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MARIA

Being in Vincenzo's house a few days later made it obvious how badly he was coping.

I passed by a few empty bottles of alcohol as I took a seat by the white island in the kitchen, watching him chop up some green vegetables for his smoothie.

"Want some?" His voice was so low that he didn't even sound like himself. I shook my head, his empty eyes briefly going over to me before returning to the chopping board. He looked like he hadn't had a wink of sleep. The bags under his eyes made him look scarily thinner.

A gentle sigh left me as I watched him. He was wearing casual clothes for once, an oversized sweatshirt and pants, looking like he had just come out the shower, I could still smell the clean scent of his shower soap coming from him. His hair was still a little wet, the droplets of water evident under the natural light coming from the window.

I clasped my hands together on the island, staring at the glass of water before me before moving on to taking in the kitchen. Vincenzo's house matched his personality. Unlike Leonardo's, it was a whole lot bigger and luxurious. Excess and unnecessary rooms, massive hallways, grand decor, expensive paintings. The man made sure his wealth was on display.

"How have you been taking the news, Vince?" I asked hesitatingly, my eyes watching as he placed a bowl of fresh strawberries in front of me. I thanked him for his hospitality before eating one. Vincenzo glanced up at me from the carrots he was chopping, a distant look in his eyes. "I don't know, Ria," Vincenzo answered with a heavy tone. He exhaled loudly and shook his head.

"I don't know what the fuck I'm supposed to do now," he expressed, tossing the carrots into the blender. I pressed my lips together, also struggling to figure out how to move forwards from it. The moment Leonardo would find out, it would change everything.

"Amalia..." He managed to say, his voice sounding restrained. He paused, looking conflicted even saying her name. "She's Leonardo's daughter. Elisa that fucking—" He sharply inhaled, his jaw tightening as he held himself back from certain words.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds before swallowing and scraping some more vegetables into the blender. "She never told me anything. Even afterwards, she didn't give anything away!" He let out another frustrated sigh, looking tense.

"She knew and instead of admitting it, she kept it quiet," Vincenzo harshly said, a laboured breathlessness to words from his anger. "All this fucking time." His eyes earnestly met mine, "Ria, I didn't know. If I had known..."

"I'm not..." I began before inhaling deeply and looking up at him. "I'm not as angry with you before. You deserved that slap but right now, all I want to do is to see how we should go with this." It was true. Nothing was going to change what happened by being angry or yelling at him. Amalia was Vincenzo's and that was a fact.

"What about Amalia?" I gently questioned. "What about her? She thinks that's her dad and she wasn't even raised by you." I felt a pang to my heart even thinking about her, Leonardo's little girl. I rubbed the back of my neck, exhaling again. Leonardo raised her, therefore he was her dad regardless of biology. The bond they had built even whilst she was in utero was unbreakable. But adding Vincenzo to the mix complicated things. Amalia was still small, she wouldn't be as affected.  

Vincenzo sharply inhaled through his teeth, looking so distressed. His jaw shifted forwards. He was all over the place, his eyes everywhere, his body rigid. So struck with thoughts that that his hands weren't careful. He went to touch his hair when his hand flicked upwards from the counter, against the blender. It turned on and I gasped as the cold contents of his smoothie splattered all over me, sticking onto my hair, staining dress, scattered across my face. I opened my eyes in shock, slowly meeting Vincenzo's.

My shoulder shook as the icy liquid tingled my skin. Vincenzo was all the way in the corner, without a single speck on him. He had saved himself. His eyes, filled with disbelief, slowly scanned me as I glared at him. "Vincenzo," was all I could say, staring at the green mess around us in disbelief. The spinach was unbearably strong to my nostrils.

But that seemed to be the only thing to bring some light to Vincenzo's empty eyes. The corner of his lips rose as he stepped forward cautiously, stifling a chuckle. "Come on. I'll get you sorted."

I came back downstairs almost an hour later wearing his dressing gown with his shorts that I managed to pull the string hard enough not dangle from my hips and an old t-shirt that was long enough to be a dress underneath. Sighing, I made my way into the living room where Vincenzo was waiting.

Much to my objection, Vincenzo had scrubbed all the stains out my clothes, while I showered, and it was in the machine to be washed and dried before I could go home. I declined initially to even shower and change into his clothes. It wasn't right wearing Leonardo's brother's clothes in his house or even taking mine off there. It felt strange. But there was no way I was sitting in that mess any longer. I would change and leave as soon as my clothes were done being cleaned.

I was still drying my hair, infused with his strong shampoo, with a black towel in my hand as I came down and sat on the chair. "What was the break up like?" I asked him as he lit a candle. He blew out the match before tossing it into the bin, sighing softly.

"Quick and unresolved," Vincenzo replied in a defeated tone before coming to the sofa to sit down. I wondered what she was like, his ex. She was right for leaving him, cheating was one thing I definetly would not tolerate.

I remarked, "I didn't know you were capable of having a relationship." He wasn't exactly the most committed brother. Vincenzo softly let out a laugh. "Neither did I until her," Vincenzo quietly agreed, clearly thinking of her. She must have been really special to him.

"If you told Leo," I suggested hypothetically. "What would your next steps be?"

Vincenzo thought for a moment, his eyes on the electric fire place heating up the room, a apathetic look on his face. He rubbed his eyes, looking like he didn't know. "Whatever he wants. It's his decision."

I then posed a riskier question. "Would you do anything about the test? Like being...her father?" It was a very touchy subject and I even struggled to think of what could happen next. Amalia was Leonardo's but she was also Vincenzo's.

"Maria, I—" Vincenzo scoffed shaking his head. He gave me a bewildered look before blurting out, "I'm not ready to be—look at me! How can I be a parent? I don't have the right to be." I gently sighed, before contemplating. I didn't even know how to pull him out of his mess. Vincenzo was a lot more responsible than he made himself seem.

"But..." He helplessly breathed out, beginning to look emotional. My face softened. He couldn't say it first before drawing up the courage to say. "Since Amalia is my daughter..." He nodded as a confirmation to himself with a small gulp. "Then I...I would change to be there for her. For my child." His desire for change was somewhat admirable. I looked up at him and nodded with a deep sigh, recognising that if things were different, Vincenzo would have raised Amalia, if he had known she was his daughter.

I was about to reply when a sudden loud and authorative voice unexpectedly came from the other side of the door, that slammed open, snapping, "Who's child?"

My breath hitched as my head snapped towards the door.

Leonardo.

My stomach flipped and my eyes expanded at the sight of him, stood there with a mixture of confusion and anger, clear by the creases on his forehead and his eyebrows narrowed towards us. I blinked quickly in surprise, my whole body tensing up at his demeanour that already looked furious. The anxiety prickled all over me.

He glanced between us and when his cold eyes landed on me that was the first time I had ever experienced such a judgmental stare from him. That unmasked stare shattered whatever was left between us that day. It changed the trajectory of our relationship from there. It was a look I could never forget, an intense gaze that became my reason for what would happen to the two of us. He had never given me that look before, one that was so harsh that it made me shiver. A sign of distaste and confusion flickered through his eyes, quickly replaced by a shocked look of what seemed like he felt betrayed, as though I had been deceitful, like that was the last straw for the both of us.

"Leonardo," Vincenzo breathed out, shocked as well as he suddenly stood up. That broke our eye contact and from there, Leonardo's full focus was on Vincenzo and not me. His fury filled eyes met Vincenzo's as he stared in disbelief. I stood too, feeling an imminent sense of conflict.

"What were you talking about before I came in here?" Leonardo questioned sharply, a confrontational stance coming from just the way he stood. My nails dug into the palm of my hands as I stared anxiously between the two of them, practically waiting for the moment he'd find out and the gates of chaos would open. Leonardo clenched his jaw, his eyes stuck on Vincenzo who deeply inhaled, looking a lot stronger than I did.

"Amalia," Vincenzo replied courageously. Leonardo's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, a questioning look on his face as he stared. He even looked disgusted that Vincenzo had said her name.

"What about Amalia?" Leonardo further pressed on, his voice was dripping with vexation. He wanted to know that he didn't hear what he thought he heard, I could tell. I gulped as the silence from Vincenzo filled the room. He looked away momentarily, looking as though he was trying to find a way to answer his brother without releasing a lock for turmoil to come out. I couldn't bear it, the intimidating gaze coming from Leonardo, the lack of words from Vincenzo.

"Leonardo—" I tried, building up the confidence to break the tension.

"I was asking Vincenzo."

He didn't even look at me. My eyes widened a little at his coldness. I felt the clenching of my heart inside and I felt sick. My stomach was churning and my pulse was racing. It was going to go as horribly as I expected, I could feel it.

"Vincenzo." Leonardo's deep voice that even made me stiffen, pressured Vincenzo again, his tone so dominating and assertive that I felt cold shivers go down my spine. My bottom lip curled into my mouth and as I looked down, I saw it, Leonardo's hand turning into a hard fist by his side. He already knew, he must've have. My eyes expanded at the sight. He knew before he had even came in and all he wanted was a confirmation from Vincenzo's mouth himself.

Then Vincenzo finally answered him clear enough for Leonardo to hear, his regretful eyes making direct eye contact with his brother, "I slept with Elisa and a paternity test was found. One matching me to being Amalia's father."

"What? This one?" Leonardo bitterly questioned, taking out a practically scrunched up letter from his pocket and shoving it to Vincenzo. Vincenzo unraveled its contents, his hands unable to fully stay still and my lips separated in shock. The paternity letter. I softly gasped, glancing at my bag. It was right there before, I was sure I had packed it.

"How did you—" I began, my wide eyes meeting Leonardo's furious ones again.

"After pretending with me all morning, it fell out when you picked your bag up and left," Leonardo sourly answered, ripping his hard eyes away from me. I couldn't hide the hurt on my face at his harsh tone.

"Leonardo," I breathed out with a dejected tone, picking up on the word 'pretending'. I placed my hands on my hips, feeling his anger towards me.

"You fucked Elisa?" Leonardo brutally interrogated Vincenzo, seething. His face was beginning to redden from the rage building very quickly within him. He scoffed, his breathing becoming heavier. Vincenzo slowly let out a breath before honestly replying, "once. A long time ago."

"Was that the girl?" Leonardo further asked, his eyes squinting a little as he stared at his brother in disgust. His voice was shaking with fury, "the one you cheated on Mia with?" He knew about it, I thought. Vincenzo looked out the window for a second, as though to calm himself.
He swallowed before answering, "it was Elisa." It felt like we were seconds away from an explosion, Leonardo was only getting angrier.

"And now you're saying," Leonardo scoffed, his head shaking as he tilted his head up for a second, closing his eyes in utter disbelief. "Now you're telling me that my own daughter isn't mine?" Vincenzo didn't reply. I felt my body shudder for a second, the fear coursing in me as I knew Leonardo's reaction wouldn't be pretty. I couldn't speak, my mouth went dry and I felt helpless, knowing that what would come was nothing I could control.

Leonardo took a step closer as he uttered, "Amalia." Leonardo took in a breath before reiterating strongly, "my Amalia." His eyebrows were deep down, his harsh eyes casting such a dark gaze towards his brother. "Did you call her yours?" Leonardo questioned as Vincenzo licked his lips, his eyes meeting Leonardo's again.

"I would never—" Vincenzo tried before he was cut off.

"Pray, Vincenzo," Leonardo darkly advised his brother before a ruthless and dangerous look crossed his eyes. I felt my heart drop as soon as he coldly denounced, "perché solo questo può salvarti dalla mia ira. {because only doing that can save you from my wrath}." I felt the fear spiral within me.

That unmerciful look in his eyes reminded me of that night where I saw him with Jorge, that unforgiving and enraged look that meant he was no longer going to speak until his fury was satisfied.

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~ Author's Note ~

Uh oh! Looks like Vincenzo is in trouble.

How will Leonardo deal with this situation? He hasn't been this angry before....

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