Chapter 41

I spent the rest of the day and most of the next in a haze. I cried, slept, and cried some more. When Dolores came in the evening, I had done my best to put on a good front. I didn't want Dolores alerting Alejandro about anything.

In the afternoon, Elena called the house phone. I had feared that call all day, but Elena reported that everything had gone according to plan; the newspapers and certain local news channels had picked up the story.

I didn't bother to pretend I was happy. After all, the farce was over, and I had gotten what I wanted. I hung up the phone and went back to my room. It was really happening. I would leave Alejandro, never to come back.

The idea of never being with him again filled me with panic. I regretted what I had done a few times, but Elena"s words replayed in my head like a broken record. And I knew I had done the right thing, found a way to help him, to give him his life back. The only act that gave me a channel to express my frustration was writing in my makeshift journal.

It was around 6 p.m. when I got startled by the front door banging loudly against the door frame.

"Amelia! Amelia!"

My heart dropped to my feet when I heard Alejandro calling my name. He sounded furious and almost dangerous. I could also hear another voice, but Alejandro was shouting.

With trembling hands, I slowly opened my bedroom door and got a bit closer to the staircase to see what was going on. Alejandro was in the foyer, in a dark-gray suit, his face looking like he was about to murder someone. Elena was there, crying, begging him to calm down, but all he did was scream at her.

"Por favor, mi amor. I did this for you!"

"You had no right! Get out! Get the fuck out of my house!"

"Lo hice por nosotros!"

"I don't know what you wanted to accomplish here, pero ya te lo dije un million de veces, no hay nada entre tu y yo!"

Alejandro grabbed her arm and took her to the door, pushing her outside. Elena did not dare to continue knocking after Alejandro kicked her out. When Alejandro got back to the foyer, he looked up toward me. I stared into pure madness. Alejandro looked like he was capable of the most heinous revenge in that moment.

I panicked and ran back to my room. Before I could close the door, he was there. I put all my weight on the door, but he pushed it open so violently I almost fell as I took some steps back. Alejandro slammed the door so loudly I thought I felt the ground shake.

He closed the distance between us in a second, his jaw tight, his eyes dark as night, his lips curled back in fury. He just stood there, looking down at me, breathing heavily, hurting me with just the look in his eyes. Alejandro grabbed the lamp that was behind me and threw it against the wall, the ceramic shattering everywhere. I let out a scream.

"Why, Amelia?! Why did you do this?!"

The words were missing. I had no idea what to say. I had a knot in my throat. Even if I wanted to, there was no way to say a word without struggling to breathe.

Alejandro frowned and took a step back.

"Do you despise me so much that you would put your life in danger like this just to get away from me?"

God, of course I didn't despise him. But what could I possibly say after what I had done?

"Answer me!" he shouted as he grabbed me by both arms. "Why would you do something so stupid?!" he insisted as he shook me.

"Stop! You're hurting me!" Alejandro immediately let me go.

There was nothing I could do to stop the tears from coming.

"I'm not letting you do this. I am NOT giving you to him!" He shouted through gritted teeth.

"You have to!" I pleaded, finding a bit of strength to put some sense into him. "There is no other way for you to get the diamonds! There is no other way for this to end well for all of us!"

"You're wrong!"

"You really think you can get so close to Richard that he would, what, just hand them to you? Come on! He won't hurt me, not after everyone knows that I am alive and that all he has to do is pay two million dollars. And Mathias won't hurt me, because I can get him the diamonds. Can't you see? It's the only way out of this fucking mess! You can finally get your revenge!"

"Fuck my revenge, Amelia! Fuck the diamonds! I don't care about any of it anymore. Can't you see that?"

His words shook me to my core, but there was no going back.

"This was always going to end poorly, Alejandro," I said as I wiped the tears off my face. "This is the safest way, and frankly, it's the only way. Both our lives are on pause, and they have been for months now."

"I see. So, all this is about George, is that it? You miss him so much that you"d risk your life like this?" he mocked coldly.

"It's about everything! Whatever this is! It was bound to end! I get to go back to my life, and you get to go back to yours—with Elena!"

"I don't know what she told you, but Elena has nothing to do with this!"

"How does she not? You told her everything!" I screamed, my trembling voice betraying me. "She knows about all of this, about why I'm here. She's been involved in this the whole time, with you!"

"I needed her help! I needed her help to trick Richard, to get him to believe in my intentions, that's all!"

"None of this matters!" I said, walking away from him. "You know I'm right. This is the only option, and it's not your decision anymore."

A lump was forming in my throat. I felt him walk to me, stopping right behind me.

I closed my eyes, anticipating his touch, desperately wanting him to grab me, to tell me everything was going to be okay, to make love to me and wipe my tears away. But he passed by me and left the room. I went straight to bed feeling numb and understanding for the first time in my life what it was like to lose the only man I had ever fallen in love with. I could no longer hide that fact.