Was Eduardo really sprawled on the hood of Reynaldo's car like a pedestrian that was almost run over? Isabella had to snap her jaw shut to keep from looking like a fish.
She was so confused. What had changed in the last few hours with him? The last thing she could ever imagine him doing was this. Sometimes he pretended that she didn't even exist when they stayed under the same roof. And he was entertaining plenty of other women, right?
Why was a man like that tossing himself in front of a moving car?
"Eduardo?" Isabella screeched as she threw open her door. "What the hell?"
He didn't move from his position at the helm of the car. His palms were firmly placed on the hood, as if he could stop a two-ton vehicle like this with his bare hands and sheer willpower. "Don't leave." He asked solemnly.
Isabella's breath hitched in her throat. His tone was so different than any other time he had given a command- and so it almost came out as a plea.
Don't leave.
The words were already haunting her.
"Wha- Eduardo! Esto loco?" She shrieked in Spanish. She had to ask him if he was crazy- there was no other explanation. And she hardly every spoke Spanish in public! English didn't quite do the job this time, though.
His eyes were almost crazed but not in a way that scared her. If she was honest with herself, it excited her. He almost never showed her an emotional reaction unless it was him yelling or saying something rude to her. Yet here he was, running to her rescue in the middle of the night.
When Reynaldo tossed his door open and thrust himself from the car, Isabella followed suit. Technically, he was the one she supposed to be happy with and make something romantic happen with. It would please her parents, his parents, and their entire social network. But she couldn't help the way that Eduardo made her feel. Rene Aguirre-Lopes was sure it was a dead end and would only end in trouble, but Isabella could only see a bleak nothingness when she imagined a future with anyone like Reynaldo. She didn't know him extremely well, but she met enough versions of him to be the wiser.
Isabella ran behind Reynaldo, fearing he would become violent or manly to show his dominance over the situation. But instead, Rey stopped short of the hood of the car and took a loud breath. "Peque, mi amigo."
Little guy, my friend. Isabella barely contained an eyeroll. This guy was a master at being condescending, wasn't he? Even when his tone was soft and faux-concerned, he still was able to slice you.
Rey sent her a small smile over his shoulder before turning back to Eduardo. "Are you having troubles with drinking again?" Isabella's face scrunched, confused as to where this conversation was going. Rey put a hand over his heart. "We go way back, you should know that you can always call on me in your time of need."
Eduardo scoffed. "I'm your amigo now? Funny, you and your amigos used to call me Peque, Gilipollas, Pobre." Isabella winced at the way he said those words. They were dirty, mean insults. "And now I'm your friend?" People were stopping and looking at the scene playing out, putting Bella on high alert. None of them needed something like this in the papers or the blogs the next day, but the way Rey was acting so nice and calm compared to the wild-eyed Eduardo was not going to end well. Well for Rey, he was going to look like the nice guy talking down a maniacal lunatic! "You made my life miserable at Casa Puente. Your parents killed mi madre-"
"Eduardo." Reynaldo snapped, but quickly got himself under control. "I apologize that you feel your experience wasn't what you expected in my parents' home." She could feel the tension fizzle in the air between the three of them. There was obviously so much more going on than just this one night, and she wasn't sure if it was even appropriate for her to be a part of it. "No one killed your mother; she chose the bottle. We didn't have any part of it, and neither did you. I truly hope you know that, Peque."
Eduardo pushed himself off the car and took short, calculated steps towards them. Isabella's heart pace quickened the closer he got, a small explosion threatening to go off in her chest if he stepped any closer. "Bella…" His voice was strained, either from hurt or anger she couldn't tell, but he was on the brink of something. "Don't leave." With him, is what he meant to say right? Would this have played out differently if she had come and gone alone? If Rey had not made an appearance, would Eddie have come running out of his workplace to chase her down?
She sincerely doubted it.
"Eduardo." She warned him softly. "Everyone is watching." Isabella murmured. If she walked back into the casino with him, there would be tons of blogs with their names attached. She wasn't famous by any means, but her parents surely would have already been spotted and Eduardo was damn sure hard to miss. But if she slipped back into the car with Rey, she could remain anonymous and everything would stay normal. "Don't let him make a fool out of you." Isabella said loud enough for both men to hear. She could see right through Reynaldo's antics. He didn't start the fight, but he was clearly interested in digging up old skeletons. He was gaslighting Eddie, the way many men before him had gaslighted plenty of others before.
Eddie straightened himself and looked around, truly noticing the crowd for the first time.
Isabella cleared her throat, begging herself not to let her emotions take over. She needed to be firm and clear with him. She needed to be tough. "I'm not one of your girls in the magazines, Eduardo. Your issues with Rey have nothing to do with me. So don't come running out guns blazing and pretend like it's all for me." His eyes hardened with every word she spoke, but it was like vomit. It was uncontrollable. "Is this the only way that you can notice me?" She gestured to Rey. "Will it always have to be a possessive, grand gesture? Will I never be enough all on my own?" Her voice almost cracked toward the end.
Would she always have to dress like this to entice him? Would there always have to be a rich asshole from his past to get an emotional reaction from him? The battle with Eduardo felt eerily similar to the one she was waging with her parents. They only dealt in extremes- they were either extremely proud or extremely disappointed, extremely supportive of something or extremely against something.
She wanted to live happily in a balanced medium. It was flattering to see him acting a little crazy over her, but she didn't want to rule her life that way. Anytime she wanted him to act like he wanted her, she would have to pull some elaborate stunt akin to this.
Is that how she wanted to live?
No, not at all.
"Isabella." Eddie's voice was firm, but there an abrupt edge to it. He was begging her, begging- she never thought she would live to see something like this in a million years. "I promise…" His words drifted off, not specifying what he was promising her in the first place. He held out his hand and didn't let go of her gaze.
Isabella's entire face reddened with the heat that filled her face. This was somehow embarrassing, exciting, and unreal all at the same time. She would be lying if she said she never fantasized about a man doing a huge, romantic gesture for her. But she never imagined that it would be here, or that it would be him doing it.
She looked from Eduardo to Rey, calculating all of her possible actions and all of the possible reactions that others would have. If she left with Rey, she could do exactly as her parents expected out of her and Reynaldo Rothschild wasn't so bad of a person anyway. If she went with Eduardo she would be defying everything she knew- for a man that had a bloody temper and philandered with other women. But she couldn't deny the attraction she felt to Eddie! It was fiery, spicy, hot… there weren't enough words in the dictionary to describe it.
And if she walked away with Reynaldo, she'd be walking away from it.
As much as it killed her, she took a step away from the idled car and shut her passenger door closed.
Rey made a nose, like a frustrated grunt. "Bella, be serious about this. What would your parents say? Do you know how embarrassed they're gonna be if they find out?"
Isabella spared a glance behind her. "Rey, I've seen you throw temper tantrums at parties and do lines off a bar top. Hold your judgement."
Reynaldo said nothing more but watched her walk away from the car.
He didn't chase her.
Not like Eduardo- no one had ever paid enough attention to pursue her like that.
They walked side by side back into the bustling casino resort, not acknowledging one another or the stares of people watching idly. He'd made a spectacle, and there would surely be videos or photos released of a mad man acting a fool! What was he thinking? Was he thinking at all? This was his place of business!
Did he really care about her that much? She doubted it.
They rode the elevator to the top floor and she followed him out of the lift into and into a brand new space. It was beautiful, if not a little cold and impersonal; but there was glass broken and a shattered mirror laying in the middle of the sitting room.
She rose an eyebrow in his direction, but his direct stare caught her off guard. Isabella waited for him to say something because his intense look was disconcerting. What was going on in that brain of his? Was he mad? Was he drunk?
When he still said nothing, Isabella sighed in irritation. "Well, Eduardo? You wanted me to come up here, and here I am. What did you have to say?"
Eduardo seemed to take a step towards here but caught himself. Instead, he walked towards the large windows and took a deep breath. "I wanted a chance to explain myself." His back was turned towards her, his voice directed to the windows instead of her. "This past week has been hell. Nothing has gone the way that I planned to orchestrate it."
Isabella scoffed. "You're a control freak, that's nothing new."
Eduardo ignored her jibe. "I need to apologize for a few things." He rolled his head back and forth, trying to knead out the stress knots that formed in his neck over the last few hours. "I didn't mean to grab you so hard- that afternoon at the house. But our conversation was going in a bad direction, and you dismissed me like a cretin! I was trying to get you to focus."
Isabella snorted at his words. "An apology with an explanation isn't an apology. If a bullshit excuse session is what you pulled me out of the car for, then you're wasting my-"
"Bella!" He growled, finally turning around to face her. "I am sorry. It won't happen again, I promise." She was caught off guard and couldn't think of anything to say in return. He always kept his promises, at least up until that point. She had to trust him. "And when I said there were other women…" He ran a hand through his hair roughly. "That's not true. Am I seen with women here and there? Yes. If it's good publicity for il Siempre, its good for business. But I haven't had sex with another person since you got here."
Isabella wanted to do a glorious little happy dance at his admission. There had been no one else? Could she get that in writing? Although they weren't in a real relationship, it made her heart swell to know that for some reason (his reasoning was still unclear) she had been his only partner and sexual conquest. She licked her lips and cleared her throat. "Why?" She croaked.
Eduardo caught her eyes. "Why? Why am I apologizing to a crazy woman that has turned my life upside down? Or why did I chase you down like a madman downstairs? Or why can I only think of you in my bed, even when I am surrounded by countless other women?" With every question, he took a step closer to her. "I ask myself these same things. I have no true answers."
Isabella shifted her weight on her other foot, not liking the direction this was headed. Flames licked the sides of her belly and a hot streak went down her back.
"Yet you're here. Even when your parents made it clear that you are meant for someone like Reynaldo. You chose to stay." Eduardo finally stood right in front of her, only a breath away. "Why?"
Isabella took a deep breath.
She wanted to lie. She wanted to shrug it off, talk about something else, or offer sex. Anything to get off of this subject.
But he needed to know- he needed to know how she felt, and it had to be the truth.
"I love you." The words came spewing out of her mouth before they could be stopped.
His eyes lost the lustful look and almost seemed to close themselves off. Isabella put a hand out to reach him in hopes that his eyes would return to the sexy, caring green orbs again- but he had already taken a small step away from her.
That was such a stupid mistake! What are you thinking? You've scared him off!
Isabella felt herself start to panic.
Eduardo took another pause before starting. "Love is a strong word, Isabella. You hardly know me."
She bit the inside of her cheek to stop from reacting emotionally. She had just borne her soul to him! It was more revealing than taking off all her clothes in front him.
Rene's words came ringing back to her. You will not marry a man like that… and I promise, he will not want to marry you. Was her mother right all along? Did Eduardo just want her as a plaything and nothing more? She wasn't looking for a life partner or a lifestyle financer, or even a husband! But all she knew was that she was in love and it was with him. "You can't dictate how I feel." She said finally. "My whole life I've been told how to feel and who to feel it for. Well, I love you, Eduardo. Even if that's inconvenient for you. Even if you think it's stupid." She licked her lips in hesitation. "I'm not asking you to say it back to me. I'm not asking for anything in return. But you asked me why I stayed and that's why I stayed. I love you."
Eduardo looked at her again before looking away. Was that disappoint in his eyes? Was it ire? Was it sadness?
She knew he was hesitant to allow himself to feel things. She didn't know the details and she didn't need to know just yet- she would be patient and wait for him to say it when he was ready. "I'm not expecting anything from you, Eduardo. I know there's a lot of pain from your relationship Sebastián's mom, you don't have to tell me just yet. And I can imagine you're still dealing with the problems from your mother-"
Eduardo snapped at her. "Don't talk about things you don't know, Isabella." His tone was harsh, and his look was unforgiving. It was a complete turnaround from the puppy dog looks was giving her earlier. "My personal life is none of your business. I bribed you to come and work for me, and we happened to have sex. That's not love- maybe your parents never showed you what love truly is and that's why you're mistaken. My mama didn't properly teach me how to love either, but I have a lot more life experience than you. Maybe you were tucked too tightly into your parent's wings to have experienced it."
Isabella held back a teary gasp. He thought she was mistaken…. and he had the nerve to bring her parents back into this conversation?
She was hurt that she hurt. Usually when someone offended her or said something mean, she turned straight to anger and violence. But this time, she was just… hurt.
How could he even say those things to her? How could he think them about her?
"Eduardo…" She trailed off when he grabbed her hand and walked her towards another direction. If he was taking her to the bedroom, she would welcome it. Obviously their conversation had gone off the rails and they both needed some time to calm down or rearrange their thinking! But instead, he walked her straight to the elevator lift and manually opened the door shaft. "Eddie!" She pleaded.
He was trying to send her away!
Eduardo shoved her gently into the elevator shaft and stepped back.
"Eddie." Isabella moaned. "What are you thinking? We need to talk!"
He shoved his foot along the doorway to keep it from closing. "There is no more conversation. This…" Eduardo cleared his throat. "This is through. Your debt is repaid, you don't owe anything to me. But you need to leave."
"What? Stop acting like this!" Isabella shrieked.
"Isabella." He growled. "Your passport and your belongings will be made ready for you. I will cover your ticket home. I'll arrange everything."
She opened her mouth and then let it drop close. He was dismissing her from his life. He had his fun with her, and obviously didn't want it to go anywhere else from here. She had repaid her debt in his bed and now she could go.
Isabella took a step forward and reached for him a second time that night, but he stepped back and pushed at her shoulder to keep her in the hotel elevator. It wasn't forceful, but it didn't need to be. She wasn't going to keep pushing herself onto him if this is what he wanted. She would have to chase him every single time she had feelings for him, and that didn't seem like a very attractive life to her at all.
But she would try one more time.
"Eduardo." Her tone was pleading. He didn't even have the nerve to look at her, but his stiffened lip and downward eyes said enough. He was obviously feeling something! Wasn't he? "Eduardo! Don't do this-" It felt like she was trying to talk him off a ledge.
"Get the fuck out of my life. And don't come back." Eduardo said with finality.
She let a few tears fall and he watched them flow down her cheeks with unabashed attention. This was a monster; this wasn't a man. And he didn't deserve to be loved at all!
There were plenty of things she wanted to spew at him, but the lift let out a ding and started to close. She could have stopped the elevator from closing, but it almost felt therapeutic to let it close on him. His face slowly disappeared from her view and when she was finally off of his floor, she let out the loudest cry of pain in her life. She thought she sounded like a wounded cat, shivering and scratching at the last remnants of what she thought she knew.
There was no way she would ever be the same after this.
She felt jaded. She felt betrayed. She felt… stupid.
As Bella made her way slowly through the main floor of the casino, her mind wandered off and she felt like a zombie. How in the hell she made it into a cab and back at his villa was a shocker to even her.
Even as she packed her things and collected herself after a shower, things did not quite feel real. She half expected to see Eduardo crash through her door at any given minute. Or a phone call, or a text! Anything. He had to care, even a little bit.
But even as she was boarding her plane hours later, she still kept the candle of disparity lit. He will call. He will show up. He will realize his wrongs.
It wasn't until the wheels rolled up into the aircraft that Isabella finally let it go. She was going back to her life and he was going back to his.
And somehow, she would figure out how to stop loving him.
The End.
A/N: For now. Keep me in your alerts and keep an eye out for a sequel.
