ENVY

Chapter 9 ~ Revelations

Marcello stood in stunned silence. Where should he begin?
"Umm. . .", he uttered then gulped.
"Well, you know about Angelica", he reached for his glass of brandy and cleared his throat.
Alecia sat quietly and just nodded wide eyed. "What did she have to do with this?", Alieca wondered.
"What you don't know is she wasn't some random dating experience, we were engaged for two years before I met you", Marcello looked down at his glass as he finally divulged his past.

Alicea gasped at his revelation completely understanding the looks Angelica gave Marcello when she'd first introduced them or reintroduced them as the case was. A million and one questions ran through her mind as the information hung in the air.

"I wasn't happy with the relationship. I told her as much, but she chocked it up to cold feet or missing the bachelor's life", he continued. "I always felt as if she never really understood me, but that she was with me more for her benefit than mine. Basically money and connections". Marcello finally looked up from his glass to gauge Alicea, and found her intently staring at the folded hands in her lap.

She didn't speak, couldn't speak. "How should she respond to this?, Did he expect her to?"

"Querida?", placing the glass on the coffee table, Marcello moved closer to Alecia wrapping his arms around her in comfort. "You do know how much I love you?", he whispered into her hair.
"I would never betray your trust".
"What I had with her was a lie, it wasn't real", he attempted to reassure her.
"I haven't seen or heard from her until the day you introduced her to me in your classroom". Marcello held Alecia at arms length lifting her chin to look into her eyes.
"Mi amor, look at me", he pleaded.
Alecia's eyes darted up to meet his.
"You know I speak the truth, don't you?", his words seemed to beg for reassurance.

"Yes", she whispered finally finding her voice.

Marcello settled himself into the sectional. Leaning back, he pulled Alecia down to lean on his shoulder. "The day you and I met", Marcello began. "was the day I had broken off the engagement". "I was so upset, I had sworn off women", he continued as he stroked Alecia's hair. "God has a funny sense of humor", he chuckled. "I know it was his plan for us to meet and fall in love", he proclaimed knowingly. "The moment you bumped into me, I was star struck".
Tears steamed down her face as she recalled that fateful day.

"Querida? Why are you crying?", Marcello asked as he wiped tears from her cheek.

"Just remembering the day we met.  I think I loved you before I let myself believe it", she admitted.

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"Si, mami, I know", Alicea huffed into the phone hurriedly making her way across the atrium of the convention center.
"I'll be home as soon as the conference is over, lo prometo. I have to drop off these drawings first.", she reassured her mother continuing in her hurried state to make her way toward the next lecture in search of her friend.  Unfocused on her path but more on her mother's worried tone, Alicea stopped short, stumbled, and nearly fell into the nearby fountain when she struck an object in her path. Her impromptu bath was cut short by a pair of strong hands; her phone however was not so lucky.

"Oh my . . .", she hissed. "What the hell? Didn't you see me walking?", unleashing a verbal lashing on the stranger.

"I beg your pardon?", the gentleman retorted. "I think you should be thanking me", he raised his eyebrow. "I mean, I could have let you fall in with your phone, if that's what you really wanted", he motioned toward the fountain.

"Es que Los hombres son bestias, dios mio, por que?", Alicea prayed and bent over to retrieve her phone. Wiping it down and shaking off the excess water, she wrapped it in an old handkerchief from her back pocket and stuffed it into her purse.