Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 89772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
She held me tighter, feeling my pain. Openly sharing, “I know what it’s like to not understand your life. I didn’t grow up like you. My family was the complete opposite. I can’t tell you how many times I went from bawling my eyes out, praying to God that my mother would snap out of it. She was always sad, always crying, always in this dark place in her mind. Making promise after promise she’d be the parent I deserved. The one I needed and wanted with all my heart and soul. She suffered from depression and took pills that left her comatose half the time. And honestly, I think she preferred it that way. She didn’t have to pretend to be someone she wasn’t. She hated looking me in the eyes.”
I pulled away, and our stares connected. With a loving smile, she grabbed a Q-Tip and dipped it in makeup remover before bringing it up to my face. Carefully, wiping away the disaster my cries created. Cleaning me up and brushing my tears away.
“Why?”
“The sight of me brought her torment. I reminded her of her bad choices.”
“What happened to your mom?”
With a melancholy expression, she answered, “One night, she took too many pills, fell asleep in my arms, and never woke up.”
I jerked back, not expecting her reply. “I’m so sorry.”
“We may come from different worlds, Sienna, but I understand what you’re going through more than you could ever know.”
“What about your dad?”
“I never met him. He ran out on us before I was born. He was the love of her life. It’s why she hated looking at me so much.”
I tilted my head and sighed, feeling the sadness pouring out of her too. Giving me a reassuring smile, she placed a strand of my hair behind my ear before setting the dirty Q-tip down on the coffee table. Grabbing the loose powder next, she softly pressed it into my cheeks.
“I always told myself I’d die, before I ever let anything happen to my kids, to my family. I was left in the hands of the man who raised me like I was his. I was wrong about him. His intentions. His abuse…”
I wanted to ask her what she meant by that, but I didn’t want to impose. She was sharing her deepest, darkest truths with me and it was enough for right now.
“After he passed away, I was thrown into the system and my life took another unexpected turn. Ballet saved my life. I was a prima ballerina. I studied at Julliard and performed on the stage of The American Ballet Theatre in New York City. I danced Swan Lake from The Big Apple to London, where I lived and breathed dance for ten years. Until my husband came to my rescue for probably the hundredth time in my life.”
“El Diablo? He saved you?”
Her composure tensed as she fixed my eyeshadow and liner.
“I can only imagine what you think about my husband. In the eyes of the world, he was a devil, in mine though, he’s been my angel. He saved me. Numerous times.”
It was funny how the world turned. To so many, her husband was portrayed one way but to her, he was another.
“He’s the reason I have a family at all. I met my half-sister through him as well. Let’s just say, my real father got around. My mother was the other woman. He had an affair.”
“What happened to him?”
“He died in a car accident with his wife at the time. My half-sister, Briggs, was in the vehicle with them. She was the only one who survived, and then Martinez raised her.”
My eyebrow lowered, confused.
“My real father was married to Alejandro’s sister.”
“His sister died too?”
“Mmm hmm…Martinez has no living family other than his niece, Briggs. And I think that’s why he’s so keen on Cruz marrying into your family. It may be corrupt, but family comes first to your bloodline, and in a huge way he’s giving Cruz the extended family we don’t have. The one he’s always wanted him to have. Aside from my half-sister who lives in North Carolina, my kids don’t have anyone but us. Since Alejandro faked his death, we’re not as close I wish we could be.”
“Maybe things will change now.”
“I hope so. Although, Briggs and her husband Austin know the truth. So do their kids. They’ve spent a lot of summers here in Italy with us. The night Adriana was taken, I was flying home from Oak Island where they live. I spent the last two weeks in their house.”
I cocked my head to the side again. “Why are you telling me all this?”
She beamed, and it lit up her eyes. “Because I want you to know that you’re not alone. I thought I’d experienced the worst pain a person could go through after my mother died, but I was wrong. My daughter’s kidnapping trumped that tenfold. I don’t wish that on anyone and if I can offer you a bit of comfort and understanding on your wedding day and birthday, then I played my role for today.”