Page 69 of Own Me

I want to believe that Ynez is being forced against her will, but how can I think she's being raped with the way she's crying out as she digs her nails into his ass?

This can't be real. It can't be. There has to be a reason for this.

I run out of our apartment building in a daze, and I wheeze for air once I'm back out in the street.

How can you be so stupid, Ynez?

Does she not know who she's messing with? I mean, sure, there was that one time I did give Massimo the finger, but his girlfriend cheating on him is a whole new bloody league in itself! How can Ynez not realize that by doing this she's placed not just herself in danger but our entire family as well?

Five

Massimo

HAVING BODYGUARDS TAILmembers of theirfamigliahad always been a given, and this precaution was extended to anyone else whom the Marchettis considered deserving of their protection.

Ynez, however, had been the sole exception.

As Massimo was aware of the trauma Ynez had gone through in high school because of her older sister, he had wanted her to feel safe and offered his girlfriend a compromise instead. Security would only follow her around if she had work outside Marchetti territory. This arrangement, which had taken effect years ago, was now proving to be a gross oversight on his part since his girlfriend's uncurtailed freedom had allowed her to nurse her damaged pride in the most irreparable of ways.

'Fuck, yes, baby, you feel so fucking good.'

Massimo disabled his computer from further accessing the security cameras in the Ossinis' apartment. He waited for rage and jealousy to consume him, but even the sight of another man's cock pounding Ynez's pussy did nothing to break through the icy indifference coating his blood.

He did not even feel betrayed, and it was this, more than anything else, that set him on edge. Had he fooled himself all this time? Was Ynez right after all, when she had sobbed abouthim not really loving her at all, if he was so readily able to throw her out of his life in the name of duty?

'Just admit it! You never loved me! Never!'

Pride and impatience had made him deny her claims during their last fight, but only now, when it was already too late, that Massimo realized she was right all along. Ynez had intrigued him the first night they had met, and the way thoughts of her had obsessively consumed him led Massimo to mistake his feelings for love.

All he felt now was regret for wasting years of his girlfriend's life. He had known from the start that she had marriage in mind, but he had never taken the time to examine whether it was something he truly wanted as well.

I am sorry, Ynez.

Even though he had already informed her days ago about his arranged marriage, Ynez had refused to acknowledge their breakup. She had been bitter and almost volatile as she lashed out in her pain, and after what he had just witnessed, Massimo knew there was only one way for Ynez to move on.

He had to be ruthless for kindness' sake...with the help of Ynez's own sister and his future bride.

Six

Ysabel

I've completely lost track of time while struggling to wrap my head around what I saw in our apartment.

Ynez is fucking another man while dating Massimo Marchetti.

I think it's only been minutes since I ended up standing outside the convenience store across from our apartment building, staring blankly into space.

Or maybe it's been hours, with how the muscles at the back of my legs have started aching a little. I honestly have no idea. The world seems to have stopped making sense, the moment I saw my sister cheating on the man I've been so desperately trying hard to forget.

"Ysabel?"

My head jerks up at the familiar voice, and I'm not sure what to feel when I see it really is Romana standing in front of me, and a pack of beer cradled in her arms.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

Romana has been by my sister's side since they were kids, and she never seemed to mind whenever Ynez treated her more like a slave than a best friend. She probably loves Ynez as much as I do, but...

"Hey!"The other girl looks at me in surprise when I suddenly drag her with me to the back of the store, where we're less likely to be heard.

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