DANTE
His heart had been heavy since he woke up. Last night was hellish and as soon as he had gotten Elon to fall asleep, his own body had shut down too.
Elon was still in deep sleep beside him. And it was understandable, given the shock that the kid had gone through yesterday. Throughout the whole thing, Elon had been quiet. It was only when Genesis walked out with her brother that the boy burst out crying, that was when Dante was reminded that his son was still in the room, and he witnessed everything first hand.
He pushed the duvet off him and left the kid's room for his own. What he really needed at that moment was a cold shower to soothe his headache. Last night, his heart broke into a million pieces; now, he just felt numb and empty. Like when he had freshly lost Evelyn.
Genesis had somehow ignited something in him again, but with her own hands, she ended up putting out that fire that was burning for her inside him. He thought of her and wished he had never let himself be vulnerable with her. Now, he was back to square one.
He put on the shower and let the cold water attack his scalp first, letting his mind concentrate on the movement of the water on his body. Amidst all that, he was aware that he was kidding himself. There was still a huge part of him that called out for Genesis, and he was doing everything in his power to suppress that feeling.
After everything he had learned last night, how could he still long for her? Why did he still want her near? He wanted to hate her, he really did. But his mind said one thing, and his heart said another.
This was going to be a tough situation for him and Elon. Genesis had become such a huge part of their lives and he was sure that his son loved her as much as he did. But how were they going to move past this? It was going to be hard to do that. Very hard.
And he needed to remind himself that their contract was still valid. For the next few months, they were still going to be legally married. If they were going to live in peace until the contract expired, they would have to find a common ground. They would either find a way to talk things out, or let things go back as they were: professional relations only. Deep inside him he hoped that it would be the former, that they would survive this mess. But still, he was not sure he could easily forget everything just like that.
There was a knock on his door and before he could even think, he had rushed to the door and opened it. But he sighed in disappointment when it was Luke's face that he saw.
Walking into his closet, he said, “You did not tell me that you would be coming today.”
“Do I ever tell you?” He heard Luke say. “I figured you would need help with developing the project we've been working on.”
Dante shook his head as he picked out his clothes: a black pair of shorts with a blue T-shirt. He was not going for style today, he chose comfort. That was what he needed.
He put the clothes on and walked out of his closet to find Luke sitting on his bed. “Actually, I do not intend to do any work today.”
“And why is that?”
“I just need a break.” Dante sighed and sat beside his best friend. “Just for today. We can continue tomorrow.”
“Something is wrong.” Luke said immediately. “I know you, Dante. You only leave work when something is terrifying wrong. So tell me, what is it?”
Dante really did not know how he was going to start explaining everything to Luke. Doing that meant that he was going to be actively recalling everything that had happened, and that was exactly what he was trying to avoid.
“Nothing.” He told Luke. “It's really nothing. I just need today off of work.”
“You know me, we will not move from here until you tell me what's bothering you.” Luke threatened. “And I mean it.”
“Fine…” Dante sighed. It was useless trying to keep things away from Luke. “You remember that guy that was working with Gloria? The one we called Lorenzo?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, he showed up here yesterday. And apparently, his real name is Rodriguez and he's Genesis's brother—”
“Wait, so that means Genesis was working with Gloria too?”
“No, that's not it.” Dante shook his head. “He said something about how Genesis had run away from home years ago and he came to get her by force. He was working with Gloria to get more information about us since Genesis started working here.”
“Whoa…” Luke breathed.
“That's not even the most surprising part.” Dante chuckled bitterly. “It turned out that he was the one that killed Evelyn, he is the son of Del Monte’s rival in Mexico.”
“Damn!” Luke exclaimed. “That's insane!”
“Sure is.” Dante breathed out. “I'm just glad it's over.”
“What about Genesis?” Luke asked. “What will happen with her now that you've found out these things?”
“Honestly, I do not know.” Dante admitted. “I just want to take my time to think.”
“I believe your heart already knows what it wants.” Luke laughed. “If you could defend her when it seemed like she was cheating, then…” Luke shrugged, not finishing his sentence.
“Do you really think she did that? That she cheated?” Dante asked his friend.
“Well, I saw them holding hands.” Luke said. “I still have my suspensions but I'm willing to believe in the trust you have for her.”
There was not so much of that trust left at that moment. But he no longer felt comfortable having that conversation so he did not say anything to Luke about it anymore.
He got up and Luke's eyes followed him.
“I'm going to check on El.” He informed Luke. “Will you come?”
Luke nodded and got on his feet too. Together, they walked to Elon's room. And when they got there, Genesis was seated right there with the boy.
The air in the room went still immediately they locked eyes. It was obvious that she was still very guilty, because she looked away almost immediately and awkwardly stood up, looking down at her feet.
“You both need to get out of here and talk.” Luke spoke. “I'll stay here with El until you guys are done.”
“There would be no need for that.” Dante said that just to be stubborn. If anyone was desperate to talk to Genesis, it was him.
“Oh, come on, bro.” Luke punched his arm softly. “Don't start acting up now. You guys need to talk and decide where things are going. If not for your sake, then do it for your kid's sake.”
Dante sighed. There was sense in what Luke had just said. After all, the reason that Genesis was in his house in the first place was because of Elon. And his son was still his top priority.
“Let's go to my office.” He said to her and left the room without even waiting for her to catch up. If he could not communicate his disappointment by words, he was going to do it by action. He just really wanted to show it to her that he was upset with her.
He was already comfortably seated in his chair when she walked in, ten seconds after him. He was aware of that because he was counting in his head.
She slowly took her seat and she was still not looking at his face. They really were back to square one, when she could not even hold eye contact with him.
“Where do we even start from?” The slight harshness that came with his voice was not his intention at all. But he was going to say things as they were. “Where do we even begin?”
“Dante—”
“Genesis, were you ever going to tell me anything?” He asked her. “You lived comfortably knowing everything you did, Genesis.”
“I swear, every day was miserable for me, Dante.” She was finally looking at him now. “I was going to tell you. I was going to find a way to get rid of him…”
“Really?” Dante scoffed. “I was filling you in on every step of the investigation with him and Gloria, you saw the pictures, you saw everything and you still did not say anything about him being your brother. You watched me try to think of what he could possibly have against me, and you still did not say a word about it, Genesis.”
“I did not want you to get involved in all that, Dante.” Genesis was now sobbing. “He's my brother and I know how dangerous he is. Mentioning him to you would have led you right into his clutches.”
“But you were eventually aware of my plans against him with Matthew and his brothers. Why did you not speak up then?”
“The reason those men were after him in the first place was because of me. I was the friend Sara needed them to defeat him for. They did not know that, everything they did was for the sake of Sara. And when you mentioned that you were going to meet them that night, I really was not sure how to stop you. I was scared, Dante. And I did not know what to do.” Genesis sighed. “Please—”
“So you did not meet Sara for the first time at the hospital?” Dante squinted at her in disbelief.
“No.” Genesis shook her head shamefully. “We've been friends since college.”
“Genesis, what else have you been lying about?” Dante flared his hands in the air. “What other secrets are you still keeping from me? How am I even sure that you said the truth the other day? When Luke saw you holding hands with another man at a Cafe.”
“Dante, I promise, there is nothing going on between me and that guy.” Genesis debunked. “I met him one evening in the grocery store, and didn't even recognize him at first. We decided to meet at that cafe the following day to talk. I didn't say anything to you because… that would have meant talking about my past. I ended up explaining everything about Rodriguez to him and he offered to speak to some of his connections for me. I was only crying because he had just informed me that my grandmother passed away some years back and I was not even aware.”
Dante felt sorry to hear that. She was really vocal about the influence that her grandmother had had in her life.
“Who was this man to you before you moved here to the United States?”
“He was…” Genesis swallowed. “He was my boyfriend.”
“Your boyfriend?” Dante could not believe his ears. “Genesis, that man's your ex?”
“Dante—”
“You were afraid to tell me about what was going on with you, but you were pretty comfortable spilling everything to your ex? Really, Genesis?”
“Dante please, just let me speak.” Genesis clamped her fingers together. “Just let me explain.”
Dante stared at her in silence so she took that as a go-ahead.
“He was my first ever boyfriend. And we were still dating when I decided to run away from home. I just could not imagine living in crime like that. So I told him and he helped me plan my escape. A couple months after I got here, we lost contact and our meeting at the grocery store was our first time speaking since then. Dante, he has his own family now and he wants nothing from me, neither do I want anything from him.” Genesis sighed. “Please, believe me.”
“You've made it hard to do so.” Dante confessed. “Really hard.”
“I know…” She nodded slowly, fresh tears falling from her eyes. “I understand.”
“But why exactly is your brother chasing after you?” Dante just has to ask. It has been a lot of years since she left home and he was still chasing her? What was so important that he had to have her back home? Because from the little interaction he had seen between them, he was sure that they did not have the best relationship with each other.
“He’s a sick, controlling bastard.” She spoke with so much hate. “He believes that I don't get out of that life since every other person in the family has to live in it. In his words, we must continue our father's legacy.”
That was the most messed up thing Dante had heard in a while. Now, he looked at her and just saw a woman that wanted a clean life for herself, away from chaos and dirty work.
He sighed and relaxed on his chair. “Our contract has not yet expired.” He informed her.
“I'm aware.”
“So we still have time to decide what we want.” He exhaled. “What do you want, Genesis?”
“I want this to work, Dante.” She was looking straight in his eyes now. “I don't want what we have to end. Please, Dante, don't give up on me.”
“I want this to work too.” Dante admitted to her. “It's just… after this, I don't know.”
“Dante, please.” She pleaded. “Let me make this right. No more lies from now on, I promise.”
“You promise?”
“With all my heart.”
He smiled, he could not help it. That was really all he needed to hear, her promise. He got up, walked around the table, and lifted her to her feet. His lips found hers as his hands went around her waist.
Now, this was paradise. He was right where he wanted to be, with Genesis in his arms. With no more worries, secrets, or lies. This was the life that, just yesterday, was a dream to him. It was now his reality and he was going to bask in it.
She pulled out of the kiss and looked up at him, smiling. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. For being in my life.” He leaned his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. He really wanted to revel in this moment. “Thank you.” He repeated.
And they remained like that for a while, enjoying each other's presence and their new found resolution. This was like the beginning of a new chapter for them, and they were going to start over and do things right this time.