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Rafa yanks me into his arms like my dad did whenever I got hurt or was sick. “I’m sorry.”
I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear those two words until the tears start rolling down my cheeks. I’m not sure how long Rafa holds me there while I cry, but he doesn’t let go until my breathing evens out and my tears no longer soak his shirt.
“Can you…” I sniffle. “Will you please keep this between us?”
He pulls away with a frown. “No one knows?”
I shake my head. “Only Oliver and his family.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
My shoulders slump. “Thank you.”
With one last parting glance over his shoulder, Rafa leaves me standing alone in the hall.
I head to the bathroom, and the deafening click of the door shutting adds to the emptiness growing inside me.
It’s been two months, and I’m no better off than I was the day Oliver pulled the plug on our nine-year relationship. He didn’t care about our show or the life we made together. Shit. He didn’t care about anything except whathewanted. The perfect wife. A picturesque house overlooking the bay. Two kids and a dog all playing together behind a white picket fence, like some ’50s sitcom.
It was a future expected of him and one I threatened to ruin.
Unlike the grief I struggled with after I lost my dad, this is different.
Iam different.
I grip the edge of the porcelain sink and force myself to face the person I’ve become.
Disheveled. Damaged.Depressed.
It’s difficult to acknowledge how far I’ve let myself go over the last few months. The broken person I’ve become is a far cry from the woman who woke up every morning full of energy, excited about choosing her outfit and doing her makeup regardless of whether she had plans to be on camera or not.
I miss the person I was. I miss her so damn much that I’m willing to put in the work to bring her back, even if it means attending extra therapy sessions and following through on difficult homework I’d rather avoid.
“You can bounce back.” My cracked whisper fills the silence. “You can prove to him and everyone else that they didn’t break you.” I speak with a stronger voice this time, letting the words sink in. “And you can fight this battle against yourself and come out stronger because of it,” I add with a sense of finality as I roll my shoulders back, fix my posture, and run my fingers through my messy hair.
From now on, I’m going to start living again. I only need to rememberhow.
CHAPTER FIVE
Julian
“Nice of you to show up an hour late,” my mom whispers as she corners me in the empty dining room.
I should have known her request for me to help set the table was a trap. “I was finishing up something for work.”
“On a Sunday?”
I stay quiet as I arrange the cutlery.
She rocks back and forth. “I’ve been meaning to ask you…”
“You lasted a minute longer than I expected.” I tap the face of my million-dollar watch. It’s the most expensive thing I own, all because I bet against Rafa, who believed we would become billionaires after our Dwelling app was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
I’m glad Rafa was right all along, although I nearly cried after buying us matching watches worth more than my currenthouse and car combined.
Ma’s lips purse. “Mijo.”
“Yes?”
