Delicate Beauty (Mateo love story)

Chapter Eight *Edited*

Angelica sits in the airport with the deepest of frowns, her heart was breaking, every step closer to leaving Benidorm sent a dagger through her fragile heart. She was currently seated and waiting for her flight to be called, Darren sat beside her. Her eyes remain glued to the floor below, she refuses to amuse him, she refuses to let him see the pain this filled her with. She already missed her father, her brother, she even missed Kenneth. Her heart ached for another moment with Mateo, she had wanted to thank him, to admit to him that he had grown on her, that she had grown to like him. Benidorm had already become her home and now she was mercilessly being dragged away from it. She wanted to run, run back to the Solana, back to her family and friends. To Mateo. But she wouldn't, she couldn't let them get hurt because of her.

"Talk to me, Gelica" his voice is soft, something Angelica isn't used to, she didn't trust it, not one bit.

She sighs and ignores his request; she is angry at him; he is truly destroying her life. He was ripping it apart for his own selfish needs, and then had the audacity to call it love.

"Angelica, I'm doing this for us. For our future together" he sounds defeated as he reaches forward to take her hand, only for her to pull it back.

"No, you're doing this for your own desires. There is no us, there never will be. No matter what you say or do, there will never ever be an us ever again" her voice is filled with venom and hatred, her voice is cold as she stares him in the eye. All her fear has faded, he had taken everything that had meant the world to her, there was nothing more to fear. She could take the beatings that were inevitably going to come to her, she could handle his outbursts but when it came to being taken away from her family, that was the hardest thing of all.

She could see the hurt that flashed over his features, his eyes were his biggest giveaway. She could see his anger and sadness battling within him, she could see that in his own twisted, messed up way, he loved her. The problem was that he loved her too much. He wanted to not only have her in his life, but to have complete control of every aspect of hers. He didn't want to share his precious trophy with anyone, he didn't want her to be corrupted with the opinions of others. So, the only solution in his head was to lock her away, away from the world that would turn his precious Angelica against him.

It was sad really, sad to see someone she had once loved with all that she was, turn batshit crazy. A part of her missed the carefree, loving boyfriend he had once been. The man who had opened doors for her, the man who would surprise her with flowers and silly jokes. She missed her Darren. The man that sat beside her may have looked like him, but the man inside was a complete stranger.

"I love you" she could hear the desperation in his voice, he needed her. He longed to hear her express the same feelings towards him, he wanted to know that he still had a part of her that belonged to him. Something that he could still call his own. She had never seen him this vulnerable, his previous deadly demeanour being nowhere in sight. For the moment, he seemed more grounded, saner. He no longer tried to intimidate her, it was almost as if he wanted to convince her that she still meant something to him, even after all this time. She meets his eyes with a half-hearted smile "and I loved you" she watches as his momentary smile drops; his expression now resembled the look of a broken man.

His face contorts into a look of pure rage, clearly, he had taken her lack of feelings for him badly. He finally knew that the love she had once held for him, was now gone, no hope stood for the couple to survive whatever amount of time he had planned for them to be together. He had already lost her the day he locked her away from the world, the day he had lay a finger on her. The day he had broken all trust and comfort that the two had ever shared. He was a stranger to Angelica now, she wanted nothing more than to be as far away from him as possible and that tore him apart.

The intercom above them informed all passengers that the plane was ready to be boarded. Angelica could no longer hold back the sadness she felt as tears welled in her eyes, she couldn't bear the thought of leaving with him. She hears him growl as he roughly takes a hold of her arm, his grip tight enough to leave a bruise or two. "You'll pay for that" he threatens with a clenched jaw, she had honestly never seen him so angry. Her legs shake beneath her as he leads her to the gate to board, her heart held hope that someone, anyone, would see her distress and stop his madness. She wanted someone to rescue her, she wanted her father, she wanted to hug Liam. She wanted to go home.