she thought. Chiara heard the sound of a door closing and a car pulling out of the driveway. Good, she needed space.

Or did she?

When did it become okay for people to cheat on her? Oh right, she was supposed to be the one who cheated on Antonio.

Well, in retrospect...this hurt a lot less. She texted Elizabeta asking her to take Rosie out for the day and walked upstairs and locked herself in the room she shared with Sadiq. It seemed musty and and the sheets were unmade and the curtains still closed so it only let so much light. It was dim, deary, and utterly depressing. She heard activity downstairs and assumed it was Elizabeta arriving. The woman was saint and was often Chiara's nanny as well. And she would ask her to move in with the family as a resident helper, but she had just entered into a committed relationship and Sadiq and her had decided not to ask and interfere with that.

But the woman was so good with Rosie the right mix of caring and sternness. She was warm and cuddly. Chiara still found her body all sharp edges and too much raw anger and fear of her daughter leaving her.

God, Rosalia meant so goddamn much. She was her bridge, her sunshine, and everything Chiara did was for her...right? She feared that she made all the decisions out of pure selfishness.

Well one thing was for sure. She needed to get drunk or far away to forget just a short time. She tried not to smoke because Rosie hated the smell, but she felt her fingers itching to hold the burning death wish in her hands.

Her phone in pocket buzzed. Taking it out, she saw she had a text from Elizabeta.

'Taking Rosie out for the afternoon, don't do anything stupid.'

The woman knew her so strangely well.

For the second time that day, the sounds of a car turning on and pulling away was heard from the driveway. Chiara unlocked the door and ran down the stairs to the kitchen and quickly opened the doors to the wine cupboard. She grabbed whatever bottle she could find in the cupboard and staggered around to find the wine cork already on the counter. She opened the bottle and took a swig, not even bothering to grab a glass and sunk to the floor. It felt like liquid money down her throat and the taste was divine. Sadiq after all, was a rich son of a bitch and he could afford her the best distractors money could buy. Taking another sip, she felt the edges of her mind dull as her senses began to ebb in and out of full consciousness. She barely remembered staggering upstairs into the bedroom, half drunk wine bottle in hand and flopping down almost lifeless on her bed.

Chiara barely remembered throwing a picture of Sadiq's family across the room and dunking his toothbrush in the toilet.

But she did remember crying and snot dripping into her mouth and how when she looked in the mirror she cried harder because she couldn't believe her life had led up to this. Chiara was aware that everything could her fault but she also couldn't find it in her to blame herself. There was no metaphor. No happy ending, no villain getting just desserts. There was just Chiara Vargas, mother of one, falling into a loveless marriage because the one good thing she had decided to do in her life ended up ruining every chance she had to make things right. She sat in her bathtub for what seemed like hours before she had felt clear enough to crawl back into the bedroom.

Flopping once again, down onto the bed, her phone buzzed. Absent-mindedly she checked it. There was a text from Alice, one from Elizabeta, and one from a random number. Curious and half out of habit she checked them all.

Alice: How you got home ok :) the twins are missing Rosie already :))

Elizabeta: We're at the park and getting dinner at the diner. Be back at eight for bedtime.

126-569-2356: Hello Chiara. This is Antonio, I don't know if u still have my number. Listen, I'm just texting you to tell you to call me as soon as you can. I'm really sorry but I've got bad news. Chiara opened her phone and quickly shot back a response text.

Chiara: Okay…?

126-569-2356: It would be easier to do this in person...can you do lunch tomorrow? Noon? At that new place Nuevos Comienzos? They have some mean nachos...I think you'll like their wine selection too.

Chiara took a few minutes before carefully typing out her next sentence.

Chiara: Sure. I don't have anything booked then.

And then against her better judgement, she typed:It'll be nice to catch up. It has been awhile.

126-569-2356: Yes it will! I only wished it would be under better circumstances.

Chiara left it at that. She didn't feel that the conversation had to be really concluded. The thought of seeing Antonio gave her this strange sense of twinkling, the kind she hadn't felt since they had dated so long ago. She didn't really care what he had to say. At least he was talking to her. That was something to celebrate.

Nuevos Comienzos was a typical enough looking family owned Mexican restaurant. It was small, but not so much so that it was crowded and was brightly adored with yellows and red signs that spelled various Spanish greetings in vibrant bubble letters. Just by peeking in at the window, Chiara could see exactly why Antonio was attracted to the place. It was utterly and completely...charming. She'd have to take Rosie sometimes. The little girl had a penchant for spicy food.

There were not that many people around and she thanked heaven for that. Despite herself, she checked herself out in the window, staring down her designer jacket and seventy dollar haircut that Sadiq had so loving paid for two weeks prior. He was good at that. Showering her with presents and supplying her with an endless bank account to feed her love of nice and expensive things that she could never afford before their fake relationship.

She could see Antonio already inside, waiting in booth, checking his phone. Swallowing her pride, albeit grudgingly, she did one more glance over and fixed her lipstick just right; noticeable enough to be seen but subtle enough to not be distracting.

Marching in, guns ablaze, Chiara was led by a server to Antonio's booth, where she sat across from him. He didn't look up from his phone. A moment of silence passed.

"Um...Hello." Chiara awkwardly started, shrugging off her coat. Antonio looked up and gave a polite smile before putting his phone down.

"Hi, how're you doing?" He began.

"I'm...fine. Busy, mostly. You?"

"The same. Five year olds are not a walk in the park, y'know." Chiara snorted.

"Believe me, I do."

"Oh...that's right." Antonio coughed. "Rosie's a great kid."

"Yeah, she's a sweetheart. Don't know who she got it from." Chiara smiled amiably, but it was not returned. The waiter brought over two glasses of water and two menus. Antonio quickly opened one.

"They've got really good grilled chicken here."

"I'm a vegetarian now." Chiara answered blandy.

"Oh really? When did that happen."

"A month ago, gotta slim down for...well, the wedding."

"Ah." Silence again.

"Listen Antonio, what did you call me here for? It's obviously not for small talk. Let's fucking face it...that's not going to go well." Thankfully, he nodded and cleared his throat.

"Yes...well you see...look, Chiara I don't want to be the one to tell you this, because frankly, I'd like nothing better than to see you get your just desserts." Chiara bit her lip to from ripping him a new asshole. "But, I talked to Francis about it and he thinks I should tell you, because it's important, no matter what bad decisions you made and...well Sadiq's cheating on you...with a man." Chiara couldn't help but laugh. This was what got Antonio so worked up? He saw Sadiq with Herakles. "What? What so funny?" She had to reign and give him some excuse, but something in her couldn't bring forth the strength to lie to him again.

"I know." Was all she was able to say.

"You...know." He looked shocked.

"Yeah...I do."

"Then...why-"

"Why are we still together? I don't know." Chiara cut him off and took a sip of the water. "I really don't know."

"You really are confusing Chiara. I don't know what to make of you anymore." He shook his head almost sadly. Chiara scoffed.

"It's not your fucking job to make sense of me anymore."

"But even back then...I didn't get you." His voice was quiet, far off.

"Shut up Antonio, I don't care." He was treading dangerously close to Chiara's heartstrings, and she wasn't sure if she could deal with anymore heartache.

"No, it's true. You would say such mean things and mean something completely different...it was cute at first, I thought you were playing hard to get, y'know? It made the chase more fun. But then I had you and you continued to say those things and I'd wonder why I stuck around but then you would do such amazing things, Chiara. You'd tell me you loved me and would dance in our shitty apartment to whatever was on our cheap radio and we'd sleep on the floor and it was...magic."

"I said shut up Antonio." But she knew he was in mid-rant and there was no stopping him now.

"But then it...stopped. You got busy, I got busy. We were both trying to finish our degrees and we fought so much. We were so awful to each other you know? Thinking back...I don't think I'd ever been awfuler. You were pretty damn terrible too. The whole time I kept thinking we could sort it out, y'know? Like there was some switch and suddenly we'd stop fighting so much. But then I realized what you really wanted from me. And I decided that I didn't-no-I couldn't give it you."

"What, pray fucking tell was that?" She was fuming, struggling to keep her voice down. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the waiter listening in, but she didn't care. How dare he. How dare he invite her out, insult her and go over the details of their dead relationship. She felt the tears sting at the corner of her eyes.

"You wanted all of me." Antonio stared at the table, eyes hollow, mind clearly somewhere else. "You wanted all my time, all of my energy, all my focus, all my attention, and all of my love. You took and took and took, and when I asked you give a little back, some space, some time, you'd get jealous and hateful. You wanted me to be yours and only yours and I didn't think I could let you take that. So I ended it." Chiara ignored the tears running down her cheeks. Antonio continued on. "It wasn't easy either. And it was so weird after you left. It's rude to say, but while I'm at it, it was almost freeing. You weren't good for me Chiara."

"And Francis is?" She shot out, unable to help herself. "How fucking dare you." She choked.

"...In short, yeah, he is. He listens and he's okay with me having space sometimes. He's loving, he's sweet, and yeah we fight too, but it's different. I don't know how to explain it...and he's never cheated" Chiara shook her head.

"You know what Antonio? Fuck you. I needed you. I really did. And I don't know why I fucking couldn't tell you, but I'd think up all this stupid shit that if I was ever open or told you everything and how I felt and shit you'd hate me or something. God I was such a fucking pussy. And you know what else? I loved the shit out of you. But that wasn't enough for your holier-than-thou ass. Yes you were busy, believe it or not, I fucking got that. But you missed my goddamn birthday. For what? Your term paper that wasn't due for another four weeks. Personally, I still think that's bullshit. You didn't how fucking hard I was trying Antonio. I just...I just couldn't do it and you weren't helping and I couldn't ask for help, and then you took my fucking heart and ripped it apart because apparently, those fucking two years we spent together were so toxic and bad for you that you felt fucking free after it. So you know what? Have fun with with your trophy husband, your happy little job, your happy little house, your happy little life because now I realized, I spent so much of the past fucking seven years trying to make sure you were happy, that I am done."

"Chiara..you're screaming." Antonio whispered, the way he did when they always got in explosive fights. He never got angry in the way one would expect him to do. It wasn't passionate, red, and fiery. It was quiet, controlled, focused, and he knew just what to say to make the other people tick.

"I don't fucking care."

"Wait...seven years? We were only together for two. What do you mean?" Antonio blinked. Chiara stiffened, sniffling slightly.

Shit.

"Fuck off." She grabbed her coat, and began to run out of the restaurant. "You don't get to ask me questions anymore, if I was so toxic." Antonio chased her down the block.

"Chiara! What did you mean?" He screamed as she did her best to run in the heels she was wearing.

She ran all the way to her car where she quickly turned the key and began driving away, all the while seeing Antonio get smaller and smaller in her side-mirror, before turning onto the next street.

Hope you guy enjoyed!

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Also translate the name of the restaurant for a little hint about Chiara and Antonio's upcoming relationship ;)