Jaws dropped by Amy's term of address directed at Esmeralda, everyone but Dylan was shocked by the revelation. Amy and Esmeralda were sisters!
Esmeralda's expression remained the same but not long after she started to laugh like she had just heard the greatest joke on Earth.
She stood up from her seat, her movements unhurried as she walked over to the pair. She placed a hand on Dylan's shoulder and he looked up. She was no longer laughing but her gaze remained peeled on Amy. "I'll take over from here."
Dylan quietly left the seat for her to replace him. He stood a few feet away to watch the show unfold.
Esmeralda's aura seemed to have taken a dramatic change because she no longer came off as a fragile yet nagging girlfriend, but she looked like she run the place. Well, she did, she always has.
Looking at their side profiles, one could now see the little similarities from the shape of their jawline, the high cheek bones and the shape of their plump lips.
"The King", Amy said with a smile that never reached her eyes.
The men felt like their minds would explode. It took bringing in Amy to learn of this new revelation: Esmeralda was the King. Dylan, who was not so much as surprised, was just a cover.
He had figured that out when they were in Italy the night she visited him and of course, she confirmed it. When she was still dating Aldo, Dylan did catch her eye back at the club.
When Aldo tried to go after him, she protected him using the perfect diversion and threw Aldo off by letting Dylan assume the role. She never intended to reveal her identity but her actions only made it obvious to the smart Dylan who became her lover was happy to assume the role for her sake.
"You found out", she chuckled with not so much amusement. "No surprise there."
"Aren't you tired of wearing those contacts?" Amy nodded at her brown eyes.
Brown eyes, Aldo thought back to the funeral. The Emily girl had brown eyes like Esmeralda and that was the face that came to mind when he saw the girl, the striking similarity.
Was that Amy instead? The what about the actual Amy whom they caught in the alley? How did she do that?
"The old man just had to have strong blue eyed genes. How I hated the weak and sorry excuse of a man he was. My favorite memory of him was when I watched the life in his eyes fade away after I put a bullet between them", she shuddered in pleasure and giggled at the distant memory. "He was willing to give up on everything, this empire, just because Hot Head was onto him! I had never hated anyone with so much passion as I did him, as I do you. Your F*CKING FACE THAT LOOKS SO MUCH LIKE HIM ESPECIALLY THOSE BLUE EYES!"
Amy only looked at her in her calm composure. She had long realized it that the reason why Greco and Gwen had her info was because Esmeralda had been keeping tabs on her, she had known her from long time ago.
"You're no fool A.J that's why it was easy for you to figure out who I am but guess what? I'm no fool either", she stated. "The great A.J, master at hiding actually showed up when I needed her...... Now, there's a lot of things wrong with this."
Amy's lips curved up, "Well, your men caught me, I'm sure there were no bugs found on me. What's there not to trust about my being here?"
"Noooooo, you're up to something", she eyed her carefully with obvious suspicion. "The same way we anticipated your move at the funeral, I'm sure you anticipated ours. This cannot be a coincidence."
"Your trust issues are none of my concern. Take it or leave it."
Esmeralda watched the girl before her and her lips spasmed from annoyance. Countless times she had expressed how much she hated Amy and the situation before her only fueled that feeling. A deadly glint flashed in her eyes.
"My first kill was a man who raised me from when I was just a day old to grooming me to become a leader of this empire, I won't think twice about killing you. Trust me."
Amy felt a chill run down her spine from the warning, she needed to trade carefully from now on. Esmeralda suddenly let out laugh. "Not a family reunion you were hoping for, right?"
"I never hoped for one", Amy countered.
"Still, I'll give you something better one", she said with a mischievous smile earning a furrow of the brows from Amy. "Something that will leave you with no choice but to do as I say."
As calm as Amy looked, her heart started to thud wildly against her chest. The only thing that came to mind was an image of Zach and her daughter Roserie.
For them, she would walk through fire if it means their safety. Esmeralda easily knew pretty much everything about her life and it would be no surprise if she knew about her new family even without her engagement ring on her finger.
Her heart beat faster as Esmeralda leaned in to taunt her in a whisper.
'Please not them, please not my babies, please, please, please', she chanted internally in panic but still fought to remain calm.
"Your mother."
Amy's brows involuntarily shot up from those two words and shock reflected in her eyes. Not Zach or Roserie....., but her mother. The last person she would have ever thought of. Amy was genuinely shocked.
Satisfied with her reaction, she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms against her chest. "Don't look so shocked! Yes we kept her alive after father made her get rid of you and I took extra care of her, I'm not a monster you know! Just so you know, she used to visit the ditch we left you in until I made her stop. It became annoying!"
Amy did not know what or how to feel. Her mother. What Stella told her was actually the truth about her birth. But who was that young girl? Where is she? What does she look like now?
As though guessing her thoughts, Esmeralda continued to jab at her. "Curious about where she is or what became of her? I'll give you all of that information in exchange for safely getting me out of this country."
Amy took a moment to digest everything before replying, "How do I know you're not bluffing?"
"Well, you just don't, do you?" She chuckled. "Or in your words: 'take it or leave it'."
Amy fell quiet taking in everything. Esmeralda tapped her fingers against her arm impatiently. "Tick tock baby sister, we need to be out of here as soon as possible."
"I'll do it!" She responded almost immediately with clear annoyance spelled on her face.
Esmeralda figured the turn of events must have ruined whatever plans she had whilst coming to them. That's how things were supposed to be. She was and has always been in control. It was her turf, Amy had no say or power over it.
"Great!" She clasped her hands together in excitement. As she stood up, she could not help but scrunch her nose. "There's a funny smell coming from you."
Amy only grounded her teeth from the pain of her breasts being full and becoming uncomfortably hard. Her pads served as a barrier from her leaking but now she felt nothing but pain. She had been away from her cupcake for too long.
Esmeralda didn't think of it much and beckoned at Aldo with a finger. "Untie her."
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m