“Mi niña.”Lillian jumps out of her chair, running to hug me.“¿Lillian, como estas?”She smiles.“Bien. Bien.”She looks over to Luca at my side.
“Esté debe ser tu hombre.”She smirks and raises her eyebrows. I laugh, nodding. I see my father come up behind her. He nods in my direction as greeting.
“Take a seat,” Papa says, gesturing towards the table. León stays seated with a smile. We walk over to the other side of the table, so we’re all sitting near each other. The dining room is huge, and there is an array of chairs still empty. But still, even when I was little, we always had dinner here, no matter what happened. It was the only constant I had, along with León.
“How are you both?” Lillian asks.
“Good,” I say in a cryptic tone. I’m not in the mood to go on about my life right now.
“I see you took a walk around the gardens today,” my father says right next to me. “Yes, Luca enjoyed them. Didn’t you?” I turn to look at him, his jaw clenches.
“They’re okay.”
“Just okay?” my father questions.
“I like the overall structure, but everything else is nothing I haven’t seen before.”
Way to make an impression on my father, Luca.
“I made those especially for Ale’s mother. She always loved them and that seemed to rub off on my daughter.” My hand clenches at the mention of my mother coming out of his mouth. We haven’t talked about her since she died. Why would he be bringing her up now?
I hold my tongue, hoping Mauricio will shut up, but of course, he goes on. “That’s why we buried her there; she loved it.”
“She sure did,” Lillian says quietly.
“Can we stop talking about her?” I feel Luca grab my hand, making it release all the tension I was balling up in my fist. “Why would we? I mean, this is the first boy you’ve brought home. He should know about your mother.”
“You mean the woman you killed? The woman who resented me my whole life because I was the product of her pain?” My father looks at me shocked.
“What do you mean who I killed?”
“You know what I’m talking about, so don’t even start.” He slams his hand in front of me, and I flinch. I feel Luca about to jump up, but before he can, I stop him by putting my hand on his thigh.
“Watch how you speak to your father,princessa. Don’t forget your place.”
“I have loved you for so many years, but you have never been a father to me. Me leaving for Mexico City was a breath of fresh air for you, wasn’t it? León is the only person who has single-handedly been a father figure to me my whole life.” His breathing is taking a toll on him now as he looks over at his only son and heir.
“Oh, you mean the boy that I crafted with my hands to become just like me?” he snarls, and León finally enters the conversation.
“Stop it, you two. Papá, you know that this is a hard topic for Ale. Just let it go.” His gaze darkens after León chips in. He looks over at me, his features overcome with malice.
“This is where you’re wrong,princessa. The sweet boy that you love and adore was the one who actually killed her.” The words don’t process for a moment until finally it clicks.
“No,” I say shakily. “That’s not possible. Stop playing with my mind just like you’ve been doing to Lillian and León for years.”
“Why do you think León killed her, huh?” He looks over at Lillian, and she’s already crying. León just looks at me with no emotion. Nothing to say. Not even defending himself. That’s when I know. It’s true.
“When León was young, he always hated your mother because she took over Lillian’s spot. So, when I found this little boy with a knife covered in her blood, I knew that he was going to be my heir and he would be worse than I ever was. All this ‘he was my only father figure’mierdais deception. It’s all fake.” My father smiles at me with zero remorse.
“How could you?! You knew! Every time I told you how I’ve resented him my whole life for what he did to her. I never would have expected this from you, of all people,” I scream every single syllable in León’s direction.
I continue, “you know, it’s funny. I’ve condoned and set aside all the things that you do to people every day because I thought you treated me with the same kind of loyalty. But that was all a lie.” I let out a breath and chuckle. I can feel the tears running down my cheek.
“No sabes toda la historia, Alejandra,”are the only words I hear before I walk out.
ChapterThirty-Eight
Maria Alejandra