Page 51 of The Breaker
“Well, if some asshole tried to kiss you, I’d punch him down a flight of stairs.”
She smiled slightly. “Lucky for Isabella that I’m not the violent type.”
“Let me explain what happened. I was already at Daiquiri—”
“I don’t need you to explain anything, Constantine,” she said calmly.
“I just want you to understand I wasn’t with her—”
“Constantine.” She gave my arm a gentle squeeze to snap me out of my anxiety. “I trust you more than anyone. I don’t need an explanation. I don’t need details. Frankly, I don’t think the situation needs further attention.”
I believed that Isabella was trying to sabotage everything, and after Aurelia’s last relationship ended with lies and deceit and infidelity, I was afraid that this would be a trigger for her. That it would make her anxious and paranoid and chase her off, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“To be honest, I just feel bad for her.”
“Are you serious?” I asked in both shock and awe. “She’s disrespected you twice now. The first in here, and the second time when she tried to kiss me.”
“But she doesn’t owe me anything. I’m a stranger to her.”
“You’re the woman I love, Aurelia. You’re the mother of my child. You’ve had my last name since the moment I met you, even if you aren’t my wife yet.”
“That’s sweet of you to say,” she said quietly, her eyes shifting away, probably in guilt because she’d declined my marriage proposal.“But she’s lost in her grief, and people do unusual things when they’re depressed.”
“Grief? It’s beennineyears.”
“I don’t expect you to understand this, but having a child means something different to a woman than it does to a man, okay? She’s probably always pictured the two of you finding your way back to each other and having all the things she’s always wanted. So to know that I’m having your child means that dream is never going to come to pass. It’s grief, Constantine. It’s grief for a life she desperately wants ... but will never have. I’m not excusing her behavior, because she should apologize for all the shit she’s done, but I understand it.”
I never expected her to be calm and logical about this. It made me realize I was the more emotional one of the two of us. My fuse was shorter and my temper was grander. I cared for others, but I didn’t have the empathy that she possessed.
“If I lost you ...” She shook her head. “I would never get over it. Even if I were married with kids, I would hate knowing someone else was having your child instead of me. It’s one of those wounds that doesn’t heal in time. If I didn’t love it here so much, I’d say we should move just to give her space to move on, but this place is home now.”
“I’m not moving to make someone else comfortable. This is where I want to raise our child. It’s a great place to grow up.”
“I don’t want it to be this way. I want everyone to get along. I want peace.”
“I do too.”
“So, let’s hope she comes around and apologizes. And if she does, let’s give her a clean slate.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “I’m not doing a damn thing—”
“Constantine.”
I released a sigh.
“Forgive and forget. That’s how you move on.”
“I know she’s trying to sabotage our relationship.”
“Well, I’m sure she’s done now. I’m not worried about someone coming between us. You make me feel like the center of your universe every day. You make me feel secure. I fell asleep on the couch last night because I’m never worried about what you’re doing or who you’re doing it with. Maybe that’s why I’m not upset about any of it.”
Knowing I did my job and did it well took away a layer of rage.
“So let’s not worry about her anymore. I’m sure she’s embarrassed about the whole thing now.”
“She should be.” This made me realize that Aurelia wouldn’t care about my predicament with Tommaso and the lunch date I’d had with his daughter Gina. She wasn’t the jealous type. Wasn’t insecure. Trusted me even though her last relationship had been a dumpster fire of lies and deceit. I wanted to put it off for another day, but since today was already shitty, I decided I’d like to start off tomorrow on a different foot. “Since we’re on this subject, there’s something else I’ve got to tell you.”
“All right,” she said calmly, the beautiful angles of her face on display with her hair up in a tight ponytail like that. There was no fear in her eyes, like she wasn’t afraid of what I might say.
