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“It’s your escape,” Noelle added.
Lucero gave her a sad smile as she nodded.
“We could look for him. There’s little I can’t do now,” she said, trying to liven up the conversation.
“No,” Lucero shook her head vehemently. “I told you. To him, I was just a companion when he needed one.”
“You’re selling yourself short,” Noelle tsked. “You’re a beautiful woman, Lulu. You could have anyone you wanted. Especially now that there’s nothing holding you back.”
“Everything is holding me back,” Lucero choked on the words. “Romance isn’t in the cards for me. Now, or ever,” she said vehemently.
“Because of your scars? Because of what Sergio did to you? Come on, Lulu. There will be someone who won’t care about that.”
“Even if there were, and I doubt it,” she snorted, “I don’t know if I could ever trust someone so much to share my vulnerabilities with them.”
Noelle didn’t say anything more, just hugging her as she silently sobbed.
She brushed her lips across Lucero’s forehead, holding her close.
She knew exactly what her friend was going through. To a lesser extent, Noelle had experienced the same type of disappointment, not only in men, but in humanity as a whole. After her family had traded her so easily, and after the beatings she’d taken at Sergio’s hands, she’d realized that she could only count on herself—for everything. Blue was her only exception, but that was only because in her mind, he was separated from the rest. He belonged in a category wholly to himself.
To cheer Lucero up, Noelle decided they would stop in Ciudad de Mexico before heading back to the hacienda.
They had an entire entourage with them, Noelle’s bodyguards fading in the background as the two women went shopping.
Noelle bought some clothes for herself, but it was mostly for Lucero’s benefit. She wanted her friend to feel beautiful—just as Noelle saw her.
“You need to get this,” Noelle pointed to a pretty white dress. “And this,” she said as she picked up a pair of sandals. “And this…”
She went on and on, grabbing everything that caught her eye, despite Lucero’s ongoing protests.
“Why would I wear pretty clothes if I’m not dressing up for anyone?” Lucero asked as she gazed at the items Noelle paid for.
“Because you don’t need anyone to dress up for. You can do it for yourself. So thatyoufeel good,” she winked playfully.
Lucero blushed, but eventually nodded.
Noelle could tell she liked the clothes but was just unused to owning such items. In a way, she reminded her a lot of her old self and how curious she’d been when Yuyu had taken her shopping.
Her smile wavered as she thought of Yuyu, but she pushed against the discomfort in her chest. For all the resentment she’d built around her family, there was no denying that a small part of her remembered the past fondly—and she hated that. If she could, she would erase all the good memories so she could successfully foster her hate—so she could finally break free of the chains that still held her back.
“I think I saw an ice cream shop around the corner,” Noelle took Lucero’s hand and led her out of the story, leaving the bags of clothes with her bodyguards.
“Espera, señora,” one of them called out as Noelle and Lucero dashed across the street.
Noelle only had time to turn around when a car suddenly came speeding down the street, the windows going down as four guns were pointed at them.
Her eyes widened in alarm, and in no time, she pushed Lucero to the ground. Her elbow caught on the pavement, pain shooting up her arm.
She gritted her teeth as she quickly pulled her own gun.
“Stay down,” she barked the order to Lucero, who was watching her with wild, terrified eyes.
Noelle’s bodyguards were already exchanging fire with the assailants, but two of them had already been shot down.
She grimaced at the sight of the men bleeding out on the pavement, but she focused on the situation at hand. They were clearly afterherfor some reason. So she would give them what they wanted.
Moving behind a truck, she found a good angle and aimed her gun, blowing through one of the windows of the assailants’ car. A loud cry told her she’d managed to hit someone. Taking advantage of the mayhem, she rolled on the ground, quickly moving behind another car as she opened fire again.
