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Chapter 29
Mia
Carmen shot Mia a worried look.
“Mamá, let’s go see the rest of the place, huh?” Mateo said, quickly coming to her rescue.
Mia ran after Andre, catching up to him before he got in his truck. She grabbed his arm as he swung around, his face masked with fury as the dark storm cloud that hovered above.
“You’re engaged to him!”
“Andre, it’s not what you think.” Her heart pounded. She just needed him to trust her.
“It never is with women, is it?” he snapped.
“I-I can explain.” Mia held up her hands, pleadingly.
Andre ground his teeth together, his jaw tense as he glared at her. “Are you or aren’t you engaged to him?”
“Yes. But—”
Andre pulled out of her grasp. “That’s all I needed to know. You lied to me over and over. If it isn’t clear yet, we’re done. You should at least tell the sucker you were fucking me behind his back before he signs half his worth over to a liar.”
She pushed herself between him and his car. “Andre, please—you said you loved me.”
He grabbed her arm firmly and pulled her out of his way. “You were just a good fuck. That’s all this was.”
“You don’t mean that!” Tears streamed down her cheeks as his words eviscerated what was left of her heart.
“Unlike you, I mean what I say,” he growled, yanking open the door and climbing in the truck.
“Please, Andre. You know me better than this,” she pleaded.
He shook his head. “No, I don’t. But whose fault is that?”
The door slammed only a moment before the truck came roaring to life and sped away, taking her heart with it.
She trembled and fell to the ground. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Mia sobbed, her skin prickling with the fire of a thousand tiny paper cuts as the full impact of what happened hit her. She’d lied to stay alive, and traded her soul in the process. No matter the reason, lying was a mortal sin in Andre’s book. She’d lost him. Was life worth living alone like this?
A set of arms wrapped around her as she breathed in Mateo’s comforting scent.
“Ssshhh. It’s okay. I’ve got you,” he said.
Mia stayed like that in his arms until her eyes felt like sandpaper from crying. Standing on shaky legs, Mateo kept his hold on her and kissed her forehead. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”
Mia searched around. “Where’s Carmen and your parents?”
“She took them to get some food in Mamá’s belly and sober her up.” He guided her to the passenger side of her car.
After buckling in, Mia pressed her temples, seeking relief from the pounding in her head. The ache in her heart compounded the closer they got to her home. Andre was her neighbor—there was no escaping him. The face that had once looked at her with so much affection, would now be permanently filled with disgust.
“I’m sorry about Mamá. You know she’s always had it in her head that we’d get married for real. She’s just getting impatient for grandbabies.”
Mia nodded.
“If you love the guy, then why continue this farce with me? Why not marry him and get your papers that way? It would save me from having to move across the country for a couple years too,” Mateo said, parking in her driveway.
Guilt weighed heavily on her shoulders. It had been selfish of her to ask so much of her friend. She turned towards Andre’s house.
