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Damn it all, but if only the hit on Sergio would have worked… But he lived in a fortress with little to no outside contact and he almostneverleft its premises.
"His name is Sergio Villanueva," Cisco started, pinning her with her gaze. "He owns a large area in northeastern Mexico. You are to marry him when you turn eighteen."
He could have told her everything else she didn't know—that he'd tried his damn best to avoid this from happening. But he didn't. In the end, hewasguilty. It didn't matter the angle one looked at—he was the sole culprit.
"Why?" The words were barely audible, but they hurt Cisco in a way little else had over the years.
Despite what people thought of him, he did have feelings. Maybe he had a hard time recognizing and displaying them, but hedidfeel. And he loved his sister. To have her look at him as if he was dead to her was one of the harshest blows he'd been dealt.
"Because I said so," he simply stated.
Yuyu stiffened in his arms.
"I see," Noelle gave a slow nod before she turned, walking to her room and closing the door behind her.
"Why would you say that?" Yuyu whispered, raw emotion emanating from her voice.
"I failed her," he closed his eyes. "I failed her when she needed me the most. I can't fail her from now on."
"I don't understand," Yuyu's palms cupped his cheeks, turning him around.
"I can't stop the wedding from happening. But I can ensure Noelle is strong enough to bear it. Until…"
"She'll hate you," Yuyu rightfully remarked, her eyes filled with turmoil. But she didn't add more. She understood exactly what his goal was.
"But she will survive."
The issue was that though Noelle put on a strong face in front of Cisco and Yuyu, when she was alone in her room, she didn't think shewouldsurvive.
She didn't even care who she was supposed to marry at that point. Shehurtabout the fact that the only people she'devertrusted sold her over. They'd pretended to care for her and they'd slowly wormed their way into her heart before delivering the last blow.
Alone in her room, she sunk to the floor as she stared at the dark shadows on the wall. Her eyes were semi-dry, and for once, tears wouldn't even come.
She just stared at the intangible forms on her walls, wishing she could be just like them—non-sentient and non-feeling.
Only then would she be able to go on without feeling herself bleed with anguish.
Only then would she be able to justbe, without the burden of being.
10Noelle
AGE SIXTEEN
Her ear fitted to the frame of the door, Noelle snuck her head into the hallway, listening for the sign that her mother had left. When a loud bang echoed in the entire house, her lips spread into a big grin.
Closing the door to her room, she locked it—just in case—before she opened her secret hideaway to remove a diet coke six-pack and a couple bags of chips.
Her mother had a strict policy of no junk food in the house. But that never stopped Noelle from sneaking out to buy it, or for the staff to help her procure it.
Arranging everything in place around her desk, she turned on her computer, jumping straight into the game.
Yet the moment she opened the chat, her excitement deflated when she realized Blue was not online yet. Her eyes immediately went to the clock, and she sighed in relief when she saw it was her who'd logged on earlier. If she missed even one day of talking to him…
She shook her head. She wouldn't think about that.
After she'd found out about her inevitable marriage to a certain Sergio Villanueva, she'd realized she was truly all alone.
The blow from her brother had been a harsh one, and she was still reeling—on her bad days. But she'd learned to adapt and move on.
