Chapter 17
Winnie Hughes stared at Maximo Myers in disbelief, tears streaming down her face like an endless river. It felt as if her heart had been ripped out and trampled beyond recognition.
Learning that he had proposed to Arlette Myers hadn’t hurt this much.
“Max,” she whispered, her voice shaking. Her slender neck was marred by dark bruises, yet she stubbornly crawled towards him, her hands and knees scraping the floor.
Her voice was broken by sobs. “We grew up together; you showered me with so much affection. Everyone saw how much you cared for me.”
“You love me, don’t you?” Winnie knelt at his feet, reaching for his pants, only to be kicked away without mercy.
Pain shot through her waist as the wound tore open, soaking her clothes. She swallowed the metallic taste of blood, gazing up at him.
“Arlette is gone, Max. Can’t we be like we were before? Everyone has left me—Mom, Dad, Grandpa—you’re all I have.”
Her lips twisted into a bitter smile. “Any woman who dares to get close to you should face the consequences!”
Maximo’s temples throbbed. How had he never noticed Winnie’s intentions? No wonder his admirers always vanished mysteriously. Just how many lives had this madwoman ruined?
His gaze was icy, devoid of compassion. “Winnie, my biggest regret is nurturing a viper like you, letting you destroy Arlette.”
Through gritted teeth, he spat, “Being desired by someone like you is revolting!”
“You were the one who gave me hope first!” Winnie screamed, her voice raw with desperation.
“We’re not even related by blood! Max, you treated me so well—why can’t I love you?”
“Arlette’s gone! Why can’t you see me?”
“Love? You think you have the right to talk about love?” Maximo felt only disgust. “A woman like you can’t even compare to a single hair on Arlette’s head, yet you think you can take her place?”
“Even with her gone, I wouldn’t give you a second thought. You’re delusional!”
Winnie’s tears flowed even more fiercely as she laughed, a chilling sound from deep within. “And now you say you love Arlette? Isn’t that just absurd?”
“You sent her to jail without a single question.”
Maximo’s anger boiled over. “How dare you bring that up!”
“You turned the world upside down, framing her. If it weren’t for you, we’d have been married three years ago!”
Winnie ignored him, continuing her tirade. “It was your own child. You said to get rid of it and even ordered the doctors to make sure she couldn’t be a mother.”
“For three years, you ignored her. If you hadn’t, you would have known about my ‘care’ for her.”
“Every day, she was beaten, insulted.”
Maximo’s eyes were filled with rage, fists clenched, pain and hatred threatening to burst from his chest.
Winnie’s face wore a disturbing smile. “You loved watching her dance, right? I was the one who had her legs broken.”
“She lived worse than a stray.”
“And what were you doing then? Taking me around the world, making me happy.”
Winnie seemed lost in her own memories of imagined love. “After she got out, you made her serve me, give me her skin, her kidney… Every part of her suffering was orchestrated by you.”
“My dear brother.”
“Enough! Stop it!” Maximo’s voice was filled with a desperate plea amidst his fury, his deepest sorrow laid bare.
The painful memories clawed at his soul, leaving him vulnerable. He couldn’t bear to meet Winnie’s crazed eyes and slumped back onto the sofa in retreat.
Maximo was overwhelmed with guilt and shame. He had once vowed to protect Arlette with his life, only to be the one who drove her to her doom.
He had to admit it; he was the executioner.
He had destroyed his own wife and child.