𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲.
I never thought my world would crumble at the hands of a man like Alessandro Rossi-a 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 draped in silk suits and ruthlessness. One moment, I was Yasenia Fraga, daughter of the...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Why couldn't I bring myself to hate him?
Alessandro had completely wrecked my life, yet somehow I couldn't muster the anger I wanted to feel. Instead, my brain got tangled up with feelings I didn't understand, making me question my own sanity.
Was it Stockholm Syndrome or something more twisted? Every time I tried to stoke that fire of resentment, it would just die out when I saw that brief flash of vulnerability in his eyes. Those same eyes that used to fill me with fear now made my heart ache when they looked clouded with... regret.
Regret. Could someone like Alessandro even feel that? It seemed ridiculous, almost laughable. I'd always believed men like him were unfeeling monsters, and empathizing with him felt like I was betraying everything I stood for.
Everything I believed in felt upside down, my sense of right and wrong flipped into chaos. It made no sense. He was supposed to be the monster here, the villain in my story. So why did it feel like I was the one who had it all backward?
A soft knock at the door snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts. I wiped my face quickly and tried to gather myself, managing a quiet, "Come in."
Melinda poked her head through the crack and stepped inside, her face already lined with worry. I shuffled over to the couch, trying to look calm even though I was anything but.
"Hey," I greeted her, forcing a smile that probably came off more as a grimace. She didn't buy it for a second. Melinda sat down beside me, her eyes searching my face.
"What's going on, babe?" she asked, her voice gentle but firm, like she was ready to drag the truth out of me if she had to.
I hesitated, caught between shrugging it off and admitting how lost I really felt. But I was a terrible liar, and Melinda knew me too well. "I... I don't even know anymore," I confessed, my voice cracking as a single tear slid down my cheek. I hated how vulnerable I felt, but there it was.
Melinda pulled me into a hug, her arms wrapping around me with a warmth that made it hard to hold back more tears. She stroked my hair, whispering, "I know, babe. It's so hard." Her voice was soothing, but her words hit deep, like she somehow understood the chaos I couldn't put into words. "Especially when you're wrestling with feelings for someone like Alessandro."
I stiffened. Me, having feelings for Alessandro? It sounded ridiculous, even to me. My heart resisted the idea, while my mind couldn't stop spinning. Alessandro was everything I'd tried to escape, everything that should have stayed on the other side of the line I'd drawn.
Melinda's embrace grew tighter, grounding me. "It's okay," she said softly. "People aren't always the villains we think they are. Sometimes they're just... trying to survive, same as us."
