<b>Chapter </b><b>59 </b>
“You have hands,” A said, her voice calm but firm “And a mouth. You should’ve used them. You think someone’s going toe save <b>you </b>ave someone throws an insult? You want to survive in this world, Nivera? You don’t cry. You don’t walk away. You make them regret brying <b>you</b><b>.</b><b>” </b>
Nivera lowered her gaze for a moment. She wasn’t sure if she felt chastised or inspired. Maybe both
<b>Her </b>mother wasplicated. Sometimes, she felt like the world’s worst mother, and other times,
felt like a normal mother.
Aria stepped forward and tapped gently under her chin. “Oh, and you should put some ice on your face. It’s swatting up:
That was the first time she felt her mother’s touch in over a year, and just like that, it was gone. A sudden emptiness hit her, which made her sigh.
Then, turning on her heel, she added casually over her shoulder, “See you at the function tonight”
Nivera blinked. “Wait What function?”
But Aria was already walking away, the sound of her heels, confident and unbothered,
“Wait–wait” Nivera <b>called </b>after her, rushing forward. But by the time she reached the corridor, Aria had vanished into the polished <b>marble </b>man of the
She stood there for a moment, stunned and her heart racing,
The function.
If her mother was going to be there… then there <b>was </b>a high probability that her father would be as <b>well</b>.
And if both of t
of them were showing up, then it was a high–profile event, as her parents didn’t bother with small functions.
Remembering what had happened thest time <b>she </b>and her father met, made Nivera groan, and she buried her face in her hands.
Just her luck. She couldn’t win today. Not with the boutique drama. Not with her mother’s surprise appearance.
And definitely not with the prospect of standing in the same room as her father under Alejandro’smand.
Pretending to be sick to get out of going to the function was out of the question, as Alejandro would still drag her there, in sickness or in health
Nivera lot out another sigh and muttered under her breath, “I need a nap. <b>Or </b><b>a </b><b>gun </b>to shoot myself”
Nivera exhaled sharply, and she moved to carry the bags she had brought into the <b>store</b>, after which she left.
As the boutique doors swung closed behind her, the chill of the mall’s air–conditioning brushed against her still–stinging cheek.
She was exhausted.
Between being pped, humiliated, shocked by her mother’s sudden appearance, and then served a potential reunion with her father like a roten cherry on top… she was done.
Mentally, emotionally, and physically–just done, ghd all she wanted to do was to climb a bed.
Without wasting time, she exited the mall, and upon getting to the parking lot, she froze, and her steps faltered mid–stride as her eyesnded on a familiar figure leaning against the side of a sleek ck car parked right beside her car
He hadn’t seen her yet–his face was angled slightly away, one <b>hand </b>in his pocket, the other holding a phone to his ear
Alejandro.
146: WOLA28 <b>JUH </b>
She hadn’t been expecting to see him. Just how long has he been waiting for her?
Her heart thudded in her chest, and her stomach twisted itself into a thousand tight knots. For a moment, she just stood there, het hard ng
around the handles of her bag
He looked like he had been waiting. Watching. And somehow, that unsettled her even more than if he had stormed inside
She swallowed hard and forced herself to move forward.
As if sensing her presence, he turned.
His head tilted first, then his full body followed in a smooth pivot–and the moment his eyesnded on her, the easy, unreadable mask he wore shattered
Gone was the aloof smirk or the mocking glint in his eye. In its ce became something darker and sharper as his eyes roed in on her check.
The exact
t spot where that woman’s p had left a mark.
Nivera watched it happen–the way his gaze hardened, the way his jaw locked tight, the way the temperature between them seemed to drop ten degrees in a breath.
He said something into the phone–something <b>clipped </b>and quick and then, “I’ll call you back.”
o his <b>p </b>
The device disappeared into pocket as he took a step toward her, slow and deliberate.
For <b>a </b>moment, Nivera thought he might start yelling–she braced for it prepared herself for anothershing, another usation
But instead, Alejandro litted his <b>hand </b>and reached for her face.
Gently
Like his fingers weren’t usually used for violence or threats but for careful, almost reverent touches, and it made her heart cry.
His thumb brushed the edge of the swollen skin.
“Who“, he said, voice low and controlled, but burning with fury, “did this to you?”
Each word was punctuated with such cold rage, it made her flinch.
“Nivera. Who. Did. This. To. You?” He asked again when she didn’t say anything
Nivera opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was too stunned–by his reaction, by his nearness, by the unexpected heat curling in her chest. Not attraction. Not exactly.
But something else.
She hadn’t nned on seeing him. She definitely hadn’t nned on him caring
And now she wasn’t sure what scared her more.
The fact that he did.
Or the fact that he <b>was </b>bing more and more unpredictable