Married to My Enemy

He turned his back to me and proceeded to walk away.

“Don’t you dare walk away from me without an explanation!” I screamed.

Giovanni turned back to me. “You have a lot of nerve, you know that? If anyone deserves an explanation, it’s me! But then again, I guess I got my explanation already, didn’t I? I guess that bastard who had his hands all over you is the explanation, right? What was his name again? Brad?”

I was so angry at his hypocrisy that I couldn’t even form the words to express it. I swore and turned around. Now it was my turn to walk away. I didn’t feel like engaging him in this irrational argument.

“Yeah, just walk away,” he yelled after me. “Maybe it’s for the best anyway. I can see that you’re just as unreasonable as my father. Neither of you knows the meaning of talking things out. It’s either your way or the highway, and you can’t be bothered to even explain shit to anyone. You just leave people behind, lost. Go figure he wanted you as a daughter so badly. You’re just two peas in a pod.”

I wanted so badly to just let his words roll off me, but I couldn’t. Not only did they sting, but they halfway made no sense. I turned back around to look at him. I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Honestly, what the hell does any of that mean?”

Before either of us could say anything further, a group of club-goers crossed our paths, entering the club.

Giovanni glanced at me and then rounded the building, and somehow, I intuitively knew he wanted me to follow him. I rounded the building, the two of us coming to a stop in the alley behind it.

Giovanni turned toward me with his arms folded. “I know the engagement is over, but can you at least have the decency to tell me why? I have no idea what went wrong.”

“It’s because everything you do in the dark comes out in the light,” I said. “I know about your other woman—and it wouldn’t even surprise me if there are more than one. I knew your type straight from the start. I just regretted being stupid enough to fall for you.”

Giovanni laughed and shook his head. “Wow…You really are delusional, aren’t you?”

“Asshole.”

“What other woman, Arianna? Because since you’ve come into the picture, you’ve been the only one.”

“Wow. I can’t believe you’re such a smooth liar.”

“I’m not lying!”

“I saw you with my own eyes! Surprise! I was at the club last night, and I saw you with that long-legged bimbo!”

I watched his face twist in confusion, and I waited to see if he was honestly going to have the audacity to dispute what I’d seen.

“I saw you here last night. And I was about to introduce you to…Oh…wait…” he paused for an instant, and a genuine smirk began to spread across his face. “I get it now. Maria.”

I grimaced. “Is that her name?”

He nodded. “Yes. And she also happens to be my cousin.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh please! I’m not stupid Gio! I wish you would quit acting like I am!”

“Well stop acting like you are! Arianna, look me in the eyes. Do you really think I’m lying? The woman from last night was my cousin! I swear! And when I spotted you, I was about to introduce you to her, but the next thing I knew, you were gone!”

“A likely story!” I spat.

“But it’s true! Will you just stop being so goddamned hard-headed and listen to me, Ari? The whole time I was with Maria, I was telling her about you.”

But I’d heard enough. I wanted to go back to the club to get Jessica and Angela, but I knew that Gio would just follow me and continue giving me his pathetic sob story, trying to convince me that he was a stand-up guy who wasn’t cheating on me. But I wouldn’t be fooled again.

I stormed off, deciding that I would flag down a taxi and go home, and I’d just call Angela and Jessica later to let them know that I was all right. I had genuinely appreciated their effort to make me feel better, and they would have succeeded had Giovanni Romano not showed up to ruin things. It was like the universe just kept playing the cruelest tricks on me, refusing to let me be free of his presence. Every time I tried to let my guard down and move on with my life, I feared he would show up. He was like a parasite; sometimes I couldn’t see him, but he was still there, sucking the life out of me regardless.

“Arianna!” he called. “Come on, listen to me!”

But I blocked him out. Having made it to the main road, I glanced down the street.

Giovanni was talking a mile-a-minute, but I kept ignoring him. When I saw a cab coming, I flagged it down.

“Where are you going? I can give you a ride,” Gio offered.