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Emily
Intensity and anger burned in Marta’s eyes. Her hand shot out to grab me, her fingers wrapping around my arm and holding me so tightly that it almost hurt.
“Tell me now,” she said, her voice a sharp whisper. “Has thattirón pendejohurt you? Tell me, and don’t hold back.”
We’d just stepped into her bedroom, and Marta hadn’t waited a moment after the door was shut to accost me. Her mood had been so cheery up until that moment; her sudden change in attitude took me by surprise.
“Marta… it’s OK.” I placed my hand on hers, removing her grip from my arm.
“That man, he’s a brute,” she said, letting her hand drop back to her side. “I can spot pieces ofmierdalike that from a mile away.” She let out a frustrated sigh before turning away from me, picking up her bag and setting it on the bed and pulling it open with three quick jerks of the zipper.
I was conflicted. On the one hand, I understood why Marta was acting this way. For all she knew, I’d been kidnapped and held prisoner on some faraway island, held as a toy to be played with by some sadistic billionaire.
On the other, well, while there were lots of ways I’d describe Logan, a “piece ofmierda” wasn’t one of them.
“It’s not that bad,” I said. “Logan’s been OK so far.”
Marta let out another sigh. “That’s one of the ways men like him will act, you know? Charming and suave at first, sure, but it’s all a way to hide what’s underneath.” She pulled out a few pieces of clothing, bringing them over to the nearby dresser and plopping them into an open drawer. Then she yanked open the curtains on the window just to her left, revealing a sweeping view of the garden, the rest of the estate, and the rising peak of the middle of the island. “All the same, it’s hard to argue with a view like this.”
I smiled, happy to see that her defensive attitude had cracked a bit.
“It’s not that bad at all,” I said, coming over to her side. “I mean, there’sthis. Not to mention the beach.” I gave Marta a playful elbowing. “I hope you brought your bikini.”
Marta laughed, shaking her head. “With this body? Not a chance.” The serious look on her face returned, as if the idea of her in a bikini brought to mind the idea ofmein a bikini. “Tell me, has he touched you? Has he tried to seduce you?”
“Marta!” I turned away from her right away, not wanting to let her see me blush. My heart beat a little faster with nervousness. There wasn’t a chance in hell I’d be able to tell her the truth—not only had Logan and I slept together, but I’d also done it willingly,eagerly. At the same time, the thought of lying to Marta was enough to make me sick to my stomach.
But I had to.
“That’s how these kinds of men are,” she said. “They have money and power and think it means that they can take whatever they want, including the innocence of a young girl.”
My gut tightened at the word. Only Dad used the word “innocence” to refer to my virginity. Hearing it out of Marta’s mouth didn’t make me feel good at all.
“It’s not like that,” I said. “Logan… he’s been good to me. Now, I’m not saying he’s a goodperson—I don’t know him nearly well enough to come to that kind of conclusion. But he hasn’t made me do anything that I didn’t want to do.”
I was pleased with my words. They weren’t entirely honest since I was sidestepping the question of whether or not Logan and I had slept together. My words were the truth, however. Nothing that had happened between Logan and me was anything that I hadn’t eagerly consented to.
“Good,” Marta replied. “And now that I’m here, I’m going to make sure he doesn’t get what he wants.” She raised her finger. “Make no mistake, there’s not a chance in hell that this prick isn’t scheming noon and night to take what he wants from you. Trust me—I’m certain that your innocence and how he can take it for himself is more important to him right now than some stupid company. Men like him are all the same.
I appreciated Marta’s concern for my well-being. All the same, at times it seemed like it was my father speaking through her, his wants coming out of her mouth. I still trusted Marta more than anyone else, but with each moment that passed I was more certain that I needed to keep the truth to myself.
“I can’t pretend to know what’s been on Logan’s mind,” I said. “But for the most part, he’s been leaving me alone, spends most of his time in his office, really. I’m starting to get the impression that he’s a workaholic more than anything else.”
Marta gave an affirmative nod. “That’s good to hear. Let him stay in that office of his worrying about emails and spreadsheets and whatever else. Every moment he’s busy with work is a moment he’s not pawing at you like some horny dog.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her description.
“Oh! And he lets me have so much more freedom here. He’s not like Dad, monitoring my every move and not letting me even watch TV.” My eyes lit up. “Have you heard ofNetflix?”
Marta chuckled. “Dios mio, Emily, sometimes I forget how much that asshole of a father has kept you sheltered. Of course, I’ve heard of Netflix. You know those silly little Korean soaps have been my guilty pleasure for years.”
“I still can’t wrap my head around how I can watchanythingI want. And it’s not just TV! There’s this huge library downstairs with just about every book you could ask for.”
Marta smiled. “That makes me so happy to hear. I swear, your father would keep you illiterate if he could. You ask me, it’s a total crime the way he keeps that brilliant, creative mind of yours locked away from sharing what you can do with the world. Makes me sick to my stomach.”
“Speaking of which, let me show you what I’mreallyexcited about. Come on.”
I gestured for her to follow me out of her bedroom, the two of us making our way over toward my room.
