Guns And Laces (Sinbound Series) ✔️

Guns And Laces: Chapter 26

Guns And Laces

Bump On The Road

Chapter Twenty-Six

“What happened to her?” I asked Angelo about his mother.

His fork stopped midway and he glanced up at me with a vulnerable look in his eyes. He placed the fork back on his plate and I instantly knew his appetite was lost.

I quickly finished the last two bites of my waffles and shifted closer to him. I picked up the plate that he had placed on the kitchen island and brought the fork near his mouth.

“Please don’t waste your food.” I spoke softly to him.

“I am not hungry anymore.” He said back quietly.

I swallowed before speaking again, “You know I didn’t realise how big of a blessing the food on our table was until I didn’t have any of it. I…I was eating scraps, leftovers - starving most days. And once I was able to afford some food, I made a promise to myself to never waste it. So please for my sake, don’t waste your breakfast and I know that you are hungry.”

His gaze softened and he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. I urged him to take a bite and he finally opened his mouth. I smiled and kissed his cheek.

“Mom was diagnosed with cancer three years before her death. I was sixteen then and mostly focused on my studies. But after her diagnosis, I was the one who was taking care of her meals, daily walks, and taking her to hospital for chemo. The only responsibility that I had left on Julia was mom’s medicines.”

“Julia?” I asked in confusion and fed him another piece of waffle.

“My other sister.” He replied and a distant look settled in his eyes. “Mom found out about dad’s second marriage - Eirene and Aegeus are my step siblings. She confronted my father about it but he straight up denied. She did some digging and found out that dad had raped the other woman. Apparently they were in love but she had found out that he was already married so she backed out not wanting to be a homewrecker but dad didn’t take well to it and ended up forcing himself on her.” He paused and took a sip of his coffee.

“He then married Rosalinda and told her that my mother was bound to him by a contract and he was not happy with her. Seventeen years of marriage and he was not happy with my mother.” He scoffed. “My mother loved him you know? They both were eighteen when they got married and she was head over heels for this man.”

“He remarried at thirty-five and you know their mom was beautiful inside and out. She was only twenty-one when he married her. He was later on very abusive towards the twins and it got to the point that he was about to shoot Eirene but Rosalinda intervened and took the bullet for her. My father was broken after that - that was the only human side that we ever saw in him and it almost, almost made me believe that he actually loved her. After that, he took his anger out on my mother. Behind our back. He replaced her medicines with some drugs that slowed down her brain and minimised her physical activity. Julia knew but she didn’t say anything because she always favoured dad and wasn’t attached to her.”

“I…I couldn’t save her. I didn’t know what was happening, my father had paid the doctors to keep their mouths shut. I was helpless, Anna. I was…watching her lose herself everyday. I was losing her." His voice cracked and he buried his face in my chest.

I quickly wrapped my arms around his head as his body shook in my hold. My lips wobbled as I struggled to contain my own tears.

“I am so sorry, baby.” I whispered and his hold tightened on me.