<h4>Chapter 62: _ Father Doesn’t Like Axel</h4>


    Cami, absolutely reveling in the drama, gave me a pointed look. "Axel, why are you wasting your time helping <i>her</i>?" She gestured at me like I was a stain on the ground. "Rosa is here. You don’t need to be holding onto some pathetic—"


    "I’m here for María José."


    The words came sharply in contrast to the atmosphere in the air.


    I jutted my neck up to look at him. He was watching Rosa with a nd expression, but there was an unmistakable finality in his tone.


    Rosa dimmed her eyes. "...Why?"


    Axel’s gaze flickered to me, then back to her. "The butcher tried to take something that wasn’t his. María José fought back."


    <i>Oh, gosh. He thought he was helping but he really was ruining things for him. How do I exin the cruelty of my father and siblings to him?</i>


    <i>How do I make him understand that they DO NOT care? To save their face, they might even sell me off to the butcher.</i>


    I shut my eyes in exasperation. Too much of everything was bad. Too much of the bad in my life was weighing me down.


    Camiughed. Actually <iughed</i>.


    I flinched.


    But Rosa?


    Rosa <i>gasped</i>.


    And before I could process what was happening, she was suddenly in front of me, grabbing my shoulders inspectively . "Are you okay? What did he do to you?"


    I stared at her,pletely blindsided.


    For years, Rosa had been distant, untouchable. She had never paid me much attention, never looked at me with anything other than vague disinterest.


    But now, she looked <i>furious</i>. Protective. <i>Like a real sister.</i>


    Tears burned the back of my eyes.


    I didn’t know what to do.


    I had spent my whole life waiting for someone to defend me. To fight for me. To care.


    And for the first time ever, someone did. Want to know what made it hurt?


    Knowing that she didn’t mean it did. Knowing that this was just an act in front of Axel. Knowing she couldn’t give a damn what happened to me.


    Rosa continued to firmly grip my shoulders, her wide, concerned eyes locked on mine. It felt so strange, almost surreal, seeing her like this—protective, almost sisterly.


    But I wasn’t stupid. I knew what this was. A performance.


    I pped her hands away. "I’m fine." My voice came out meaner than I intended, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t about to y into whatever show she was putting on to impress Axel.


    She couldn’t even try to win him over by being herself? She had to pretend. Pfft. Axel was a good guy and he deserved way better than her.


    Cami gasped so dramatically, you’d think I had justmitted a crime.


    "Dios mío! Did you all see that?" She turned to Axel like she had just found undeniable proof of my evilness. "She’s so ungrateful! Axel, do you see now? Do you see how horrible she is? Rosa was just trying to be a good sister, and look at her! Look at how she treats us!"


    Axel nced at me briefly before schooling his shoulders. If he had an opinion on my behavior, he didn’t show it. But that wasn’t going to stop Cami. Oh, no. She was in her element now.


    "She does this all the time," Cami continued with fake disappointment in her voice. "She acts all weak and pitiful when people are watching, but behind closed doors? She’s a little brat. She ys the victim, but really, she’s the viin!"


    <i>Gosh! She was so intent on making me seem bad, wasn’t she?</i>


    All that pent-up pain from watching Axel embrace Rosa was already keeping me at the edge. Cami’s stupidly was all the push I needed to snap.


    I whipped my head toward her, heat rising in my chest. "You must be confused, Cami, because that sounds a lot more like you."


    Cami’s lips parted in an exaggerated ’How dare you?’ expression, clutching her chest as if I had physically struck her with my words.


    Rosa, still in her pretend peacekeeper mode, sighed dramatically and stepped between us. "Let’s not fight, okay?" She gave me a stupid patient look as if I were some uncontroble child throwing a tantrum. "María José, you know Cami didn’t mean it like that."


    <i>Man, I definitely can’t stand this!</i>


    "Oh, please," I scoffed, crossing my arms. "She meant exactly what she said."


    Cami grinned like the devil. "You know me so well, hermanita."


    Before I could retort, the door behind them creaked open again.


    I felt it before I saw him. It was a cold aura, sinking and weighing on my shoulders


    Don Diego. Father. He was here.


    My blood ran cold.


    There he was, stepping onto the porch, dressed in his usual dark cks and white shirt. His hair was styled back, his beard trimmed with. He looked exactly terrifying man I had grown up fearing.


    And the moment he saw me standing outside, his face scrunched up in rage.


    I could see the exact moment his mind processed it, his brows drawing together, his sharp eyes boring into me as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.


    His lips parted slightly before pressing into a hard line. "María José." His voice was controlled, but I wasn’t stupid.


    That tone?<i> That was danger.</i>


    I swallowed hard. My troubles might just never end.


    "What are you doing out here?" His gaze swept over me, thennded on my dirty legs against the dirt. His nostrils red. "Why are you not in your room?"


    I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I was stuck. Completely frozen in ce.


    <i>I told Axel. I warned him. Father wouldn’t like this. </i>


    My legs felt weak. I knew this moment woulde. I knew the second Cami ran inside, this was a possibility. But knowing didn’t make it easier.


    Just as I felt the first tremor of panic stringing up my spine, Axel came to the rescue.


    He ced himself between me and Don Diego—not entirely blocking me, but enough to make it clear he wasn’t about to stand aside. "Se?or Diego," Axel greeted. "I was the one who brought her home."


    The temperature dropped.


    <i>Don Diego did not like Axel.</i>