Celia

24 The Past Will Change Today

Celia

The punch twists my dad and he falls on his face, a few feet before me.

He gets on his knees with a pained groan, but my vision gets blocked with a pair of legs.

"Celia..." Gio holds my shoulders and lifts me up. "Jesus Christ..." His voice is breathless and shocked as he scans my face. His eyes are wide, mouth open, chest heaving up and down.

I blink at him, confused that he's here. Is he here for me? What about Ari?

"Why are you here?" I ask but he doesn't wait. He puts his arm around my waist and turns me away.

"Stop! You have no right to come in here and take my daughter!" My dad barks behind us.

Gio slowly turns us around to face my dad who hobbles towards us, breathing heavily.

My dad points his finger at him and lowers his voice. "You should think about your daughter before you do something that you regret."

Gio's hand releases my waist as he calmly steps towards my dad. "My daughter?"

Suddenly he shoves my dad's chest, making him stumble back with a startled gasp.

"You're giving me advice about parenting?" Gio continues to pace and shoves him again.

My dad falls on his palms. Gio squats before him. His voice is low and I barely hear him.

"You know what men like you deserve?" he almost cooes. "Men who raise their hand on women and abuse their power? Hm?"

My dad lifts on his palms to get up, but Gio pushes his shoulder down with one hand.

"I'm holding myself back because Celia's your daughter," Gio says. "If she wasn't related to you, we wouldn't be having a conversation right now."

Before my dad can reply, Gio grabs the front of his shirt and pulls him up. My dad stumbles on his feet as Gio dusts his shirt for him.

"So keep your preaching for Sundays and don't talk about my daughter, hm?"

Then he turns his back on him, expression emotionless. He gets near me and puts his arm around my waist, leading me towards the gate.

"If you leave with him you'll never see Marilyn again!" My dad shouts, making me stop. "Are you ready to say goodbye to the woman who raised you? Because I'll never let you see her again."

"You don't own me!" I scream so loud it scrapes my throat. I glare at my dad, burning with fire from head to toe. "You don't... fucking... own me."

"What's going on here?" Aram comes out with Alex and Marilyn.

My grandma gasps at my beaten face. I worry that all this might be too much for her. I worry about her heart, but no one cares. Everyone's watching me and Gio.

"Aram, please stop this charade!" My dad chuckles and points at us. "He's taking her and she's letting him! I don't know how to talk sense into her!"

"Who's this?" Gio murmurs in my ear.

"Alex's dad," I mutter. "They came to ask for my hand in marriage."

Aram tilts his head at our quiet exchange. His eyes lower to Gio's hand around my waist. A slow smile stretches across his lips even though his blue eyes remain emotionless.

"Well, can you blame him, Stefan?" he says, not looking away from Gio. "A woman like her paying attention to him? He'd have to be an idiot to reject her."