Inessa's life took a drastic turn when her father owed Vincent Valentino a lot of money. Unable to pay him back, Vincent decided to take Inessa as collateral. Inessa's world came crashing down, but she didn't cry; she was disappointed in her father...
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One week later- Inessa
A week had passed since Inessa confronted Vincent about keeping secrets from her. While they still talked and hung out with the group, Inessa couldn't help but feel a little distant from him. She reminded herself that their relationship was just for show, but the thought of Vincent hiding something from her still gnawed at her.
One day, as she was walking to the kitchen to grab a snack, she saw Trey sitting on the couch, scrolling through his phone. She decided to join him and plopped down on the couch beside him.
"Hey Trey, remember when you told me Vincent could be pretty intense?" she asked, reminding him of their previous conversation.
Trey nodded, looking up from his phone. "Yeah, what about it?"
"I haven't seen much of it," Inessa admitted. "And what did you mean with that anyways?"
Trey took a deep breath before answering. "Well, uh... you haven't seen much of it because he doesn't want to scare you," he said. "And what I meant was that Vincent isn't someone you want to see angry."
Inessa furrowed her brow, feeling a little uneasy. "Does he ever get... physically?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.
Trey slowly nodded, and Inessa's heart sank. She had seen Vincent's strength and power before, but she had never thought of him as someone who could become violent.
"Oh, fuck, ya umru zdes' " Inessa thought to herself, feeling a pit in her stomach. She wondered what Vincent was hiding from her, and if it had anything to do with his temper. ( I'm going to die here)
Trey seemed to notice her unease and quickly added, "But he's not a bad guy, Inessa. He just has a lot of baggage and secrets."
Inessa nodded, feeling a little reassured but still on edge. "I know," she said quietly. "But I just wish he would be more open with me."
Trey put his arm around her, offering some comfort. "Give him time, Inessa. He'll tell you when he's ready," he said. "Just be patient and stay safe."
Inessa sighed, leaning into Trey's embrace. She knew he was right, but the uncertainty of what Vincent was keeping from her was starting to wear on her. She hoped that he would open up to her soon before things got out of hand.
After her conversation with Trey, Inessa felt her stomach churn with worry. She couldn't imagine Vincent being physically aggressive, but she knew she had to be careful around him. She tried to shake off the feeling and went to find Zariah, hoping to distract herself with some gossip.
As she entered the living room, Zariah was sitting on the couch, scrolling through her phone. "Hey, girl," she said, looking up as Inessa approached.
"Hey," Inessa replied, taking a seat next to her. "What are you looking at?"
Zariah let out a laugh. "You won't believe this," she said, turning her phone to show Inessa. "Megan and Jack's hook-up video got leaked."
Inessa's eyes widened as she watched the video on Zariah's phone. "Oh my God," she said, trying to stifle her laughter. "How did that even happen?"
"I have no idea," Zariah replied, still giggling. "But it's hilarious."
Inessa shook her head, still in disbelief. "I can't believe someone would leak something like that," she said, feeling a pang of sympathy for Megan and Jack.
Zariah shrugged. "They should've known better than to film it in the first place," she said, still chuckling.
Inessa couldn't help but laugh along with her friend. It was a relief to have something to distract her from her worries about Vincent, even if it was just silly gossip.
(...)
As they sat at the dinner table, the group was enjoying their meal and chatting about their day. Elijah suddenly looked over at Zariah and cleared his throat.
"Hey Zariah, are you a magician?" he asked with a grin.
Zariah looked at him skeptically. "Why do you ask?" she replied.
"Because every time I look at you, everyone else disappears," Elijah said with a wink.
Zariah rolled her eyes, trying to suppress a smile. "Nice try, Elijah," she said. "But you're going to have to come up with something better than that."
Inessa chuckled at their exchange and took a sip of her drink. "I bet you can't pick line me up," she said teasingly.
Elijah looked at her, thinking for a moment before he spoke. "Are you a camera? Because every time I look at you, I smile," he said, trying to sound smooth.
Inessa let out a loud laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. "Lokh," she whispered to herself, amused by Elijah's attempt. (Sucker)
Zariah joined in on the laughter, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of it all. "You guys are something else," she said.
Elijah wasn't deterred by their laughter and continued to try his luck. "Okay, okay, one more. Are you a parking ticket? Because you've got FINE written all over you," he said, grinning.
Inessa and Zariah groaned simultaneously, rolling their eyes at the cheesy pick-up line. "Boy, you better get your goofy-looking ass out of here with your silly pick-up lines," Zariah said, still laughing.
Inessa nodded in agreement. "Good try, but it's a no for me, bednyy mal'chik," she said. (poor boy).
Elijah shrugged, accepting his defeat. "Hey, I tried," he said, grinning sheepishly.
The rest of the dinner went by in a similar fashion, with the group joking around and teasing each other. Inessa couldn't help but feel grateful for their lighthearted moments like this, especially with all the drama going on around them.
