“Marlen, let me explain,” she pleads, trying to take my hand again. Tears begin to pour down her cheeks.
“Why are you crying? Because your plan didn’t work?” I snap, standing up and backing away from her.
All this time together, everything we’ve been through… I trusted her. She earned my trust, and it was all a lie leading to this moment. The instant I gave her a phone, she called her brother. How stupidly naive was I? A trusting fool? Manipulated and betrayed.
“Plan?” she stammers, standing up. “I only wanted to…”
“You called your brother?” I demand.
Stef stands up and walks toward me, but I hold my hand up, warning her not to take another step. “Did you call your brother?” I shout.
She stands bewildered, her eyes wide, her body frozen in place. “I called him, yes, but only to…”
“I trusted you, Stef. But that was always the plan, wasn’t it? To lure me into this false sense of security around you. To take my guard down? To get me out in the open without my security and let your brother’s men take me. All along, this is what it was leading up to!”
Rage builds inside me like a poison. My heart beats heavy against my rib cage.
“That isn’t what happened!” she shouts over me.
“That’s exactly what happened!” I shout back, clenching my fists, grinding my teeth to try and disperse the anger before I do something I’ll regret.
Her face is red, her eyes flaring. She takes a deep breathe, scrunching her nose, fighting for control as well. I hate seeing her like this, but then I hate that I care.
I hate that I fell for it.
I hate that I fell for her, and it was all a lie.
Stef looks at me, into me, she speaks softer, trying to reason with me.
“You’re wrong, Marlen. I wanted to show you that my brothers aren’t the bad people in Bardil’s story. I wanted to prove to you that my family is not to blame.”
“Of course, you did. Of course, you were here this whole time just to prove their lies and make sure my family took the blame!”
I won’t fall for her soothing tone and gentle gaze. I won’t be manipulated anymore.
“No!” she screams, stomping her foot in anger and frustration when the sweet, fake innocence doesn’t work on me. “Stop saying that and listen to me,” she complains.
“I think I’ve heard and seen enough.”
“You don’t know anything! You only know what Bardil told you, and it’s not true!”
“My brother isn’t the one who is standing in front of me, lying to my face, Stefania. My brother isn’t the one who tried to get me killed. So you tell me… who would you trust?”
“Please, Marlen. Please don’t do this. Don’t shut me out. Give me a chance to explain what I’ve found out about that night,” she begs.
Staring at her, my heart is aching in ways I can’t bear. She’s too beautiful for words.
Memories of her smile, her laughter, flash through my mind. Moments we shared. Intimate moments that made me believe I meant something to her.
The only way I can manage the hurt is to push it away. And the moment I do, the anger returns with force.
“Get out of my house,” I demand. “You’re a trickster. You betrayed me, and I can’t stand to look at you for another second,” I say coldly.
“No,” she gasps, horrified.
“Yes, get out. Now. I don’t want you here.” My jaw is set firmly, my shoulders squared as I glare down at her.
“I won’t leave,” she snaps.
