Please Don't Hurt Her

"Who do you think I slept with? I was drunk, but I can still distinguish faces!" Eduardo snapped.

He was annoyed because Javier was arguing in an absurd manner. Eduardo knew he was drunk last night, but it was impossible to mistake the woman.

"How could it be? It's Liz. I understand very well what her social circle is like. She was lucky to escape my clutches... before," Javier added, because his current social circle was certainly different.

"I often met her in hotels, with different men each time. Wait! I remember now!" Javier furrowed his brow, then folded his index finger to point to the first count.

"I first met her in Cancun, then in Chilangolandia. The last time I met her was at the Playa del Carmen resort. She was wearing a bikini and holding hands on the beach—she was eighteen at the time." Javier presented a series of pieces of evidence that made it hard for him to believe that Lizeth Ramos was still a virgin.

"She was also rumored to be close to one of the actors, right? I forgot which one." Someone overlooked that news a few years ago. Javier didn't remember exactly, but Liz should definitely not be a virgin anymore.

"But I'm not wrong. There was blood, and... Oh, I remember. No wonder." Eduardo rubbed his chin.

"Wonder what?" Javier asked curiously.

"She screamed and cried. I thought it was because she felt forced and didn't want to, but maybe it hurt. Anyway, she satisfied me." Eduardo frowned.

His memories from last night weren't very clear. He only remembered a good body and a desire to be satisfied. Both the anger towards Esli and his physical desires.

Javier closed his eyes, as his confession was obviously too brutal for him. "You admit to torturing a woman in front of me?!" Javier hissed in anger.

"I didn't know! I thought eventually she would enjoy it. Mayte never complained when I did it!" Eduardo denied. He knew Javier would be angry to find out he hurt a woman.

"Mayte... actually wanted to sleep with you. Please differentiate! Yesterday, you frightened her with all your anger, and after that, you forced... 'that' into her? You forgot how big it is?! At least make sure she wants it too." Javier pointed to Eduardo's waist with a stern face. He didn't know exactly how big 'it' was, but he had an idea. They grew up together.

"But how could I know? You yourself didn't believe it. I learned about Liz from you. You're the one who knows more about these kinds of rumors, so you're the one at fault here!" Eduardo still defended himself.

"Oh, God," Javier said, shaking his head. Not believing that all the blame was back on him.

"Whatever it is, you don't appear remorseful. That's the problem," Javier stated.

"Even if I made a mistake by guessing incorrectly that Liz wasn't as wild as I thought, you still shouldn't have treated Liz harshly. You shouldn't have hurt her. Don't you remember playing with her before? Just remember that! Don't remember what Esli did." Javier was seriously admonished.

At least they had some sweet memories with Liz. They used to play together—more like teasing Liz. Even if it is not much, it is still there. Javier hoped Eduardo would soften up, reminiscing about that little girl.

"Do you want me to caress her with love? To cherish her? She's here because her rotten dad made me like this!" Eduardo pointed to his damaged face.

"Don't dream—"

"Ed!" Javier interrupted, then sat next to his brother, grabbing Eduardo's arm.

"Sorry, I can't feel or imagine the pain you're going through. But even just seeing it, I find it hard to forgive Esli—I even wanted to rip off this shirt to be able to hate him. To be able to be angry for you—I was so tempted at that time." 

Javier patted his chest, indicating the black pastor's uniform he was wearing. That one time, he wanted to break his oath.

"No need!" Eduardo retorted. He never wanted Javier to get involved in Rosas's family affairs again. He didn't want Javier's life to be disrupted.

"I know. I know you would be angry if I did; that's why I held back and chose to wait for you to wake up." Javier smiled and patted Eduardo's thigh.

"But no matter how angry you are, I don't want you to hurt innocent people. I asked you to marry Liz—not so that you could take revenge on her for Esli, but so that you would no longer be lonely. She didn't hurt you. If you hurt Liz, then you're hurting my intention—hurting me."

Eduardo scoffed. He hated it when Javier pleaded softly. It was hard to refuse. "You speak too easily!" Eduardo snapped sharply.

"Maybe. But I'm trying to make you feel better. I'm not asking you to forgive Esli because I myself am not able to. I understand that being angry and hostile would be more convenient for you, but I do not wish for you to feel that way about Liz. I want you to be gentle and loving—I just want you to be better."

Eduardo snorted. "You're asking me to love and accept a child from the man who ruined my life? I'm not that noble, Javier. I'm not you!" Eduardo stood up, but Javier caught his hand.

"Just please don't hurt her anymore. I want you to have someone to..."

"Why is it important to you that I'm not alone?" Eduardo interjected with curiosity. "I'm not alone, and..."

"You left Mayte as soon as you woke up in the hospital, and she saw the condition of your face. I know you intended to live alone when you did that." It wasn't hard to conclude. Javier knew his brother didn't want to accept any women because of his facial condition.

"But maybe that was the right decision. If it hadn't been carried out, then I wouldn't have to see my wife faint at the sight of my face up close."

Eduardo brushed off Javier's hand and left the room. Javier couldn't stop him after that; he just sighed deeply.

Javier couldn't comfort his brother when he talked about his face. How could he comfort him when every time he looked at his brother's damaged face, Javier wanted to cry?