Semua Bab CROOKED: In love with my cousin's boyfriend: Bab 21 - Bab 30

Nikko turned me into someone unpleasant. His shock at me showing up unannounced at his house drew a mocking laugh from me. Every doubt I’d had the day before—every pang of guilt over having "cheated"—vanished almost completely. When had that man ever truly liked me? Nikko was alone but about to leave. Maël was nowhere to be found, and I didn’t ask about him. I was determined to end things, but first, I had something urgent to do. I stopped by my in-laws’ to say hello, and they invited me to lunch. Casually, I asked Adelaida where the rest of the family was. She detailed everyone’s whereabouts, chatting endlessly—until one piece of information froze me: "Maël is in Braga.""What?" I asked weakly. Thank God my mother-in-law didn’t hear me clearly. "Maël’s doing some university internship in Braga. At least, I think that’s what it is. That boy’s always so mysterious." «So he stayed there?» I thought, stunned. She continued, "By the way, didn’t Antónia call you? She wanted to a

I locked myself in one of the bathrooms for what felt like an eternity. Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that Maël would kiss me—much less a kiss so strange, so… I wanted to connect all the dots in my head and make sense of everything, from the reason that drove him to commit that act of madness to the way his face had wrinkled after devouring my mouth. Had he regretted it? I was stuck in the unleashed desires of a post-adolescent. And I had to ground myself in that fact because it was obvious he wasn’t so young anymore that I could dismiss his actions. Maël was eighteen, and I was twenty-eight, ten years apart, plus the complicated reality of who we were and where we were. And really, what had possessed him to catch me off guard in his uncle’s house? I was burning with curiosity to know what had driven him. My body, soul, and mind needed to understand whether I was entirely to blame for his desire to kiss me, if I had done something to provoke it. I stepped bac

He opened the door. “What’s going on?” “You have more things to apologize for, Maël.” “What are you talking about?” He didn’t let me in, obviously. Not that I had any intention of entering his room—I mean it. “Why did you send that email?” He looked confused. “What email?” I regretted not having my phone with me at that moment. I immediately headed to Nikko’s room, followed by Maël, and grabbed my phone, opening my email inbox. There it was, saved just for this moment. “This!” I shoved the screen in his face. “Don’t you remember?” He took the phone and started examining the photos, his brow furrowed as he focused on the images. Then I let it all out: “What kind of childish nonsense is this, Maël? Have you lost your mind? How could you possibly think I was cheating on Nikko with… with Fran, for God’s sake? That’s ridiculous! I was just dancing, and you saw me arrive with Sandra. That was just a gathering of friends. And by the way, what got into you to treat me li

I was able to return on the 14th. Marcelino and his family took me in for a night after the phone call at the café. I met Gina, his girlfriend (truly a beauty). On the morning of my birthday, Danilo called me from the university to assure me he was doing well. He apologized for not being able to come home to celebrate with me. My parents organized a late breakfast in the living room of our sweet home, playing music I liked and covering the coffee table with all kinds of food and drinks I’ve always loved: chocolates, toast, juices, omelets, and even wine. I danced with Dad in the living room, played cards with Mom, and then my father joined the game too. I talked with them at length, like we hadn’t done in a long time, and even entertained them with a short performance of the main character I was working on for Circo. I left the house with my mother to buy some things for the birthday, planning to celebrate early in the evening. Sandra joined us, and we had what could be called a "gi

I walked to Cata’s store, enjoying a perfect morning. I had barely slept, but it didn’t matter. The birds were singing, the clouds carried a clear decision in my mind. I was FED UP, sick of being the fool who put up with everything. The only bad thing about thinking I’d been deceived was remembering every moment with Maël (especially my thoughts about him), feeling somehow like a traitor with no right to complain. But the good side of it all was that I wouldn’t demand answers from anyone. I would end it, cut it off at the root. And the blessed shoe store filled that space of sanctified waiting. As expected, the girl was there, opening right at 8:00 in the morning. She couldn’t help being punctual. The question was, did she really expect Nikko to come see her? Well, I’d be her ambassador. "Hi, Bel," I greeted with a mocking tone. I could see the color drain from her hollow cheeks. "Hi, Delu. How are you?" A shaky greeting? Hmm… "I’m just fine, thanks. Done opening up?" I poin