Pain and Pleasure by Callie Vincent
22
Esmeralda
Ever since Danteand I sat down at the dining table with his unannounced family and partners, it's been eerily quiet.
Oscar and his men look as intimidating as usual, but this is my first time meeting Gabriela, and I must say that she is, in fact, terrifying. Her nearly black hair is pin straight and shiny, and I swear I can almost see my reflection off of it. Her eyes are the same wild amber color as her brothers’, but her eyes appear to be more golden. Her skin tone is the perfect olive complexion. Long story short, she either looks like she could be a super model or a vampire. She's downright perfect, except for her dark attitude.
She feels more like Dante than Oscar does, but I doubt there's warmth to her like there is with my dark lover. At first when we sat down, she was sneering at Dante, but after her clipped greeting, all of her attention has been directed towards me. Me, the wet and half naked girl wearing her brother's shirt and sitting next to him, hand in hand. Her wild eyes travel from my face to our hands resting on the table. I scoot closer to Dante, feeling both intimidated and exposed. I am being scrutinized under her eyes and it's making my skin crawl in response.
Oscar breaks the tense silence by clearing his throat and putting out his cigar. He pours another glass of bourbon and leans back in his chair the same way Dante does. He offers me a smile and although it is intimidating, I can tell it’s genuine. His brother is hard to read, but he comes off warmer than his other two siblings. He may be a tad bit creepy, but at least he smiles. Though I have to admit, he’s the one that probably has the biggest temper.
“We’ve been trying to reach you for weeks, little brother. After several missed emails and calls, I decided to take matters into my own hands and pay you a little visit. Though, I have to admit, I was shocked to learn about what has made you so...preoccupied recently,” Oscar says, eyeing me with a twinkle in his amber depths.
“I won’t lie to you, I had an inkling about Esmeralda when I first met her. You always did prefer the innocent ones.” He chuckles and my skin crawls, lead dropping in my stomach as I hear the words leave his mouth.
What the hell does that mean? Has Dante sought after girls like me before? Am I just another conquest to him?
Dante seems to read both the room and my thoughts because he offers me a dark glance and a squeeze of my hand, bringing me back to the present.
“But then, after further investigation I came to realize just exactly who she is and also what you’ve been plotting since father died.” Oscar's voice darkens and I see Gabriela's eyes snap from me to Dante, glaring at him.
“My question for you now, is why the fuck did you decide not to tell your family about this?” He sounds angry, but Dante doesn’t flinch at the change in his tone.
No, Dante looks as cool and as calm as usual. Unbothered and unfazed by it all, whereas I am practically shaking like a leaf next to him due to the cold air and tension in the room. I feel like a domesticated chihuahua.
“Ah, but I did tell you about this, big brother. In fact, I told both you and mama about this after the funeral for our father, but while mama was busy grieving, you were off fucking everything in sight and spending all of your inheritance. Perhaps it was the combination of whiskey and our product that has altered your memory?” Dante smiles at Oscar, who is now red faced and seething.
“And here I am, left in the dark as usual, right?” Gabriela hisses.
Felt that, sister.
“I’m not sure how someone who is busy maxing out all of our cards and spending every given dollar we have on lavish vacations and outfits can be left in the dark, baby sister. It seems you had better things to worry about than avenging your father’s death, much like your older brother,” Dante says casually and now both of his siblings are pissed.
The room is silent once again and I notice that Oscar's partners have not only not said a word, but also appear to not even be affected by this family spat happening before us. They must not be too involved and, judging by the way Dante just called everyone out, it seems that only Dante himself has been overseeing everything on his own. Oscar sits up in his chair, his face less red, but still angry.
“We all dealt with father’s passing differently. Not all of us were wanting to become vigilantes immediately after. You’ve had years to bring this up again. Especially since you began fucking the enemy’s daughter,” Oscar hisses and my eyes drop to the floor. I feel small and cheap, but Dante squeezes my hand even tighter.
“Two things, big brother,” Dante says calmly, but his voice is laced with venom.
“First, she’s more of an enemy to him than we are.” He pours himself a glass of bourbon before tossing it back and pouring me one.
“And second, you speak about my woman like that again, and I’ll cut your tongue out. I’m feeling a little antsy lately, so fucking with me is definitely not in your best interest.”
Woah.
I can’t even focus on the fact that Dante just defended me in front of his own blood because the entire energy in the room has shifted. Oscar's face has now paled, and Gabriela peels her eyes away from me and directs them to the floor. Suddenly, everyone is acting like obedient dogs, and it makes me realize just how powerful Dante really is. He truly lives up to his El Oscuro name.
“He always did like you more,” Oscar says quietly, twirling his bourbon tumbler on the table.
He seems sad and it makes my heart sort of hurt for him. He's the troubled one, I can tell. For more reasons than just the obvious fact that his father was murdered. Dante snorts and pours another glass of bourbon as I slowly sip mine, eyeing everyone at the table. Gabriela has gone from being a scorpion ready to attack, to a meek and quiet woman sitting small in her chair. I wonder about her. I'm curious enough to even get to know her, though that may be a bad idea.
“He loved all of his children, Oscar. He just knew I was the most responsible one. He knew I could get anything and everything done, for everyone. And that’s exactly what I've been doing. I’ve plotted everything and chosen all my moves very carefully when it comes to Juan Carlos. I just didn’t expect to cross paths with Esmeralda like this.” Dante leans back and turns to me, brushing a lock of wet hair from my eye and holding my chin gently between his fingers.
He’s staring at me with so much adoration that my heart melts.
God, I really do love this fucked up and dangerous man.
“But now that I have, the situation has gotten a lot more dire. This man is dangerous and has been tracking her every move, as well as my own, I am sure. It is my job to keep her safe and I will not stop, even after I gut the bastard. So please, do us both a favor, and treat her with some fucking dignity and respect. She’s lived more lives and seen more trauma than the both of you have combined.” Dante lets go of my chin and stares at his siblings, his stature tall and dominant.
He keeps standing up for me and it makes me feel more noticed than I have in my entire life. This man, this beautiful and dark creature who I was nearly certain was incapable of such love and kindness, has made me his number one priority and I can’t help but fall even more in love with him. I notice Oscar moving his gaze from Dante to me and I meet his eyes. They are not nearly as intimidating as they were before, before Dante put him in his place. He stares at me now with confusion and curiosity.
“How long have you been aware of your father’s motives?” he asked me.
“Since your brother brought me here. Though, I got a little more insight when I first met my father a couple weeks ago and he held a gun to my head,” I say nonchalantly, and Oscar’s eyebrows raise in response.
“You’ve never met him before this?” I shake my head and he blows a whistle out.
“And here I thought that I was the one with, what do you Americans call it? Daddy issues?” He lights a cigar and I notice Dante’s demeanor shifts back to anger, but I laugh at Oscar's comment.
He’s funny and even though he’s a tad bit weird, I find that I sort of like him. Dante raises an eyebrow at me and I shrug. I see Oscar ponder what I’ve told him as Gabriela looks up from the floor and at me, her eyes still holding a small bit of venom in them, but they’re not nearly as lethal.
“Tell you what, since I’ve been too preoccupied with my own shit, I think it’s time for my brother and I to catch up. Gabriela, why don’t you and Esmeralda go upstairs and talk about dresses or whatever the fuck girls have to gossip about.”
“It’s Emmie,” I correct him.
“Emmie,” he says with a smile and Gabriela huffs.
“I’m sure there’s not much she and I have in common, brother. I’d rather stay and discuss family matters.” She sneers, looking away from me. I try not to let it hurt, but it does.
“You will go, and we will call you when we finish up,” he orders and she shrinks back.
“Plus, I’m sure we can find something in common, and even though I don’t like spending other people's money, I seem to have been forced into doing so since knowing your brother,” I say and Dante laughs. Gabriela huffs as she stands and I let go of Dante’s hand, standing up to follow her out of the room as the men begin to chatter.
This ought to be fun.
* * *
Dante’s sister hasn’t said a word since we’ve arrived in my room, but I pay no mind to it as I walk to my closet to change. I throw on the new set of beige loungewear Marianne brought me and walk out to find her eyeing my room with scrutiny.
"Up to your standards? I say rudely.
I know this is Dante's baby sister, but she's also a total bitch. An outwardly expressed, total bitch. She flips her perfect and shiny hair over one shoulder. It's pin straight but thick and so healthy looking. This woman is a literal goddess and it's a shame that she hates me.
I walk to my bathroom and grab a hairbrush. When I walk back in my room, I notice that she's now sitting on my bed, looking uncomfortable and quiet. Even though she's beautiful, I pity her. I saw the way both of her brothers treated her, and I can tell that she's been silenced by men and authoritative figures for the majority of her life. That's enough to make anyone turn a blind eye to things and run away, but it's not an excuse for her to treat me like scum.
"I know what you probably think of me. I know that I'm the daughter of the enemy and that's a perfect reason to hate me, if I really had any knowledge of your war before I was kidnapped by your brother," I say bitterly, brushing the knots out of my hair as I take a seat on my velvet loveseat.
She looks over to me, her eyes narrowed, but curious.
"My mother lives here. It's the reason why I'm even here. He's been watching us my entire life. Since the night my father killed yours. Since that same night he raped my mother and made me." I stare into the fireplace, my eyes getting lost in the flames.
I look back to Gabriela. She's quiet, but not staring at me as darkly as she has been. I almost see a little...empathy in her eyes.
"That's true?" she asks, her voice low.
"It'd be a little fucked up for me to make it up, don't you think?" My tone is clipped.
I'm not trying to be a complete bitch to her, but I'm so tired of not being trusted. My whole life I've done whatever it took to be kind and compassionate, a good girl. A woman with morals. Everything has been blown to shit since I've been here. I love Dante, but this wasn't a choice. None of this has been a choice.
It's almost like Gabriela can see this in my eyes, because her features soften. The silence stretches for a little while longer. I sit cross legged on the loveseat, letting the fireplace warm some of the tenseness from my body. The room feels lighter, even though I spoke nothing but darkness. I feel like being up front and honest right out of the gate with Gabriela, and try to ease a lot of the strange tension she put between us.
I also feel less intimidated. At the end of the day, my own family and hers have done nothing but cause me trauma while I was minding my own business. There have been some wonderful experiences and I've fallen in love, but it is not a fairytale. It's not what I had envisioned for myself. It's not what I worked my ass off for. I'm still learning how to navigate it all.
"I was only four when he died," she murmurs quietly. "I don't remember much about my father honestly, just that he was intimidating and never really home. Always too busy with my brothers. My whole life has been with my mother." She looks at me and when we lock eyes, we share a lifetime of understanding.
"What's your mom like?" I ask and she smiles at me.
It's the first time she's done that, and she looks incredibly young when she does it. She's only four years older than me, but her youth and own innocence radiates when she lets her guard down. I think she and I share a lot more in common other than our "daddy issues".
"She's got a heart bigger than any castle, but it's guarded with barbed wire. She tries to stay out of the...business as much as she can, but as you can guess, it's a hard thing to ignore." She stares at her hands and is quiet for a moment.
"She's tired. You can see it all over her face. She's been that way my whole life. Loving, but so, so tired." She sighs and stands up, adjusting her form fitting dress and dark hair.
"I believe you, after what you've told me. But I'm not going to apologize for having my guard up. The men in the world are dark and untrustworthy, as I'm sure you know now. And even though Dante is my brother, he is a man in this world. Take that as you'd like."
It's dark and cryptic, but it makes sense. The men in this world are capable of anything. Even silencing us.