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She took out a few hundred-dollar bills from her purse and gave it to her. “That’s all I have on me right now.”
Gina took the money and spun around, then froze. Mary followed her gaze. Hector was standing in the doorway.
Her sister mumbled a greeting and made herself scarce.
When the door closed behind Gina, Mary walked up to her husband. She blushed, unsure of how much he’d overheard of her conversation with Gina.
Hector pulled her close and gave her a long and lingering kiss. She melted against him and felt the tension drain out of her.
“You’re wrong, by the way,hermosa.”
She gave him a confused look. “About?”
“This house. Itisyours. You are what makes it a home.”
It was probably the most beautiful thing anyone had ever said to her. The only thing she regretted were the circumstances in which he said those words.
“I’m sorry about what Gina said. She’s—”
“Don’t. Don’t ever apologize for another.”
“My sister, she’s….”
Weak.
It was the right word, but saying that out loud somehow felt like a betrayal. Still, she wanted him to understand.
“Gina has always been sheltered, even more so than me. She’s not a bad person, she’s just…”
“Spoiled?”
“That too, but it’s because she doesn’t know any better. We grew up in a golden cage. And then, from one day to the other, our grandfather died. His assets were seized, and everything disappeared. The mansion, the expensive cars, the bodyguards. Gina’s like a fish on dry land. She’s trying to survive by reaching for a faraway ocean instead of hopping into the nearest pond. Because that’s the world she’s used to. She has never known anything else but to have the best of the best.”
“You grew up the same way.”
True point. “You know the nature versus nurture discussion. I was told that one traumatic event, especially as a child, has the power to change one’s personality. Maybe I would have turned out just like my sister if the thing with Marco hadn’t happened.” She held up the palm of her hand, showing him the self-inflicted scar tissue. It was a single white scar. “You’re not the only one with scars, you know. Unlike yours, mine didn’t happen in the line of duty, though.”
It was difficult to talk about it, but she felt like she should. He’d told her about his scars, how it was the result of flying shrapnel after an ambush. An ambush that had cost him a friend from his unit.
He entwined their fingers. “Tell me what happened.”
“The night of Marco’s attack, Jazzy cut herself while trying to save me. The worst thing was that she cut herself onmyscissors. Due to some nerve damage, she almost lost the use of her arm. I wanted to talk about it. Wanted to apologize. Thank her. Do something. I was seven, and I didn’t fully comprehend what happened, but I knew Marco was wrong. He made my skin crawl, but I couldn’t tell anyone before his drunk midnight stroll into my room, let alone after it. Things like that weren’t discussed in our home. My grandfather just banished Marco and his name was never mentioned again. We all pretended as if Jazzy just had an accident. I…” She sighed. “I felt guilty and wanted to feel a fraction of what Jazzy felt when the scissors cut into her. It seemed unfair that Jazzy got hurt while saving me, and I was peachy keen.”
“You werenotpeachy keen. And don’t ever compare yourself to your sister again. I don’t give a shit about the nature and nurture thing. No matter what did or didn’t happen to you, unlike your sister, you don’t have it in you to hurt people. It’s not in your DNA.” He took her in his arms and carried her to their bedroom.
He put her on the edge of their bed and undressed her. When she was naked, she turned on her belly. She knew what her man wanted.
There was no foreplay, or even a slight peck on her ass, he just rammed into her and had his way with her. Mary enjoyed every second. When they both were spent, she watched him go into the bathroom. He came back with a wet towel, and cleaned her between her legs.
She sighed into the comforter. Life had never been so good. All she wanted to do right now was snuggle up to Hector, bask in his heat.
Then he took his pillow from the bed.
“What are you doing?”
He looked caught. “I uh... I didn’t get much sleep last night, so I’m gonna sleep in the room next door.” The closing of the door sounded like a hammer to the head.
She blinked.