“I’m still here,” I said.
“I can see that. But for how long? None of his fuck buddies last very long,” she shot back. “Except me.” Nina flipped her hair over her shoulder and leveled with a look.
Was she serious?
I saw Maddie glaring holes into Nina from the corner of my eyes. Oh, she is definitely scary when angry.
“Oh well, it’s not like he’ll still be interested in you after a few weeks.” She shrugged.
“Why do you say that?” I asked as calmly as I could. Deep inside, I felt slightly embarrassed, but that wasn’t what I was trying to control. It was the anger boiling inside of me that I was trying to keep at bay.
Giving her my best smile, I waited for her answer.
She scoffed, shaking her head. “Have you seen yourself?”
Confused, I looked down at myself. “I see myself every day in the mirror,” I mumbled.
“You are so…stiff,” she said through gritted teeth. “Do you really think you can keep Alessio interested for long?”
“That’s enough, bitch!” Maddie growled on the side.
“Oh please. I’m just speaking the truth. Truth hurts, doesn’t it?” Nina snapped back. Turning toward me again, she continued to hurl her insults.
“You are so plain. Stiff. Looking at you, I can already say you are probably a shit lay. Alessio needs someone adventurous. Someone who can keep him on his toes. Someone who isn’t as frigid as you.”
Calm down, Ayla. Take a deep breath. It’s okay. She’s just trying to hurt you. Don’t let her win.
“You little—” Maddie started saying, but Nina talked over her.
Walking closer to me, she continued. “Do you really think he would leave me for you, someone he had just met?”
My hands tightened into fists, and I stared blankly at her.
“I’m more like him. We have always been compatible. In bed and outside the bed. Whether he is fucking me or if we’re just working.”
Jealousy was a red haze in front of my eyes. And so much anger.
She licked her red lips and then smiled. The smile wasn’t friendly at all. It was mocking me, daring me to prove her wrong. “I’ve known him for years, and he always comes back to me. Alessio always comes back for more. And when he’s done with you, he will be back in my bed. You will be long forgotten, like every other stupid woman in his life.”
That’s it. I have had enough!
Quickly standing up, I caught Nina by surprise, and she took a step back, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion. Without thinking, I reached across the counter, my hand blindly reaching for something. Anything.
Too bad, my hand caught the cake Lena had baked this morning.
Everything happened so fast then.
One second I was standing in front of Nina while she glared at me, and the next, the cake was planted in her face.
She squealed and took several steps back, the cake falling from her face to the floor. Nina swiped her hands over her face furiously. “You fucking bitch. You’re going to pay for this.”
I didn’t give her a chance to react. Bending down, I grabbed the leftover cake and smashed it in her face again, smearing it all over her beautiful blonde hair and perfect face.
“You stupid ugly bitch!” I growled.
Chapter 18
My loud voice resonated in my ears and rang around the room. I never swore. Ever. And I had never been this mad before. I was seething, my heart pumping fiercely with the need to extract revenge on the woman standing in front of me.
How dare she?
She not only insulted me, but Alessio also. She insulted what Alessio and I had. Our relationship was not perfect, but our feelings for each other were pure. I wasn’t going to stand there and watch someone else taint it.
Nina’s face was covered in chocolate cake…my favorite cake, actually. Lena had baked it for me, and for a moment, I felt a pang of sadness that it got spoiled, but the anger—my body was shaking with it. I was blinded.
All I could hear were Nina’s horrendous words.
She tried to reach for me, but I quickly stepped out of the way and reached for her hair, wrapping my fingers around the strands that weren’t spoiled by the cake.
“Let go of me!” she yelled. My fingers only clenched tighter.
“Don’t you ever speak about my relationship with Alessio like that,” I hissed in her face. “You are so wrong and so blinded by your hatred to see what Alessio and I have. Maybe if you open your heart just a little, maybe then you will understand what love is and how pure it is.”
“Love is stupid. And you’re stupid to think Alessio loves you. He can’t love. He doesn’t know how to love,” she snapped back.
“You are wrong again.” My fingers fisted in her hair, and I pulled her face closer to mine. “Everyone says he’s heartless, but I have seen the man behind the cruel monster. He might be hard and ruthless…” I paused, thinking about Alessio and his confessions. I thought about all his sweet words, kisses, and gentle caresses. Looking back into Nina’s furious eyes, I continued, “But he can love. I believe in him.”