Chapter 87: 87 ~ Mira
~ Two years later ~
The woman that stared at me through the mirror was different. Her hair was longer, and the light in her eyes had long disappeared and over time she had become a shadow of herself. She hated life and she hated love sometimes but still managed to show up and pretend she was fine.
It was yet another work day.
Two years ago, Donna Carmela helped me start afresh in another country. I found myself in Lisbon, Portugal.
She paid me off with a whooping sum as she promised.
I took the money and built a baking empire for myself, while pretending to not be the owner.
I acted like an employee at one of the outlets and continued to live a seemingly normal life. Only few people knew that I owned the business franchise that was scattered across different cities.
Within what looked like a short span of time, my business had grown bigger than I expected and my recipes were continuously making waves.
I even started a faceless channel where I posted some of my recipes and it generated some income from me as well.
But with all of this, there was still this gnawing feeling of emptiness settling in my chest.
I stepped out of my flat and headed to the parking lot where my small vehicle was. I got in and drove myself to the restaurant.
I passed through the back, slid on my uniform and clocked in for the morning.
According to the roster, I was on counter duty so I was going to be taking orders today.
A woman walked up to me with her toddler resting on her hip, I was almost carried away by the sight of her son who was fussy.
This would have been me if my child decided to stay.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I snapped out of my emotional haze and focused on taking this woman’s order, fighting the urge to want to hold her baby.
~
The morning went by uneventfully, no troublesome customers so far.
By midday, Massimo walked in. He was a multimillionaire that seemed very attracted to me and I had been putting off his advances ever since I moved here.
He was a gangster. Like Jace...
And despite the fact that he was quite the charmer and reasonably attractive, I didn’t need any more drama in my life.
When he came around, my ’boss’ was always happy because he made sure everything was sold out. Obviously he was trying to impress me. If only he knew...
"Let me at least take you on a date," He said as I took down his orders.
"A date to your bedroom?" I retorted.
"That would be an added advantage," he flirted back, unmoved by my retorts.
I chuckled as I shook my head. This man was persistent.
"You used to live in America, yes?"
I cleared my throat before answering. "Yes."
"I’m going away for a bit and I’d like you to join me. Los Angeles."
His addition made me believe he was already looking into my past.
He knew something that I didn’t want him to and now I was genuinely curious about his intentions.
"How about that date?" I said.
"I’ll pick you up by seven. Text me your address."
~
I had not dressed fancy in quite a while. And that was because all I did was go to work and if at all I stepped out, it was for casual outings.
But tonight I wore a skintight navy blue dress that stopped a little above my knees. It had a halter neck and long sleeves and I paired it with a nice pair of red bottom heels as well as a matching clutch. My diamond teardrop earrings were my go to accessories while I tied my hair up in a slick ponytail. I wasn’t trying to show too much skin and I looked very well put together.
There was no way I was going to let him know where I lived, which he possibly knew already but I was just going to pretend he didn’t.
I drove myself to his house.
The way his security sprawled all over the place brought back some very unsavory memories.
Shutting my eyes, I let out a sigh as I pushed thoughts of my past to the back of my mind.
Massimo was at the door waiting for me as I approached the entrance.
Eager much? I thought as I approached him where he stood with the same charming smile he always showed me.
"Welcome to my humble abode Maya."
Yes, Maya. That was the name I gave myself after being able to change my identity. Maya Avanti.
"Thank you,"
I took the hand he offered as he led me aside after the short exchange of pleasantries.
Unsurprisingly, his home was a fancy space with several gold finishings. Men like him were too predictable with their decor.
I sat opposite him on the dining table at his fancy mansion.
He made sure there was a feast.
I dug in and savored the meals, complimenting his chef in between as we made small talk.
We were on our second course when he dropped a bombshell.
"I know you were married to Don Romano."
I froze in that instant.
The silence that followed was heavy with a lot of questions from me.
"How do you..."
"I am no fool, Mirabel. I did my research. I found this out quite recently though." His thick accent made this sound even more serious.
I maintained my composure even when I was taken aback by the fact that he knew my real name.
"So, you know about my marriage to him. That means you are also aware of the fact that we are no longer together." I said calmly as I leaned back in my seat and scanned his face.
Massimo nodded. "I know that. But I also know something that he hid from you."
I scowled. Jace hid so many things from me. That was not a surprise. But Massimo sounded like I needed to know this exact one.
"Finish up dinner first and I’ll show you,"
"Is this a ploy to get me into your bed?" I asked, playing coy as I sipped on a glass of wine.
"I’ll never have to force a woman to get in my bed Mira. If I want you, I’ll get you."
He was one cocky bastard for sure.
Massimo led the way to his study after dinner. I could barely focus on the meal after what he said so I insisted that he showed me because I needed to sleep early due to work the next morning.
I sat down on the plush leather couch and watched as he pulled out an envelope from a secret vault.
I wondered what it was but I didn’t have to wonder for too long as he handed it to me and asked me to open it.
There were photographs and letters.
I flipped through them and held in my shock. Over the years, I had learned to hide my emotions and this was what I was trying to do in front of him as the truth unveiled itself in front of me.
"Is this what I think it is?" I managed to ask in a steady tone even when I felt my heart breaking.
Massimo nodded, looking genuinely concerned
"Do you need a moment?" He asked.
"No," I forced a smile. "I’m perfectly fine."
"I know what this looks like-"
"What do you want?" I cut to the chase. There was no need for him to play Mr Nice Guy. If he wanted to, he wouldn’t show me these in the first place or even dig into my past at all.
"Huh?"
I fought back an eye roll. "There has to be a reason you decided to show me these. What do you want?"
"I have nothing against your husband."
"Ex husband." I corrected sharply.
He nodded. "Yes, my bad. But he is sitting on a deal of a lifetime for me."
"So you want me to kill him for you because he may have a soft spot for me?"
"That’s extreme Mirabel," he chuckled.
"Call me Maya." I corrected him sharply.
He sighed. "Maya."
"Good. Get straight to it."
"I just need him to be distracted for bit so I can pull the rug. I heard he lost his hinges when you were around him and I believe you still have that effect on him. And you deserve your pound of flesh."
"Hmm." I hummed, pondering on his words for a second.
"So what do I get in return?" I finally asked.
Massimo smirked. "Now we’re talking."
~
That night, as I laid on my bed and stared up at the ceiling, I remembered all the times I had asked him why he married me and was unable to answer me.
I had thought of all the possible and even perverse reasons but nothing as gory as this.
Massimo was obviously a psycho for bringing this to my knowledge only to milk it for his own selfish gain. He wasn’t empathetic enough to realize how debilitating this was.
But I would ride on that horse and blindside both of them.
Fighting back my tears, I made up my mind to go back to America.
I was going to have my revenge. The old Mira would have cried and let it go but this new Mira was not going to let it slide. I would make him pay for what his family had done to mine.