I fell in love with the boy
s only son. The king of my heart
auty. The kind of place that made you believe the world still had some good left in
Mama
enuine love, the kind that saved me. She provided me with Villa del Rosario, tutors, clothes, and jewelry t
pared to the one thi
of boy people noticed without him saying a word. Girls tripped over themselves to
ispering Grove, a place no one dared to follow, except me. I woul
ing beautiful wasn't enough. When he sketched, there
'd utter a single word. . . "Leave," an
River, where the lagoon sparkled in the sunlight. That was
y fourteent
told myself it didn't matter, but that morning, I escaped to the
eps wo
w, nineteen, eyes locked o
to, Princess," he said, his voice l
wha
your party, you're here pretendi
working, and I was hiding. I sat up, brushing
are you
the vi
knelt across from me, eyes unreadable as they
nally, "I'm just glad
ed. "But Roseva
feel the cool mint of his breath. My heart
y, "because I won't have
hit like
do you
'll never accept you as my si
d died of leukemia a year before I
ng to adopt you. Her lawyer's bringing the papers tonight.
my reply. He turn
t to be his
. I blurted it out before I could restrain myself. "Mom,
s she tilted her head. "Don't
agine my life without you...
"Elias can be di
a brother. As some
Then, to my shock, she smiled.
odd
marry my Elias. Let's
everyone, she declared I
thing. He left before the party
na," he said coldly before
o the capital, weeks earlier th
Mama Celeste insisted he was busy with his studies, preparing to t
believ
eventeenth
afternoon, I went to the lagoon for a nap. By the time I woke, it was dark.
up. His hand lingered on my arm, and in that moment, a sleek bl
e. My curiosity flared. Witho
ife, and the car conti
ed in the garage. My pulse quickened. Who wo
this wasn't just a
was