Hidden Truths

Chapter Cuarenta

2 hours of curses, courtesy of Sebastian, sweat, by Xavier, and tears, from Penelope, later, the cat was finally out of the bag.

2 hours ago, I found out that Xavier didn't bother explaining to Sebastian and Penelope any details about my life, nor had he told them about what Matteo had done to me.

A slight shame crossed Penelope and Sebastian's face when I detailed the story of my life, making sure to highlight the conditions I had been living in, as opposed to the glamorous lifestyle of themselves and their son.

Zara had left before I was able to outline my meeting with Matteo, announcing that she couldn't bear to hear it. I was sure Penelope would have done the same had she not been forced to stay and listen.

Eli stayed by my side, squeezing my hand or rubbing my arm every now and then, making me aware of his presence.

"dios mio... qué? I – I don't..." Penelope stuttered, hanging her head down, and for the first time today, there was no longer a smile on her face.

"Voy a encontrar y matar a ese bastardo" (I'm going to find and kill that bastard), Sebastian exclaimed in foreign words, although his vexed expression demonstrating his very clear intent.

"we're so sorry Mia... I never thought... you weren't supposed to find out like that." Penelope apologized, but at that point, I was already sick of hearing apologies.

"How was I supposed to find out then? Or maybe I wasn't supposed to find out at all? I mean how long were you really going to let me live the way I was living, while you were all living in mansions with maids and private jets at your disposal?"

"Wealth doesn't guarantee happiness." Sebastian responded, ignoring my questions.

"You're right, it doesn't. But some love from my parents might have." With those words, I removed myself from the living room and began walking upstairs, ignoring the pleas behind me.

I knew what Sebastian was saying was true. In honesty, my anger towards them was not because of their money. It wasn't like I grew up homeless. I had enough food and clothes to guarantee my survival; but up until the point I had met Sky everyone around me was temporary. Temporary schools, temporary friends... temporary caregivers.

My whole life I felt like a cut flower. One that had no roots, no anchor to this world, however, it was still expected to flourish and showcase its beauty.

When I was small and at school, kids would find out I was an orphan and then would treat me so differently. So, from that point, I went forward in life making sure no one ever took me for granted or could see how vulnerable I was.

Most days I would walk around like a hollow plastic doll, with a painted happy face, concealing the abandoned child within. No one cared enough to question my otherwise genuine looking smile.

I finally entered my room to find Sky and Alex in there. Thankfully, both fully clothed.

"Hey! how'd it go? Were they what you were expecting?" Sky immediately walked over to me, as I sat on the bed, followed by Alex.

"I- I don't-" I began, but I didn't even know how to answer her question. How did it go? Horrible. Were they what I was expecting? That would have required me to have had a level of expectation about them, which I didn't.

"It was Sebastian, wasn't it? Scared the shit out you too?" Alex blurted.

"Alex" Sky hissed back at him.

"What? He's a scary man" Alex whispered back to Sky.

Sky responded in silence, by facepalming herself.

I couldn't help but smile at their bickering. They were so different, yet so similar in ways.

"Why is she smiling at us like that?" Alex whispered to Sky, pulling me out of my trance.

Before I could respond, Eli was walking through the door with a bowl of Buñuelos in his hand.

Ah, this boy really did know the way to my heart.

He placed the bowl on the bedside table and sat next to me, placing his arm around me and a placing a kiss on the side of my head.

"Eli, maybe you can tell us how it went, since Mia seems to be a bit loss for words" Sky beamed at Eli.

"Uh..." he looked over at me, unsure whether to explain, but with a nod of my head he continued, "her um... Sebastian and Penelope didn't actually know anything, apparently Xavier had just told them that he had found Mia waitressing. He kind of skipped the part about why she had to be waitressing and the circumstances she grew up in. I mean I don't understand why they couldn't just do a background check like Xavier had done, but I guess they were expecting Xavier to have told them everything... since he hadn't, Mia decided to."

"Wow."

"Yeah... hey what happened to all the Buñuelos?" I asked, examining the now empty bowl.

We all looked over at Alex.

"What? Why are you all looking at me for?"

We all looked at Alex's hands, where three Buñuelos lay.

"HOW DID THOSE GET THERE?" He gasped in response, as he looked down.

"Alex! Give those back to Mia!" Sky attempted to plead on my behalf.

"If you want it, come and get it!"

And with that Alex was off, with Sky chasing him down.                                

"Those two... they're really something" Eli chuckled.

"Tell me about it."

"Actually... I'd rather tell you, " Eli grabbed my face between his hands, "how smart," he mused, placing a kiss on my right cheek, "and strong," a kiss on my left cheek, "and beautiful you are" his lips finally met mine placing a quick kiss on them, pulling back before I could even return it.

"Can I make you dinner tonight?" He asked out of the blue, leaving me a bit frazzled.

"What?"

"Can I make you dinner?"

"Um... sure? But isn't there a chef here?"

"No, not here... at my place."

My brows furrowed together as I tried to process what he had just said, "your place?"

"Yes, my place" he beamed back at me.

"Wait, if you have your own place why do you stay here?"

"If you didn't want me here you could have just said so," he smirked, but continued before I could open my mouth to deny it, "I stay here because Xavier wants us all in one place, you know in case there's ever an emergency."

"Oh"

"Is that a yes?"

"huh?"

"Keep up princess, can I make you dinner tonight, at my place? I promise I'm not an awful cook... plus, it'll help you get away from everyone here for a while" I knew who he meant by everyone.

I smiled and leaned in closer to his face, my lips only a brush away from his, "yes" I whispered before returning the kiss he didn't allow me to earlier.

♡ ♡ ♡

Authors Note: I thought I'd bring back some romance to this "romance" novel before shit hits the fan lol.

Super sorry for not updating last week; I had a million things due for Uni. I'll probably update tomorrow as well to make up for the lack of update last week though!

Don't forget to vote and comment ❤️