Tightening her arms across her body in an effort to crush the pangs of hurt she experienced at that totally unfair response, it took Angie a few seconds before she could dare let herself speak.
Come on, she urged heavily then. Just get it over with and spit out how much it is we're discussing, here.
With a growling husk of reluctance Alex quoted a figure which blanched the colour out of Angie's face.
'You're joking, she whispered.
'I wish.' He laughed thickly.
'Fifty! Did you just say fifty thousand?'
Turning around, Alex flushed. You don't have to beat me over the head with it
Oh, but she did! 'How did heck did you get the credit to spend fifty thousand on speculation, for goodness sake?
Silence came charging back at her as they stood with the width of the kitchen between them, Angie taut as a bowstring now, With her arms rod straight at her sides, and her brother with his chin resting on his chest.
Answer me, Alex, She breathed unsteadily.
'Leonardo, he growled.
Leonardo?
For a horrible second Angie so light headed she thought she was actually going to faint. Are...are you telling me that Leonardo has been encouraging you to play the stock markets?
'Of course he hasn't!' her brother flung back in disgust. I wouldn't take his advice if he did. I hate him you know that. After what he did to you, I—'
'Then what are you saying?' Because I'm really confused here as to why you've even brought his name into this!
Alex scuffed a floor tile with a trainer shod foot. I used one of your credit cards.
But I don't use credit cards!
She had the usual cash debit cards everyone needed to survive these days, but never, ever had Angie dared to own a credit card, because a credit card tempted you to go into debt, and debt was….
The one that Leonardo gave you.
Angie blinked. The one that Leonardo gave her….
The credit card attached to Leonardo's bottomless financial resources that she had never used, though the card was still languishing in this apartment somewhere, like a…..
'I came across it in your bedside drawer last time I was here And…'
Oh, hell, her brother groaned, shifting his long body in a squirm of regret. I'm sorry! He cried. I don't know what came over me! I just needed some money, and I didn't want to ask you for it, so I went looking to see if you had any spare cash hanging around the Flat. I saw the card lying there in your bedside drawer, and before I knew what I was doing I'd picked it up! It had his fancy name splashed all over it, the great and glorious da Costa bank!' he rasped out, revealing the depth of his dislike for a man he had never tried to get along with. At first I meant to cut it into little pieces and post them back to him with a message. Then I thought, Why not see if I can use it to hit him where it will hurt him the most? It was really easy…
Angie stopped listening at easy. She was so sure that she was going to really faint away this time that she reached for a chair and sat down on it, lifting up a set of icy fingers to cover her trembling mouth.
Leonardo…dear God. Closing her eyes, she gave a helpless shake of her head. I don't want to believe you could do this to me, She whispered against her cold fingers.
'What do you want me to say?' her brother choked out. I did a stupid thing, and now I'm sorry for what I did…but he was supposed to take care of you, Angie! You deserved to be taken care of for a change. Instead he cheated on you with Emily Brones and well, now look at you.
She flicked her startled eyes open, wh-what's wrong with me?
Alex let loose with a short laugh, as if she'd made a stupid joke. You used to have the kind career most girls only dream about, Angie. I couldn't look around without seeing you plastered on a billboard or on a magazine somewhere. You were famous, fabulous. My friends used to envy me for having such a gorgeous sister. They'd fight each other for a chance to meet you. Then Leonardo came along and turned you inside out. You stopped modelling because Leonardo didn't like it.
'That's not true….'
'Yes it is!' His face was hot with anger now. ' He was a selfish, arrogant, superior swine who wanted to rule over you like a tyrant. He didn't like your Job commitments ... your commitment to me.'
There was a bit too much truth in that part for Angie to argue with it. Leonardo had demanded her exclusive attention. In fact Leonard had been demanding all round her attention, first calling on her loyalty, the full extent of her desire for him focused on him between the sheets…
Now you work at a lousy reception Job for the same modelling agency that used to roll out the red carpet everytime you walked into it. And you struggle to make ends meet again while he flies the world in his private jet, and I daren't ask you for an extra penny any more without feeling guilty as sin. Leonardo owed me big time for what he did to you, Angie, and you just let him get away with it… as if…
' He owes me, not you!' Angie flared in response to all of that. Leonardo was my mistake, not your mistake, Alex. He never did a single thing to you!'
'Are you kidding?' her brother flared back. He robbed me of my sister I used to be proud of and left me with the empty shell I'm looking at now! Where's your natural vibrancy gone, Angie? Your style sparkles? He took them. He answered his own bitter question. If Leonardo had not married you and then cheated on you, you would not be floating through life looking like the stuffing had been knocked out of you. You would still be flying up there at your profession raking in the money, and I would not have needed to use his credit card to play the markets because you would have financed me!