chapter 5

ENZO

I turned up the speed on the treadmill as I ran the last round. I had been working out for an hour and thirty minutes now, and I already felt more energized than I had been the whole week. The pumping of my legs, and the sweat running down my body and my hair was such a thrill. As soon as my timer went off, I stopped the treadmill and jumped down. Grabbing a towel from the rack, I wiped my forehead and neck, and picked up a bottle of water.

Now it was time for my fruit smoothie. There was a mini kitchen in the corner of the gym where I usually prepared my smoothie after a workout. I was at the family mansion, having arrived late last night. I did this whenever I wanted to spend the weekend here. Not by choice, but because once in a while I had to check up on my siblings.  

Speaking of the devil, the doors of the gym flew open and in walked Annalise. She was dressed in her jogging clothes, a huge smile plastered on her face. "Big bro!" She yelled, waving from where she stood. "Fancy seeing you here." By now she was standing next to me. 

Before I could respond, she had jumped me in a hug. I chuckled, returning the hug. "Annie, I'm sweating like a Thanksgiving turkey. You really should not be hugging me right now."

She only laughed, shrugging. "Doesn't matter. I'm sure your sweat smells like vanilla," She winked. "At least that's what the ladies say."

I rolled my eyes, lowering myself down to a mat and taking a gulp from my smoothie. "Yeah the ladies say a lot of things. It shouldn't come as a surprise now." 

Annie laughed, taking off her shoes and taking a seat beside me on the yoga mat. Annalise was my only sister and my youngest sibling. She had just turned eighteen and she was a bundle of joy.  "When did you get in? We've missed you so much. Marcos would freak when he sees you. Have you…have you seen the others?" She asked again, her voice lower than before. 

By 'others' I knew she was talking about Dad. I tried to conceal my distaste. Just the thought of him was enough to ruin my day. If it were just me, I would not step foot into this mansion. But my siblings were important to me.  

I shook my head. "Not yet." Ever since the unfortunate incident that caused me to take over the family business, I had made a habit of spending the weekend here at home once a month. Everyone was broken in some way after what happened, and I realized the only way for us to heal was to stick together. I didn't want the same fate for Marcos and Annalise. I wanted to be there for them. 

"Dad would be glad to see you. It's been a while."

I nodded. "As soon as I shower and get changed, I'll go catch up with the old man. What about you? What have you been up to? Asides basically living on I*******m, of course," I chipped in, desperate to change the subject.

She squealed, laughing as she nudged my shoulder sharply. "Well it's my job, don't hate on the 'gram." 

I grimaced. "If you say so."

After a while, Annie fixed me with a smug grin. "And what about your life? Any…new developments?"

Usually, I wouldn't have thought anything of the question. But the way she said it sounded suspicious. "Uhh…not really. Work is the same, why?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not talking about work. I mean your life. Anything you want to tell me?"

I frowned. What was she talking about? Nothing interesting had happened in the last few days. But she was talking like she knew something I didn't. "What are you talking about, Annie?" 

In response, she shook her head and spread out the tabloid in her hand, turning it over to show me the front page. I nearly choked on my smoothie as I saw what she was referring to. Right on the front page was a photo of me in the coffee shop, my lips locked with those of that redhead in what seemed to be a passionate kiss. I had completely forgotten about that. 

"Sparks fly as multibillionaire Enzo Hernandez is spotted in a romantic position with an unknown woman."

"Enzo Hernandez, finally giving us a glimpse into his romantic life. And by the looks of things, he has really good taste."

"Enzo Hernandez's steamy PDA session is officially ranked No. 1 on the hottest kiss of the season."

"Enzo's mystery girlfriend finally revealed?"

I read through all the captions aloud, my brows furrowed in confusion. I felt a sudden rush of anger. After years of keeping my love life private, it had all gone to waste all because of a kiss that was sprung on me! From a woman I had never seen in my life. I slapped my forehead, groaning. The internet would feed on this for weeks. And from what I was seeing on the tabloids, they were already certain that she was my lover. 

Oh God. 

"When were you gonna tell me?!" Annie yelled from beside me. "Were you even planning to tell me you were seeing someone! And she's so pretty too! You're being so unfair, Enzo."

I sighed, trying to think of a way out of this. I couldn't exactly tell her it was a misunderstanding. The kiss looked so real. And knowing my sister, she would think I was only trying to avoid the subject. "Look Annie…" I trailed off, suddenly thinking of something. "Has Dad seen this?" 

She shook her head. "No, not yet. But I'm sure he'll be—"

"No, no, don't. I don't want anyone else seeing this, alright?"

She frowned. "Jeez, why do you have to be so private about it? But fine I won't tell him. When can we meet her?"

 I pretended not to hear her, stretching and getting up from the mat. "Up you go, kid. I need to freshen up and get to other things."

She rolled her eyes, shooting me daggers. "Fine," She chipped, before getting up and going back upstairs to the house. I turned back to the tabloid on the mat and picked it up. The pictures were everywhere, taken from different angles. For once I just wanted the paparazzi to get the fuck off my back. 

Raking a hand through my hair, my eyes flew to the woman's face in the picture. Who was she? And why had she suddenly decided to spring a kiss on me? And now because of her another rumor had started. And only God knows how long they would go on for. My jaw clenching, I squeezed the tabloid in my fist and tossed it into a trash can.