Don Antonio's POVThe phone call with Alexa had ended abruptly, her voice strained and hoarse, her words a desperate plea for escape: "I'll take it. I need to leave. Now." My immediate response was to act, to mobilize my resources and arrange her departure without question. That's what I do. That's who I am. But as I barked orders to my men, dispatching a car to the hospital, a cold, unsettling feeling began to settle over me.I was having a double mind about the vacation. On one hand, I was relieved. Her acceptance, even a reluctant one, meant she would be away from this toxic environment, away from Donald and the baffling hold he still seemed to have on his ex-wife. This island retreat was exactly what she needed, a chance to breathe, to heal, to find some semblance of peace. It was what I had planned, what I believed was best for her.But on the other hand, her sudden change of heart, the desperation in her voice, gnawed at me. Just hours before, she had been vague, elusive, seemin
Alexa's POVThe demand still echoed in my ears, sharp and cruel: "You must leave Don Antonio." My mother's words had landed like a physical blow, stripping away my breath, leaving me stunned in the sterile hospital room. I stared at her, then at my father, a silent, baffled scream building in my throat. How could this be happening?The silence was suffocating, punctuated only by the frantic beat of my own heart. My mind reeled, trying to grasp the vileness of her ultimatum. Leave Don Antonio? The man who had been my protector, my ally, my solace through every dark moment? The man who had, in his own way, loved me and sought justice for her? And all for Donald, the man who had caused all this suffering, who had left her to rot?I was confused and angry about the condition my mother gave me. Confusion tangled with a searing rage. It wasn't just a choice; it felt like a betrayal. My mother was now turning against the one person who had truly stood by me. It was illogical, heartbreaking,
Alexa's POVDon Antonio had taken me to a penthouse and tried to offer comfort, but my answer to his question about us had been vague, born of a confusion so profound it had silenced any coherent thought. He'd understood, I think, retreating to give me space, leaving me alone with my churning thoughts.Sleep didn't come. How could it? Every time I closed my eyes, the scene replayed with agonizing clarity: my father, on his knees, begging for forgiveness, swearing a twisted love; my mother's quiet, powerful command for me to leave; and that faint, devastating glow in her eyes as she looked at him.I thought about the hospital scenario all through the night. The hours bled into one another, each passing minute deepening the ache in my chest. I tried to make sense of it, to fit it into the narrative of justice and betrayal I’d meticulously built. But it refused to fit. My mother, the victim, the one I had sworn to avenge, seemed to have shattered my carefully constructed world with a sin
Don Antonio's POVThe soft click of the hospital room door closing behind Alexa echoed in the sterile quiet of the hallway. I hadn't moved from my spot by the wall, the raw emotions from within the room still clinging to the air around me. I'd heard my Little Alexa's cutting question to Donald, witnessed his shattered reaction, and most importantly, I'd seen the subtle, devastating flicker in Alexa’s Mom eyes as she looked at her husband. That faint glow, that hint of lingering affection, was a gut punch. It complicated everything.My own anger, which had been simmering just beneath the surface, felt cold and distant compared to the heartbreak I knew Alexa was experiencing. She had gone in there seeking truth, seeking justice, and instead, she'd found a profound, unsettling confusion.Then, Alexa emerged. Her shoulders were slumped, and her usual fierce posture was replaced by a visible weariness that tugged at something deep inside me. Her eyes, when she finally looked up and met min
Alexa's POVMy question hung in the stale hospital air, sharp and accusatory: "Is it because she's awake, Dad? Is that why you're finally apologizing? Because she's here to hear it?" The words had pierced through Dad's performative grief, leaving him speechless, a man caught in his own lie, or so I believed. His face was a mask of wounded surprise, tears welling again, but I couldn't discern their true source.My mom who had been quietly absorbing the fragmented reality around her, now turned her gaze fully to Dad. There was no immediate outrage in her eyes, no sudden burst of anger. Just a deep, unsettling stillness, a weary assessment that seemed to see right through him.Dad regaining his voice, although it was still raw with emotion, spoke. He didn't answer my question directly, but his words were meant for Mom, a desperate plea for her understanding, or perhaps, for his own vindication."Babe," he choked out, pushing himself back onto his knees by her bedside. His voice was thick
Alexa's POVThe word "Alexa?" hung in the air, a fragile, impossible gift. It was a sound I hadn't dared to dream of, a voice I thought was lost to me forever. My mother's eyes, though still hazy with the lingering effects of her long illness, were open, and they were looking at me. They knew me.My heart, which had been a lead weight in my chest for so long, suddenly soared. The world tilted, not in a dizzying spin of confusion, but in a sudden, overwhelming rush of pure, unadulterated joy. The bitter taste of revenge, the complex understanding of my father's brokenness, the heavy weight of Don Antonio's war – all of it, for that singular, miraculous moment, vanished into thin air.I moved without thinking, propelled by an instinct stronger than any calculated plan. My father, still frozen in his chair, seemed to fade from my view. I leaned over the bed, gently, so gently, as if she were a delicate bird that might fly away. My arms, trembling with emotion, wrapped around her frail s